How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back: A New Method of Mulch Gardening

by Ruth Stout

Discusses the fundamentals of gardening, recommends a method of natural mulch gardening, and describes the author's gardening experiences

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Agriculture

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1955

About the author

Ruth Imogen Stout was the fifth child of Quaker parents John Wallace Stout and Lucetta Elizabeth Todhunter Stout. Her younger brother Rex Stout, an author, was famous for the Nero Wolfe detective stories.

Stout moved to New York when she was 18 and was employed at various times as a nurse, bookkeeper, secretary, business manager, and factory worker. She coordinated lectures and debates and she also owned a small tea shop in Greenwich Village. She worked for a fake mind-reading act.

In 1923, she accompanied fellow Quakers to Russia to assist in famine relief. She met and married Alfred Rossiter in June 1929. In March 1930, the couple moved to Poverty Hollow at Redding Ridge, on the outskirts of Redding, Connecticut.

Ruth continued to use her maiden name as her pen name and Rossiter as her official name. Fred, a Columbia-trained psychologist, followed his passion for wood turning and subsequently became known for his wooden bowls. Ruth decided to try her luck at gardening, and in the spring of 1930, she planted her first garden

Reviews

[Sunetra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened to read about this book in one of the gardening forums, and got it from the library. I enjoyed this book immensely, and I am planning to buy it. Ruth Stout is a very different gardener than anyone you would have known. She questioned the authorities on gardening and did her own experiments. She challenged the written word or the “established” facts of gardening from the “experts”. She is indifferent to convention, not afraid to ignore customs, traditions, and tried her own experiments in the garden – which led to her discovering her unique method of using “hay” as year round mulch.The book is lot more than reading about her method of mulching. Through her folksy way of writing, where she does not hold anything back, you get the feeling that you are with her and she is talking to you. As you read, you will get to know her garden just like your own. You will get to know her family & friends just like your own. Not even once, in the entire book she has given any “advice”, or said this is the “right way” of doing things. She has written about her own experiences and her observations in the garden, such as, this is what she did, this is what worked, or this did not work. She is letting the reader draw the conclusion on her own. Here are some quotes from the book:
"Gardening is like cooking. Read the recipe and then use your head. A dash of skepticism can do no harm. Go lightly on caution, heavily on adventure and see what comes out. If you make a mistake, what of it? That is one way to learn, and tomorrow is another day".
"Farmers are philosophical. They have learned that it is less wearing to shrug their shoulders than to beat their breasts".

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A humorous and factual discourse on just what the title of the book suggests--after some trial and error and some years of experience, Ruth Stout touts the concept of mulching her vegetables/bushes/
flowers to eliminate weeding and also to enrich the soil as the mulch disintegrates. The book is both humorous and instructive, yet it reads like a story and one feels a connection with both the earth and the author. Very entertaining!

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Is Gardening worth while? If you ask that question the answer is: Possibly not, for you. Because if you are a gardener in your heart that is something you will never doubt.”
This is no doubt the best piece of non-fiction on gardening I’ve ever read. Ruth Stout is my soul sister and I wish she was alive so I could meet her and try to become her friend.
She has a great sense of humor and interesting methods, not to mention she’s such a great writer!
Here’s another great quote: “Do I exist for my tools or do they exist for me? They are getting old and should be treated with consideration. But I am getting old, too; I should also be treated gently. So I lay my tool on the hat and lay myself on the couch and feel justified…”
Pretty sure this book is way out of print, too bad!

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful!

[Kalise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruth Stout’s writing is delightful. I happened upon an old, charming video of her and am happy to say that her writing is the same. Highly recommend. I’m trying the heavy straw mulching like she suggests in my garden.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good gardening information but I wouldn't follow her way totally. I'm going to take bits and pieces of her way of growing because I do already use many of her techniques. Good book and I'll keep it close at hand during gardening season!

[Dee Mutschler]

A delightfully cozy book-- Ruth Stout's independent voice is a refreshing change.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! I grabbed this from the community college library discard pile because the blurb on the front cover said "The liveliest book ever written on mulch gardening." They ain't wrong! It's a gardening book, but it's also a memoir in that same "witty mid-century women writing about moving to the country" vein that Betty MacDonald (The Egg and I) and Louise Dickinson Rich (We Took to the Woods) wrote in.

[Lance Mellon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book that I read in the '70s I finally was able to find at a used book sale. Check the price out on Amazon it's worth a lot of money. My original copy was long gone. This is the book that describes the kind of gardening that I like to do. This book is a hot why the book I am going to write. Unconventional unorthodox unreverent unassuming gardening. This lady really has it. If you want to know how to really garden throw away all your conventional garden books and pick up this one and you will know exactly how to do it the right way. This lady is a sweetheart for being so cynical. She is the real deal.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun experience, reading a book published in 1955, hearing the author recount buying a plot of land in 1929!! And then working the land in the decades following.

Although there were lots of things I didn’t fully understand (both because I’m such a new gardener, and because this is from nearly 70 years ago) the writing was very engaging and fun, and I laughed out loud several times. And hopefully I learned a thing or two.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a charming story and a nice peek at a time passed. Some things change and others don't when it comes to gardening. It was delightful to read how one woman learned a lot through trial and error. She fearlessly dove right in and later found ways to garden easier, so that she could continue to enjoy it into her 70's.

[Mia Muñoz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Ruth Stout is like sitting down for coffee with your older, crasser, classier, slightly wiser but mostly hilarious auntie. I have yet to read such an enjoyable book about gardening. It is as much about the subject as it is the author herself. RIP to a real one. Ruth, we are still loving your wit earthside.

[Kurt Achin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming and prescient book written before the worst effects of post-WWII industrial agriculture. Her simple return to common sense foreshadows all the "new" thinking on no-till, no-dig organic growing that would come many decades later.

[Stephen Bublitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good, but I think "Gardening without Work" is more entertaining.

[Melissa McClelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously outdated as it was written in the 1950s originally. But a great concept that has really taken hold in many gardening communities.

[Diane Baima · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a voice!

[Tina H · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a meandering gardening journal than a "how to" book. The best lesson I got from it is to not be afraid to experiment in the garden, which can be intimidating to us gardening noobs.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I just loved her other gardening book, so I thought this one would be equally charming, but I felt like there was too much name dropping and it didn’t seem to have the same focus.

[Trina Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. Worth the read, even if you don't garden!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sydney Eddison calls her the “matriarch of mulch”! This is an old book, written long before the explicit instructions of Lasagna Gardening and other books that advocate the use of mulch as a less labor-intensive form of gardening. Gazing at my yard right now, all the garden beds heaped with last fall’s decaying leaves and a bunch of spoiled hay from Kirsten’s horses, you’d know that I have taken the advice to heart. Ruth Stout’s book is a delight to read. She is plain and no-nonsense, and I have the misfortune to have missed the chance to be one of her “barn guests”. (A large barn on their farm was made into kind of a dormitory – four bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and bath – for “everybody, from family and closest friends to acquaintances of acquaintances” to “come whenever there was room and stay as long as they pleased.” Folks brought their own linens and food, and did their own cooking. Ruth and her husband were married in 1929 at the ages of 45 and 47, respectively, so by the time she wrote this book in 1955, she was 71 years old. She died in 1980, into her 90’s by then, just as I was reaching adulthood.

[Rene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. Ruth Stout is amazingly witty and while the book is about her gardening method (she was into permaculture before it was even cool) it is equally entertaining as it is informational. She takes us through her humorous gardening journey and introduces us to many of the people in her life along with hilarious commentary about it all. And she cleverly weaves in some of her higher conscious insights as well. Her mulching methods are something I look forward to practicing in my own garden. A must read for any gardener.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this was originally published in 1955, yet so many gardening book authors have recently discovered the amazing wonders of mulching. She even points out publications that preceded her book by 50+ years that advocated the same things. Her healthy skepticism of "experts" in favour of the results before her eyes seems to be more in the spirit of good science and experimentation than many gardening how-to manuals.

[Kathy KS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoy reading Ruth Stout's books. This was my second, and if I never actually plant anything next spring, I will still be glad I read them! But I DO plan to follow her mulching principles; we shall see what happens!

[Sharon Devine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1956, this was a delightful read. Ruth Stout's brother was Rex Stout, the creater of the Nero Wolfe mystery series. She also mentions Scott Nearing who was a friend of hers. Plus, of course, lots of gardening advice.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paper backs of this out-of-print gardening book will run you upwards of $150.00!!! If you can just get your hands on chapter 6 & 9 you'll learn all you need to know!!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sister of mystery writer Rex Stout, she was passionate about her method of gardening. I was lucky to hear her speak - witty and wise.

[Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this years ago. It revolutionized my understanding of gardening. No-till is it!

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept that I am going to put into practice this year. Could have had more in depth explanation, but great for a starter book on mulch gardening.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth's writing is enjoyable, but she's writing about gardening in Connecticut in the 40s. It's entertaining, but not terribly informative for my own questions as a new gardener.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh-out-loud delightful, and so full of useful information. This way of gardening really should be the only way we know about!