How to have a green thumb without an aching back: A new method of mulch gardening

by Ruth Stout

Adopt the Revolutionary Non-Plow Method of Gardening Without a tractor and with an impatience to get her seeds planted for the season, Ruth Stout stumbled upon an unorthodox way to sow her rather than plowing the earth, she would simply make her seedling rows in between mounds of compost she had lain over the previous fall and winter. In her endearing and folksy voice, Stout tells the tale of her move in 1930 from New York City to a 55-acre farm in the rural Connecticut hamlet of Poverty Hollow. With little experience and a cast of helpers and advisors, she tells the story of a woman's toiling, making mistakes, and learning the pastime of gardening. In the spring of 1944, she experienced an epiphany that would chart a new method of "Throw away your spade and hoe." How to Have a Green Thumb is an infectious narrative of lessons learned and practical advice for anyone not afraid to get their hands dirty in pursuit of a bountiful and healthy garden. It provides practical advice on dealing with pests, a catalogue of the common vegetable varieties and flowering plants, and, of course, mulching. It is a book that any gardener will treasure and refer to again and again. This book is also available from Echo Point Books as a hardcover (ISBN 1648373526).

162 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2023

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