I’m So Done With Watering My Gardens — Here’s What I’m Doing Instead

By mid-August, I’m over it — the heat, the dry soil, and especially the endless watering.

Why didn’t I put in irrigation this spring? I have soaker hoses coiled in a pile out back and a box of drip irrigation parts in my closet. But no, I decided hand watering would be better for “keeping in touch” with my plants.

My front yard has a potager garden with multiple beds, my side yard has eleven raised beds for my flower farm, and there are more gardens in the backyard. It takes almost an hour every day, sometimes twice when it’s hot. And with sandy soil that dries out fast, it’s a constant job.

Sure, I see my flowers up close — but I also see all the weeds. And by the time I’m done watering, I’m too tired to go back and pull them or do any deadheading.

I figured I’d just suffer through the rest of the season. Then — when I was about ready to throw in the trowel — I discovered Ruth Stout.

Ruth Stout was a mid-20th century gardener famous for her “no work” gardening method: no tilling, no weeding, and no watering, all thanks to one thing — an incredibly thick mulch layer. She used about 10 inches of spoiled hay from her farm animals, only pulling it back to plant seeds and covering the soil again as soon as seedlings appeared. The mulch kept the ground moist, smothered weeds, and fed the soil as it broke down.

No spoiled hay here in the suburbs, so I asked ChatGPT if shredded leaves, grass clippings, or straw would work. (Yes, there’s a difference between hay and straw.) Apparently a combination of all three is ideal, with composted manure underneath for nutrients.

So here’s my plan: sift my compost pile, spread it on the garden, shred the bags of leaves I scored on Craigslist, then top it with chopped straw. This fall, I’ll shred more leaves and keep adding them. Every time I mow, I’ll throw in the grass clippings — unless they’re full of weed seeds.

This feels much better than buying more irrigation parts only to set them up in spring and dismantle them in fall.

I’m curious — am I the only one ready to ditch hoses forever? How do you keep your gardens watered without losing your mind?