Masanobu Fukuoka Was Right

On Monday last week, it wasn’t supposed to rain until afternoon, so I got started on a bed to plant black turtle beans.

Years ago this bed was an experiment in growing perennials with a few annuals and naturalized forage plants. It contained multiplier onions, chicory, lettuce, violets, heartsease, and 4 o’clocks. It looked pretty for awhile. But from that experiment I learned an important lesson. Masanobu Fukuoka was right!

“My conviction was that crops grow themselves and should not have to be grown. I had acted in the belief that everything should be left in its natural course, but I found that if you apply this way of thinking all at once, before long things do not go so well.”

Blackberries, honeysuckle, horse nettle, grasses, and other unwanteds gradually took over that bed until it was a mess. Last fall, I dumped wheelbarrow load after wheelbarrow load of leaves on it in an attempt to smother everything so I could start over. That worked fairly well until the blackberries began to bravely push through.

One of my “between raindrops” projects has been to dig out all those blackberries and plant black turtle beans. I used the shovel to loosen the blackberry roots and pull the vines. I realize I won’t get all the root and they’ll still come back, but it’s a start. I did the same for honeysuckle roots I found. I noticed that doing nothing for the past several years did zero to improve the soil.

To plant the beans, I simply pushed the leaf mulch aside in three rows and poked the beans into the ground.

I’ve battled blackberry brambles ever since we first chose this spot for our garden. It was originally a neglected field that grew them readily. Even though I’ve been trying to eradicate them, this year in a “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” moment I decided to let them grow in another bed in the garden.

Behind this bed is where I dug my very first garden swale three years ago (that story with photos here.) I filled it with sticks, stalks, and corn cobs, leaving the removed soil as a berm. I planted the berm with clover and later transplanted my asparagus there. I never got much asparagus, but instead got blackberry brambles and wiregrass. I battled those for several years and this year decided, heck with it. I’ll just let the blackberries grow in hopes I’ll get some berries. I’ve been pulling the wiregrass and horse nettle and cutting back the daffodil leaves. Then putting down wood chips for mulch.

Well, I’m picking about a pint per day. They look pretty good too.

I have to add that they aren’t terribly sweet, and that they have large seeds. Dan doesn’t care for blackberries because of the seeds, but as volunteers these are a gift. And they pack a power-punch of flavor, so I’ll use them to make blackberry jelly. They will definitely need a trellis, but that will have to wait.

So gradually I’m learning to cooperate with nature and what my garden wants to grow. I realize I can’t do nothing and leave it to chance, but I can continue to observe and work to meet the needs of what wants to grow there. It’s all a process, isn’t it?