While everyone loves eating fresh garden produce, not everyone has the time and energy to create a productive garden. But what if growing delicious crops required hardly any effort? What if you could have succulent strawberries, perfect peas, and terrific tomatoes without needing to touch a spade, hoe, or plow—without needing to worry about irrigating, spraying, sowing a cover crop, weeding, cultivating, or building a compost pile? If that sounds good, the Stout System is the answer for you Ruth Stout has shown tens of thousands of gardeners how to greatly reduce their gardening workload. Let Ruth (and within a few chapters, she will feel like a friend ) show you how you can rejuvenate the soil and make your fruits, vegetables, and flowers thrive with low-maintenance mulch gardening. Widely renowned as a gardening expert (and sister of the famed mystery writer Rex Stout), Ruth Stout wrote extensively about how to simplify gardening. Her techniques have brought people from all over the world to her garden, and now her advice can help you maximize your garden's output with minimal effort. In addition to the time-saving tips provided, Stout's joyous perspective on life and gardening makes this book a delight--and is a must-read for anyone growing food or flowers.