Next to the drive to the present office building is a fenced garden known as "the beanfield." It came to be quite accidentally. When the labyrinth
was created, a large sheet of plastic, which had been used to kill weeds on the
labyrinth site, was stored there temporarily. When it was finally removed, a
large patch of bare, rich soil remained, too good to resist placing a garden.
Because it was far removed from the other gardens, it was decided that crops needing little attention should be planted there. Dried beans are among the most carefree and rewarding of crops--hence the garden's name. Other plants were added---pumpkins,
gourds, winter squash. One year, tall red amaranth and sunflowers made such a
stunning sight that it has since been an experimental garden, along with colorful
varieties of beans. Trellises for climbing things have been added.
The plot is experimental in another way, and educationally valuable as an example of the "no-till" or mulch garden (also sometimes known as the old ladies'
method of gardening, in honor of Ruth Stout, a New England native who at 96 was
still drawing fans to see her garden--she has written extensively about the
procedure). The original soil in the beds is not disturbed, but piled high with
organic matter. This inhibits weeds (if one uses weed free mulch---our straw has
not been that perfect mulch, such as leaves or grass clippings) and as the mulch
breaks down, earthworms are drawn to the surface, as well as other organisms that
soften and prepare the soil. The theory is "no digging, hoeing, weeding"
--just push the mulch aside, plant and wait.
Though something of a "crazy quilt" garden, the beanfield remains an interesting experimental plot, a rewarding sight in late summer and a great educational facet of Shepherd's Corner.