"Much as I wanted to be a good student, I was far more attracted to the 'easy way,' the less invasive approach of Ruth Stout – especially after a few weeks of the grueling physical labor involved in Steiner's soil building technique. The easy way was the precise antidote to all that physical hardship. American Ruth Stout called it 'no dig, no work.' Even our excessively Euro-centric teachers gave grudging kudos to Ms. Stout and her 'permanent mulch' method. Stout was sufficiently kooky for the Steiner followers (also known as anthroposophists) to embrace unabashedly. She had a near-religious respect for the natural environment and, most importantly, believe it or not, her method does work
