評論
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It is not only pleasure sending me back to stare at that plot of soil, it is really conflict. The question is the same each year—what method should we use? The last few years we put 36-inch-wide black plastic between the rows, and it worked perfectly, keeping the soil moist in dry times and weed-free.
使我回去凝視這塊土地的不僅是快樂，更是內心的矛盾。每年的問題都是相同的：我們應該采用什么方法來種植這塊地呢？前幾年我們是在各壟之間鋪上36英寸寬的黑色塑料膜，效果很好，即使干旱的日子也可以使土壤保持濕潤，還遏制了雜草的生長。
But black plastic looks so industrial, so unromantic, that I have gradually moved over to hay mulch. We cut a lot of hay and, as it rots, it does improve the soil's composition. Besides, it looks lovely, and comes to us free.
但是黑色塑料膜看起來太工業化了，又太不浪漫，我漸漸改用干草覆蓋在上面。我們割下許多干草，當它們腐爛時，的確可以使土壤更加肥沃。而且，它們賞心悅目，還是免費的。
Keeping a garden makes you aware of how delicate, bountiful, and easily ruined the surface of this little planet is. In that 50-by-70-foot patch there must be a dozen different types of soil. Tomato won't grow in one part but loves another, and the same goes for the other crops. I suppose if you loaded the soil with chemical fertilizer these differences would be less noticeable, but I use it sparingly and only in rows right where seeds are planted rather than broadcast over the whole area. I'm not sure why I do this beyond the saving in fertilizer and my unwillingness to aid the weeds.
經營一個菜園你就會感覺到地球這顆小行星的表面有多脆弱、多富庶，又是多么容易被毀壞。在這塊50英尺寬、70英尺長的菜地中，必然會有許多不同類型的土壤。番茄在一個地方不愛生長，在另一個地方卻長得很好，其他作物也一樣。我想，如果給土壤施上化肥，這種差別就不會那么明顯了，我對化肥的使用量并不大，只撒在有種子的田壟上，而不是撒滿整片地。除了節省肥料、不愿助長雜草之外，我不知道我為什么要這樣做。
