What to do with plant matter?

Seth Williamson · March 14, 2011

It has always seemed to me that, rather than throwing away weeds, or stems from last year's tomatoes, it makes more sense to plow them under or turn them under the soil more or less in place and plant over them.

My reasoning is that any plant -- weed or otherwise -- takes nutrients from the soil, so if you pull it up and throw it away, you're removing from the soil the nutrients used to build the plant.

I have a couple of friends who disagree vehemently and always throw away last year's stems, weeds, etc. I am not an expert gardener, of tomatoes or anything else, and I base my opinion on my understanding of the basic science involved. Then again, I'm not a scientist either.

I'm sure there are many here who can tell me if I'm right, or if I'm mistaken. Would love to get an expert opinion on this.

Seth Williamson

March 14, 2011	#1
Seth Williamson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: VA Posts: 5	What to do with plant matter? It has always seemed to me that, rather than throwing away weeds, or stems from last year's tomatoes, it makes more sense to plow them under or turn them under the soil more or less in place and plant over them. My reasoning is that any plant -- weed or otherwise -- takes nutrients from the soil, so if you pull it up and throw it away, you're removing from the soil the nutrients used to build the plant. I have a couple of friends who disagree vehemently and always throw away last year's stems, weeds, etc. I am not an expert gardener, of tomatoes or anything else, and I base my opinion on my understanding of the basic science involved. Then again, I'm not a scientist either. I'm sure there are many here who can tell me if I'm right, or if I'm mistaken. Would love to get an expert opinion on this. Seth Williamson