Associated Press Wire Service story as it appeared in the Bryan-College Station (Texas) EAGLE, Friday, March 17, 1995

David Bradshaw's expertise in chemical-free gardening comes from a blend of his farm family background and his academic horticultural studies.

"I learned the art of growing things on the farm, and I learned the science in college," says Bradshaw, an associate professor of horticulture at Clemson University. "Before I started my studies, I did things because they worked on our farm. In learning the science, I realized why those things worked."

His tenets for what he calls "common sense" gardening:

-- Soil amendment. A good gardener provides proper food and shelter for his or her plants, assessing the dangers of the home and nourishing their growth. The clay soil in Bradshaw's own garden in Six Mile, NC, wouldn't allow air to circulate around plant roots, so he added nitrate and organic matter. In a year's time, a thin layer of brown, nutritious soil developed. It has continued to deepen every year.

-- Raised beds. Raised beds help conserve moisture, avoid drowning of plant roots and prevent soil erosion.

-- Careful variety selection. Choose plants appropriate to your climate and which have resistance to insects and disease. Bradshaw grows carrots, onions, celery, bell peppers, spinach, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cabbage, snap beans, tomatoes, cantaloupes, butter beans, sweet corn, beets, squash, cucumbers, okra, broccoli and lettuce.

-- Compost mulching. Bradshaw mulches with pine needles and compost to reduce soil temperature, moisture loss through evaporation, weed competition and soil compaction. "Composting has always been a good idea, and now because landfill restrictions have gotten tighter, it makes even more sense to turn our tree limbs and brush and grass into compost. Put them to good use. The landfill won't take them any more, and they will be helping your garden, too," he says.

-- Insect scouting. A chemical-free gardener must pay attention to insects in the garden. "I make it a practice to check my garden every morning and every afternoon, looking for new insects or possible diseases. It may sound overzealous, but doing this can eliminate insects before they lay eggs and stop disease before it spreads to other plants." Bradshaw copes with insects by removing them by hand or spraying plants with soapy water.

-- Crop interplanting. Plant different vegetables in the same bed, and put small-leaved or low-light vegetables between other crops. This increases production and decreases the likelihood of insect and disease infestation by reducing their movement from one plant to another.

-- Careful scheduling. Bradshaw plants year-round by carefully scheduling his planting dates. He charts growing seasons of his preferred varieties, choosing ideal planting times for both warm- and cool-season vegetables. The mild climate in his area enables him to plant cool-season crops early and delay planting warm-season crops. This allows him to stagger harvests throughout the year and to add days or weeks to normal growing seasons of favorite vegetables.

-- Winter cover cropping. Plant cover crops or dormant plots during winter. This will slow leaching of soil nutrients and reduces soil erosion. When cover crops are plowed under in spring, they serve as green manure, which helps amend the soil. Bradshaw recommends crimson clover, winter rye and hairy vetch as cover crops.

-- Crop rotation. Avoid exhausting the plot's fertility by rotating crops. "Different crops need different levels of nutrients to prosper," Bradshaw says. "By changing locations, you avoid depleting vital nutrients and avoid insect and disease problems from year to year."

-- Keep a journal. Records from years past will help you build on your successes and avoid repeats of failures. Bradshaw has recorded in a journal the varieties, locations, and soil amendments he has tried over the years, and the results of each. "I have about 13 years worth of data, and I find myself referring to entries made years ago.

"I, like my father and grandfather before me, firmly believe if it has worked before, it will work again."