I was going to end by telling you that Weedless Gardening is definitely a book worth checking out of your local library since it is the simplest and clearest explanation of why and how to run a no-till garden that I've read.  But I got an email from the author, who kindly overlooked my use of his copyrighted photos, and who mentioned that he sells his books over on his website.  It turns out that a signed copy of Weedless Gardening is only $8.95 direct from the author, with a very minimal $2.50 shipping charge (at least to Virginia.)  The book is worth every penny of that price and more, so I've changed my tune --- go buy a copy for yourself, and another copy for that nice neighbor who can't seem to understand why you don't use a rototiller.

Lee Reich also gave me a bit more information about his gardening methods, which I wanted to repeat here for those of you who don't read every comment on our blog:

As far as mulch, your garden is much bigger than most gardens, perhaps bigger than it has to be.  I grow a year round supply of vegetables for me and my family on a couple of thousand square feet of space.  Wood chips, perhaps a couple of loads per year are delivered free.  Leaves are delivered free or I pick them up in suburban neighborhoods.  I make many tons of compost from garden and kitchen waste, hay scythed from a half acre field here, and, occasionally, some horse manure waste from a local horse farm.

As far as the soybean meal, I've pretty much abandoned it.  One inch depth of compost should supply all plants nutritional needs.  Also, I question the killing of microorganisms from soybean meal; some will thrive on the N, others won't.  The N is released slowly into the soil via the action of microorganisms.  Chickens would mess up the garden and, anyway, don't provide free nitrogen if you feed them.  (Mine get fed only enough to know where home is.)  They mess up the beds so aren't allowed in my garden.