AngelsGarden's Blog
AngelsGarden's posts about: weeding
Aug 30, 2007 | 6:44 PM PST
Tags: Onion , Garlic , Romain Lettuce , Fall Crop , Lily bulblets , Weeding , Raised Bed , Successive Planting , Flat Leaf Parsley , Fish Fertilizer
We had a nice cloud cover this morning, so I thought I would jump at the opportunity. Not literally jump, of course. I cleaned out one bed of weeds and debris. Used the pitch fork to loosen the soil, then the flat shovel to bring up the edges of the bed slightly. A slightly raised bed with a shallow 'ditch' around the edge makes for great drainage and also great water catching capabilities. I smoothed the top of the bed and broke up any large lumps. We sprinkled out some granular, fish based fertilizer and mixed that in. We then planted Onion sets, Garlic and Romain Lettuce. I didn't plant the entire bed, I left parts unplanted so I can make successive plantings in a couple of weeks. We gave the bed a decent watering and called it good.
We also did just a wee bit of weeding in another part of the garden and planted some Flat Leaf Parsley that my husband picked up. I know its late in the season for that but I think we will get enough from it to make it worth our while. As soon as the sun came out I had to come in though. It was just too hot with the sun out.
This evening I planted up the lily bulblets that had roots on them. I put them in a pot so they can be in a shadier spot until later in the fall. I will plant them in the bed with the larger bulbs when it isn't so hot out. It doesn't seem like these delicate looking bulblets need to be babied at all when it comes to getting started though. I guess looks can be deceiving.
Well, good progress for the day. I hope to pick up some starts of some of the fall crops that I should have started seeds of. I didn't get that done because at the time I wasn't feeling well. Oh well, at least I know I can get them here before too long.
Here is a shot of the bulblets that shows there roots.
Here they are in their new, temp. home, I covered them all with about 1 inch of soil after I nestled them in here.
Jul 9, 2007 | 10:28 AM PST
Tags: weeding , baby trees , Bonsai , mole , sunburn , spaghetti squash , zucchinni , butternut squash , beneficial insects , beneficial nematodes , lacewings , preying mantis , lady bugs , Squash Vine Borers , cucumber , green onion , melon , straw , Brussels Sprouts , fabric row cover
Saturday was a great day. Hubby and I went out in the morning, great temperatures, light breeze and teamwork. Thats a recipe for a nice day. He mowed, I cleaned up and weeded. I took a couple of buckets of the weeds to the "dumping ditch". Its a low spot so anything organic that will decompose and help fill it in goes there. I had to weed carefully because there are baby trees growing amongst the weeds. Some of them are pretty and they will be great for pots and some people want them for Bonsai. All of the rains and the mole racing back and forth makes it easier to weed. Thats the only thing a mole is good for!! I got a sunburn on my back from leaning over and weeding, my shirt kept pulling up. That makes me think of those wooden cut outs I have seen in peoples yards, they look like a view from the back of a lady bent over. LOL At least I was sitting in a chair most of the time. Then we sat in the shade and enjoyed the breezed until I got too hungry to just sit there anymore.
All of the spaghetti squash and zucchini have been pulled out. We only got 3 zucchini and 4 spaghetti squash. Not very much for the amount of plants that we had. With all of the bug problems we had on those plants this year we have been doing some research to find solutions. There are a few things that we can try. The one that I think will help the most is to buy a beneficial insect pkg. It would have things like beneficial nematodes, preying mantis, lacewings and ladybugs. The nematodes will prey on insects that have a larvae stage in the soil. Some of the insects that we are having problems with do pupate in the soil, like the Squash vine borer. If we get a pkg. a little later in the summer and again in the spring I think it will bring the balance back to a better place.
The butternut squash is doing OK inspite of the onslaught of insects. The fruit we are getting isn't huge but they look good and the plants are still putting on more babies. Looking forward to making pies!
In one place that I took out squash I planted some melons. We should have long enough to get some before the fall. I also cleaned out one of the beds that can accomidate the climbers. I replanted some cucumbers with new seed. The last ones didn't do well at all. WE MUST HAVE CUCUMBERS! I also seeded some green onions where there used to be salad.
I spread out a bale of fresh straw under the pepper plants and in some of the aisles, in the areas where I had cleaned out all of the weeds. That should help to keep the roots cool in the coming heat waves. The chickens also got a good chunk of fresh have to scratch and in their nesting areas.
My next project for the garden is making some wooden frames that are about 12inches tall and maybe 3ft.x3ft. I am going to staple fabric row cover to them and seed some cool weather crops for this fall. Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts. Last year I had the cover over them in the hot summer. Part of it wasn't hooked down very well and kept blowing off of the sprouts. The ones that stayed covered grew much better. I took the covers off when the weather cooled down and they did well. We really like Brussels Sprouts and I think if I get more this year we can freeze some. I would like to have this done by the end of the week so everything is ready.
Oh, its raining again and the radar even shows us clear!!!
Jun 14, 2007 | 3:55 PM PST
Tags: grass , weeding , herbicide , pole beans , zucchini , weather
We are going into the hotter part of the summer. It has been over 90 and up to 100 for the last couple of weeks. At this point in my garden most of the work that needs done is just weeding. Over the last few days I have been trying to eradicate, at least to some degree, the grass that is taking over. Even where I put down newspapers and mulch there is this nightmare type of grass that is growing by leaps and bounds. It spreads under and above ground by runners. When I try to pull it I have to be very careful or it will break inbetween the nodes where it has put down roots. I have tried just spraying vinegar on it. The grass just laughs, "I will conquer!", it says. The only solution seems to be the Chair and Pitch Fork method. I loosen the soil and meticulously remove as many root and runner pieces as possible. We have had frequent afternoon showers lately so the soil is cooperative with this method. I will continue to work on this problem, I think that if I make sure that I clean really good this fall also and don't let it get out of hand this winter that will make a big difference for the next summer growing season. Something for everyone to remember....IF YOU HAVE WEED OR GRASS THAT SPREADS BY RUNNERS OR CURRENTLY HAS SEEDS, USING A TILLER IN THAT AREA WILL ONLY MULTIPLY YOUR PROBLEMS LATER. Planing ahead would have saved me at least some of this headache. I could have sprayed with an herbicide that is stronger, right now I wouldn't because of all of the veggies growing. At least now the side affects from my heart medication have leveled off and I have more energy to get out there and tackle this problem.
The green and purple pole beans are doing great. Especially the purple, this morning I harvested a gallon size zip-lock bag full. I also got my first zucchini!
