Forever waves of grass
Terra Nova Gardens has been over run with waving grass. I have found the solution but it will take awhile to accomplish. The neighbor that planted the potatoes and watermelon has a lawn business and volunteered to mow down the prairie grass as I call it.Carpet on the Garden
My solution for weed control is carpet on the garden. I have the only carpeted garden in the city. It's just like a thick weed barrier and the apartments are glad to be rid of it when they tear it out. About three weeks will kill every thing under the carpet. After three weeks then I move it to another spot and start over. The left side with carpet strips have sweet corn growing between the strips. I have moved some of the strips to the bare patch you can see in the back and planted it to sweet corn as well. Slowly, I will work my way out to the road.
A peek under the carpet
You can see the carpet has indeed killed every thing and the ground is ready to plant. The carpet strips were moved to the right and three more rows of corn were planted. The grass was mashed down and the large pieces of carpet were moved to cover those areas. The carpet can not remain on the ground permanently because it will attract bugs and snakes both of which I don't really like. I know snakes are good bug eaters for the garden but they are just too sneaky for me. Any thing that creeps around and scares the bejebers out of me has to go. Once the area has been cleansed of weeds and the corn gets up about six inches the next section will be covered. As corn grows and shades the ground the weeds will not be a problem so the carpet will be rolled up and stored for next year.
The pumpkins are taking over
The pumpkins are the star of the garden right now. They are growing by leaps and bounds. I've only splashed water on them a couple times and that's it. The hay mulch from my cousin is really working great to keep the weeds under control in this area. Hopefully next year I will have the entire garden covered in mulch. It's amazing how three weeks in a garden will change the whole look of it.
Potatoes in tires
The potatoes in the tires are really looking swell. My neighbor wants to expand the potato patch next year and add more potatoes. I really love the way this garden is coming together with a little help from my friends and neighbors.
The picnic table that the neighbor next door has donated is nearing rebuild completion. A couple more bolts and a check to make sure all bolts are tight and it will ready to be placed in a convenient spot at Terra Nova Gardens. Terra Nova Gardens has become the topic of conversation when they see me. It's really great to have a positive thing going on in such a negative world.
The tomatoes are really starting to grow and have lots of blooms. The bell peppers just seem to be getting started. They are not as peppy as they should be. My friends cabbage, eggplant, and tomalitos are twice the size of when he planted them a couple weeks ago. He has been working on the bottom of the fence make it critter tight. I really like how he's doing it. He became acquainted with the dreaded nettle weed and had to quit working on it for awhile. I really believe that the young and tender nettle weeds produce a stronger and longer burn. I can remember getting into the nettles as a kid and they would burn for a time but it would be over in a couple minutes. Not so for these wild nettles. A slight brush up against one of these nettles and fingers are still numb a couple hours later. I've heard tea can be made from dried nettle leaves but I haven't been brave enough to try that.
I planted the zucchini today in hopes to thruart the dreaded vine borer. I read that planting very late in the season will circumvent the egg laying cycle of the vine borer. So we will see what happens. It could be an explosion of zucchini fruits.
When life has got you down and it seems that the whole world is crashing around you, spend some time in the garden. My world crashed this week with two major car repairs and now the kitchen sink is plugged up. So I ran off and spent the day in the garden and I'm better now. ..... But the sink is still plugged. Oh well mañana (tomorrow).
Have a great day in the garden.
