April 27, 2019
The small three foot area that I hand weeded because of burmuda grass being present needed reweeding. There were twenty or so grass sprouts emerging attached to eight inch runners. It's hard to believe I could miss so many. Digging them up revealed many more grass sprouts working their way to the surface so I have no doubt I'll be weeding that section again. The larger area that I sprayed with Round Up twice, ten days apart, looks dead and finished..
Sometimes it takes a toxin to combat a noxious. I have some burmuda grass in a corner of my corn patch that I can't hand dig without digging up corn plants, so I'm pinching the sprouts off every few days and think I can kill the plants by restricting their sunlight exposure. Putting some Round Up in a letter moistener and applying it directly to the grass sprouts is another alternative. Painting it on with a brush might be easier..
April 28, 2019
I'm still learning how to use my electric weed eater, and am finding that it is now so effective that I get more time to do fun garden things. If I tap the ground over the weed I've cut down it usually doesn't grow back. I've cut it below the crown and won't have to cut it off again next week. I'm making permanent progress instead of "mowing the lawn every week". I'm having more fun in the garden this year and it looks well maintained which, it turns out, is important to my sense of well being. I don't have a Creeping Jenny problem any more either..
After I cut it back from a pathway that it's encroaching upon, I tap the ground all along it's advancing edge and let the sunlight burn the stubble. It takes forever for it to grow back. Where it's breaching the burms I wave my magic wand across it and take it back to it's humble beginnings. I can sculpt it and it's now a garden asset. Never thought I'd say that..
April 29, 2019
The frost last night was a not so friendly reminder that our trying to get an early start on summer crops can lead to disaster. Luckily the weather service is very good at predicting freezes and warned us ahead of time. I've been covering everything every night to keep the heat in the ground so I didn't need to do anything special, but there have been times when I've used every garbage can, bucket, cardboard box, and horse blanket to cover everything. If you wake up to a frosty morning in spring, and have frost sensitive plants in the ground, putting a sprinkler on them can mitigate the damage if you catch the freezing process in time..
I have an occilating box fan that I can use also, so combined with an occilating sprinkler, I can cover my 6000 square foot garden. The ground should be warm by mid May so I'll stop covering them when the leaves start touching the sides..
