Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Didn't Quite Make It





I tried. I really did. I got started early and I made good progress all morning long. My Son came out and was repainting my Dad's little utility trailer so I stopped to get him all set up and working then right after lunch he ran out of paint. I called my Dad to see if he remembered what shade he had gotten mixed or if he wanted me to try and get one mixed myself and he claimed he wanted to come out and take a look and see what he wanted to do.

To make a long story short Dad declared the paint job more than satisfactory and then hung out for about an hour looking at all my various projects and such. By this time the Sun was really beating down and the temps had climbed into the 90's and when he finally left I just never could get back into weeding. I was spending more time sucking down fluids in the shade and moving at about the speed of a 1940's era movie monster. You know like about 100 foot an hour kinda speed. Yet somehow they always caught the girl didn't they?

Finally I got myself going again and was on the last row of Tomatoes almost at the end and ready to start on the last trellis section when I ran into a Morning Glory/Bindweed infestation. While it is too late to do more than just pull this menace to gardening now this year since the Tomatoes are now well established, weeding Morning Glory is very time consuming compared to other weeds. Several of the long vines had worked their way up into the Tomatoes and required extra care to clean out as well. This section of the garden is going to require daily weeding now for the rest of the season even after I get it mulched over.

Man I really hate that stuff.

I am going to have to look for a second garden site soon and more than likely try and buy myself a pig or two to let loose in my current garden site to eliminate this Morning Glory infestation.  Otherwise it will just continue to spread until the entire area is basically useless.I been fighting it for the last few years and it has been slowly expanding to where now it is taking up about 20% of the total garden area. However I do know keeping pigs on an area for a year or so will kill that stuff off eventually so I am thinking a second garden area and then a rotation of sorts might just dot he trick.

So getting the garden weeding and mulching completed was within my grasp today but I failed. I only got about 75% of my goal done. Hopefully I can finish up what I need to tomorrow and then get the honey frames spun out when it gets good and hot out. Either way I am still not caught up yet but much closer than I was yesterday.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!




14 comments:

  1. Leigh at "Five Acres and a Dream" got a pig. It's really interesting, looks like a pot bellied pig and is not a big animal. Something like that might eat the weeds and be fun too. I tried getting rid of grass in my meadow with goats and that didn't work out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Harry - Finding pigs that actually have a breed around here is impossible it seems. Plenty of just pork pigs though. I know a few people who buy a ruptured young hog or two and feed em for a year or so then take em to slaughter. A Pig will clear out an area and root down in the ground for Morning Glory and other root weeds. Grazers will keep the area eaten down to bare dirt but I have seen Morning Glory come back within days of removing the sheep from an area.

      I would like to find a smaller breed pig or two for the job but I have never seen one advertised anywhere near me.

      Delete
  2. I hate getting interrupted in a task that's rolling along nicely, especially when time is limited. But you've got plenty of things to keep you busy, it seems.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RP - I don't think it was the interruption as much as the Sun finally just baking me into laziness. If I don't get the weeding finished tomorrow morning I will have to switch to harvesting honey regardless. I can't leave the frames in that box for too long.

      Delete
  3. Shoot PP you are at 75% I'm at about 20%. You are rockin' it guy!!! I have days like that too. Somehow even with the best of intentions life will grab you up and set you down where it wants.
    I really tried today too. I weeded for about 4 hours, took a break and put in two more. Dang sun really did a job on my shoulders. I was sucking down tea like I am the size of Godzilla all day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SciFi - I would say I am at about 90% finished overall but I didn't make my goal for the day. You're right that Sun and heat just naked me into submission and I know I drank at least two gallons of assorted fluids this afternoon.

      Delete
  4. I have been wanting morning glories because they are pretty. Now, I have changed my mind!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PP - Morning Glory is just the ultimate evil in plants. I can easily see a future when everyone depends on their gardens for food a lynch mob forming against any neighbor who grows the stuff. Really I can see it happening I know if I had a neighbor right now who grew it I would lynch them :)

      Delete
  5. We have lots of heritage breed pigs on craigslist around here. I wouldn't recommend a pot belly breed as they are useless for food unless you want lard.
    I planted wheat in a problem area and I haven't seen any growing in the patch while they are coming up right next to the area. Of course the seeds may grow once I cut the wheat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sf - I don't know. I can keep the stuff from growing in an area by covering with 1/2 inch thick metal :) trouble is it just sends it's roots out around the barrier.

      Delete
  6. I get it! I'm dumb for intentionally planting the evil weed :/ I'm sure you and SBF are right and ya'll will be saying I told you so next year. I've already had to unwind some of it from my cucumbers, that took a lot of time :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kelly - Well as I said above I can see you getting lynched by neighbors someday over it :)

      If you had to pull some out of your cucs then you are already paying the price and soon you will be making posts complaining about the stuff too :)

      Delete
  7. Izzy - I have been told that yes a couple of pigs kept in a small area can pretty much get rid of the weed for years. Basically they root up all of the plant for the most part and then keep the shoots eaten down that eventually the deep root dies from lack of sunlight.

    Even if it work though it is a bit depressing. I have spent years amending that soil and countless wheel barrow loads of barn mulch dumped on it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. PP,

    Catch you some wild pigs, they will help take care of your invasion.

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment. We like comments. Sometimes we have even been known to feed Trolls.