Comments on: I know I planted my garden around here somewhere

By: Robyn Dochterman

Robyn Dochterman — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:26:58 +0000

So apparently, once I unloaded my weeding issues on y’all, I felt good enough to go out last night and weed all the raised beds of garlic and raspberries. Maybe I’ll work my way up to the actual vegetable garden after all.

By: Marthatoo

Marthatoo — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:16:30 +0000

Hey, those thoughts were in my head but you managed to make them into words! Perfect! That’s how I feel, too, and now that I know there are others I feel so much better. Not quite like a gardening novice, but like other people aren’t all that great at it either. But, now that I have a CSA (great idea, I thought) I am stuck with hundreds of vegetables which I think of as hundreds of little responsibilities. Sigh!

By: anne

anne — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:05:21 +0000

How about weeding early in the year and try using Preen - love it!!

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:37:16 +0000

Yep, I weed my lawn. Usually about once a year via darcie’s method–dig out the weeds at their roots and think good thoughts about following that up with a little grass seed.

I did decide this year to let me creeping charlie be. I know it can take over, but the green leaves and purple flowers are much prettier than the plain old dirt tearing it out would leave behind.

By: christa

christa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:53:10 +0000

One weed at a time. I pick a spot to start and just focus on one weed at a time and before I know it, things start to look better! Otherwise, it is just too overwhelming. And I agree….a beverage makes the job easier!

By: DebW

DebW — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:01:21 +0000

Weeding depends on how hungry for whatever was in there I am. I usually can at least find where the stuff is so I can clear at least the immediate area around the good stuff. I have learned from past experience that some mulch is never enough if the hot weather comes or heaven forbid, I leave the garden to its own devices and go somewhere for a couple of days. I can usually get back to casual weeding (with the beverage)if I almost bury the stuff in shredded news before I go. This however requires action beforehand. If the weeds have the upper hand already then small forays to treasure hunt are required as often and as long as you can stand it.

By: Connie Nelson

Connie Nelson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:12:21 +0000

I LIKE to weed. Heck, I like to clean the bathroom. But that doesn’t mean I do it.
This year, my garden is full of wood sorrel, crabgrass and, my favorite, Creeping Charlie. Think I’m goint to follow Terry’s lead and just let ‘em go . . .

By: bsimon

bsimon — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:03:19 +0000

“Come to think of it though, I could still just skip the weeding part and go directly to the beverages.”

Or combine the two. A former girlfriend’s grandfather used to make dandelion wine that was allegedly quite drinkable.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:50:55 +0000

I never weed. The garden still looks beautiful, the tomatoes grow nicely, and I am happy.

By: CarolJoy

CarolJoy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:09:22 +0000

I don’t weed anymore. Lost control last year. Even more shame, I haven’t even pulled out some of last years dead stuff. I did see a bird on one of the old flowers and it looking like it was eating part of it, seeds maybe? So, hey, I’m feeding the birds. And thanks to the birds, I don’t wash my windows anymore. When they are clean, the birds fly into them and die. When they are dirty, no reflection, no bird deaths. Save a bird, don’t clean your windows!

By: Robyn Dochterman

Robyn Dochterman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:14:52 +0000

Glad you’re getting a chuckle out of the weed stories. I’ve been out mowing the lawn, thinking “oh, that needs to be weeded” and “oh, I’m running out of time to get that under control” but I know I’m just talking the talk. I won’t walk the walk.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:09:03 +0000

oh…I must confess I do a few 12oz curls while doing it too…

By: ExMarthaimposter

ExMarthaimposter — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:09:01 +0000

OMG, okay, I’m laughing out loud. These comments are hysterical - Robyn, OMG, your story was the best…um, been there done that (but never admitted it). LOL I always say, hey, my yard looks great - weeds are green. I’m also loving the idea of making the lawn bigger, not the garden beds - note to self, get right on it.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:08:09 +0000

I’m not a big fan of weeding either… I have nice size garden and what works for me is after tilling, planting and watering for a couple weeks(and waiting for the spring trees to get done seeding)I lay out newspaper like a jig saw puzzle around my plants and cover it with compost.. I’m in the process of figuring out what plants play well with each other so each year it should be less and less newspaper and more mulch/compost… I’ve found this helps keep out the weeds without chemicals…

By: darcie

darcie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:56:14 +0000

@Erin - we have to weed our lawn too - Each year we think we’re going to follow behind each other and drop grass seeds into the hole that was left by us digging out the weed at the root - only, we never do. I try and convince myself that it’s the poor man’s version of aerating!!
As for weeding what little bit of flower beds I have…I just do a little at a time - grab what I can when I can - it sure seems to make a difference ~ but I have, embarrassingly enough - tended to weeds all summer long not KNOWING they were weeds - some of them are a little bit pretty - you have to admit!

By: songgrrl

songgrrl — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:01:57 +0000

Last night I actually managed to get my four-year-old interested in weeding. He was trying to find a weed that had a bigger root than the one I pulled out! LOL! Now, if I could just get him to want to weed every day…

By: Vicki

Vicki — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:01:50 +0000

I decided to lower expectations. I no longer have a flower garden, I have a meadow!

By: Robyn Dochterman

Robyn Dochterman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:49:45 +0000

Erin, you weed your lawn? How do you do that?

By: Suburbs

Suburbs — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:49:12 +0000

My problem is my neighbor. He cuts his grass 4 times a year, has a very large pile of leaves covering his entire back yard, and has a dandelion and creeping charlie factory for a front lawn. I could weed my garden and my lawn, but within 2 weeks I’d have a bumper crop again. I just try to keep them from growing too high.

By: Erin

Erin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:46:10 +0000

I enjoy weeding the areas that don’t really need any weeding. My vegetable garden is well-mulched and has hardly any weeds, but I like to get out there and pamper it. Same with my borders/flower beds. The lawn, though, is not fun to weed–it always looks worse after I’m finished! Not very gratifying.