Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

It's On!

The battle of the weeds has begun.  This is just one section, before Hubby got busy with the weed wacker (or also called a trimmer).  The is the reality of not using a weed killer or other chemicals, and it's too big to tarp over winter.   We thought about putting plastic in between the rows, but with the amount of heat it gets, we were concerned with chemicals the plastic would put into the garden. 


One year we put newspaper around all the tomato plants then covered them with a think layer of straw.  That did not work either.  It would dry up after it rained, and the wind would blow it all away.  I took photos so we can determine a plan for this next year.   With good weather, I'd normally be out there almost daily for weed control.



This is after the weed wacker.  The tilling is yet to be done there. But there is more to work to do of course.  Isn't there always, ha ha!


I can only laugh when I see these pictures.  A long crazy, head tilting, bellowing laugh.  What a mess!


Somewhere in that jungle, we have popcorn growing.  It's almost taller than the grass now. Ha ha!  Personally, I think the grass is winning.  



I was successful in clearing the weeds by hand around all the onions.  It took several days, but it's done, yay!  They look great on the west side, but the east side is still wet, even after all these dry days.  They are much smaller on that side of the garden too.


Hubby is lucky this morning.  He was supposed to pick me up coffee last night on his way home.  When he arrived we went straight to the garden.  In the midst of things, we didn't really talk about what he did bring home.  This morning?  No coffee.  Lucky for him, I had a small stash leftover in my camping gear we recently took to the island.  Oh, is he ever lucky.  A morning without my coffee?  Tsk, tsk.  I better add it to my grocery list. 

The rain cometh again today.  It appears we'll get a downpour about mid-day.  It's a good time to plan our 16 year-old's "sweet sixteen" birthday party.  It's a bit later than her birthday, but will happen no less.

12 comments:

Lady Jane said...

That looks like work for a trimmer lawn mower. We have one and it is the best thing since sliced bread. It is a lawn mower but instead of blades has very thick string. It is a wonderful workhorse and even I can use it. Hugs, LJ

Kim said...

Good luck with the weeds. I think god gives us weeds to keep us humble. After this years rain we should be one humble bunch for sure!! I love the coffee mug from West Virginia!

Lisa B said...

Odd I use 4-5 pieces of newspaper with straw on top around every plant. I wet the straw and if I reach under it the ground is damp and cool even when its hot and dry. I use plastic and old carpet between the rows successfully also. I haven't noticed any issue with leaching from plastic but mine is heavy issue used in silage bags. It doesn't disintegrate that I can tell. I've had it for 20 years. I use weed cloth for the first time this year between 2 rows. So far it's working although I have doubled it just in case. I've heard of people using heavy cardboard as well but I haven't needed to try that. Good luck with your jungle. I feel your pain. My husband weedwhacked around the pole beans. Its his choice and I don't go over there.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Lady Jane, it worked out pretty nicely too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Kim, you are right on that, ha ha! I bought that mug when we were driving home from GA, dropping our daughter there. On the way home we had to drive around the mountains, due to a truck catching on fire in the mountain tunnels. It was a very long night, but very funny memories.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Lisa, we are considering the weed cloth for next year too. We also considered cardboard too. It can get pretty windy where we are. I know one thing, we'll eventually learn what works out here.

Mama Pea said...

Heck, considering the overload of rain you've had, I think your garden looks great . . . weed whacked and all! You didn't stand a chance on keeping up with the weeds this year so you should feel no shame there.

I plant both in raised beds, in a field garden, and the "upper garden" (formerly known as the pumpkin patch). I always notice there are a lot fewer weeds in the raised beds but I'm sure that's because I plant them so intensively. I have to keep on them pretty frequently until the seeds planted start to grow, then the plants themselves shade out most all weeds. But there are certain things that aren't suited to the raised beds . . . like bush beans, corn, pickling cukes, shell peas, potatoes, squash, etc. So those have to go in the field garden with wider paths between the rows. But I mulch with grass clippings pretty heavily and that really helps with the weeds. So does having normal rainfall!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Aw, gee, thanks Mama Pea. Last year I planted my pie pumpkins pretty heavily in the popcorn, and had practically no weeds there.

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

We only have our bed boxes...nothing as big as your garden. Be boy! do we have weeds! I have failed miserably at getting the gone and out of there! Like you... I failed at preventive maintenance too!
newspapers and straw just don't do it here, not with the wind and rain.
I don't know what I'd do if I had to give up coffee. I've already given up the sugar in it...;)

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Patricia, Hubby and I are talking about completely moving the garden to another area, using different tools for weed prevention, etc. We had a bad year of rain a few years ago, but I don't recall it being this bad. Coffee is my morning brew, then tea in the afternoon. I love them both.

Sam I Am...... said...

I used to use newspaper and then grass trimmings as I bagged mine. It worked good as the grass was heavy enough and wet enough that it clumped and held the paper down. Of course, you had to replace it but we had a good supply of grass trimmings so it wasn't a problem! LOL!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Sam I am, with goats gone now, we'll have lots of grass trimmings now.