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~

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Preparedness ~ Weeding and no rain

I drained another jar of 4 thieves vinegar.  It lasts a year in the fridge, so if I have the ingredients I'm making another jar during this hot, hot summer.  It's a blessing to have during winter when sickness runs rampant, and with one still in school, germs are a plenty.

Un-burying the herb has started.  I'm about to mow down the carrots though.

Upon pulling the tall weeds in the end of the herb garden, I noticed my green onions were killed off for the first time in all the years I had them.


I have about 4-5 left, so this was a sad moment.  That end used to be packed with so many green onions, I'd have to pull some bulbs every two years.  The parsley is dry as a bone and the dirt is like concrete there too.

Spent yesterday morning in the potatoes, and more to weed.  They look terrible. It's very iffy at this point if we'll get much of anything.  The potatoes will most likely have a post of their own soon.  What a mess.

We seriously lack rain.  The grass is bone dry, and even the plantain is starting to die off.  However, we are hearing that the rain is returning possibly late tomorrow and all through the weekend.   My goal is to weed out all the potatoes before it arrives, and hope for the best.

Yesterday, I was down right exhausted, so I made a cup of hot tea using part gingko and part nettle, to restore my energy.  It worked too.  I could actually breath better too.

11 comments:

Yarrow said...

I forgot to say on my previous comment, that I use grass cuttings to mulch my vegetables and it's saved me so much time with weeding and it's helping everything to stay moist in this baking heat. My vegetable beds are all new, so after a layer of cardboard and manure the only real invader has been grass. Maybe cover your beds this winter with cardboard to get a head start. You've been doing it all longer than me,so I hope I'm not out of line :D

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Yarrow, we have plans to collect cardboard, and we plan to try and cover most of it or all of it this winter.

Yarrow said...

I hope you find it as helpful as I have. Of course, I had lots of cardboard packing boxes to get rid of, so that helped no end :D

Susan said...

This has been one challenging year. I've never had so much trouble with weeds before - we finally got rain and at least it's easier to pull them. I am glad that this was the year I decided not to put in the full garden! I hope you get enough rain to make a difference.

Debby Flowers said...

HI Kristina - I haven't taken time to read blog posts in a while - am so sorry about your dry weather! That is one thing we have had plenty of. The weeds in my garden are waist high - too with my town job and my soap business to attend to them - makes me pretty sad. Just hang in there girl! Wishing you well

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, no rain as of today, but they say we'll get some this weekend. I'm sure hoping for it. I've never had this bad of a weed problem.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Debby, thanks for stopping in. You should see the thistle in my rose bed - 5-6 feet high, ha ha ha!

mamasmercantile said...

It is raining here as I am typing this so will send some your way.

RB said...

Dry here too. But we got 2-1/2" of rain the other day. What a blessing cause the corn, tobacco and such was literally burning up in the fields. Suppose to get more next week. Praying it's beneficial and not a gully-washer like we usually get here. (We either get nothing or wrath of God stuff in this little town for some reason).
Have been to the VAMC-Durham several times, and they're getting my health straight. Good to have tolerable-to-no pain for the first time in months. Praise and Thank God!!!
Have you ever heard of "opium lettuce"? It grows abundantly in yards. does NOT contain opium and isn't habit forming, but is a natural pain reliever that is said to be quite effective. It can be harvested in July and August. Can be used in salads or with other greens, or can be cooked down to a tincture. It's all online. I found some in my yard, and have been taking a small bite every now and then thru the day. A bit bitter, but not intolerably so. It'll probably take a few days before I know if it's doing anything. Very interesting!!!
Prayers you get the rain you need, in beneficial amounts, not wrath of God stuff.
God bless.
RB
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Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

We need rain badly, thank you mamasmercantile

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

RB, I have never heard of that lettuce. Sounds interesting. They are talking about bad hail and wind now, so I hope we don't get that.