GardenArtist Posted September 2015
Gardening as therapy.
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Oh, I guess you're thinking of rodent traps for the squirrels? Duh....
Do you have a big scary dog that could chase them away?
edit (maybe I should change my avatar to a DEAD squirrel)
Cut down darn volunteer tree growing at the corner of the garage - no idea what kind of tree it is, but the leaves are kind of spiky at the edges. It's not a boxelder, which seems to be what all the other volunteer trees are. I cut all the small limbs off and will have to take a saw to the trunk and treat it to kill it. There's another one at the other end of the garage, but that one is serving a purpose right now - it's providing shade from the hot sun for a nest of robins who decided the ladder hanging on the back of the shed was a good place for a nest. So that tree gets a reprieve - for now.
I've been going outside whenever the dog does, and doing a little work here and there. Finished cutting the rest of the volunteer boxelders out of the immense lilac (at least 50 years old - the lilac, not the boxelders). Boiling up more water to treat the other end of the flowerbed, so that will be an ongoing effort tonight too.
Came back inside feeling productive and happy with what I've gotten done so far. It's SO easy for me to get my face in the computer and stay there all day - next thing I know, it's 10pm and I've done nothing but work on the computer all day. I like being able to take a break and go outside - feels so good! :-)
It took me some time to realize my chiropractor's advice, when he says ICE!
Now that I have three ice packs, (the soft kind), I use ice more often and have less pain overall.
I like Tiger Balm and Biofreeze - I've used both. I'm careful with heating pads, though - Mom fell asleep with one on her back once when she was in her 40s and burned herself badly - she had scars on her back for the rest of her life from it.
I have my energetic moments - and then there are those weeks where it feels like nothing gets done. LOL Trimmed back the 2nd rosebush today - it should have been done while it was still dormant in the early spring, but I didn't get to it and it's all leggy and spread out all over - so I knocked it back a bit. I'm sure it will be fine - it's been there for at least 40 years. Got one end of the flowerbed ALMOST completely ready to plant. Then I have to tackle the other end. The hot water seems to have done a pretty good job, though there are still some pretty tough weeds that don't want to die. I had already pulled as much of the weeds as possible before I doused the ground with boiling water. I also doused part of the driveway where the grass/weeds were trying to take over - those are dead as of today. Pretty effective stuff.
My herbal heating pad is contained in a fuzzy sort of material, like soft felted wool, and I double wrap it in a towel to provide adequate insulation for my back.
The balms have a similar purpose to Biofreeze or BenGay, but they're natural and don't have preservatives or chemicals. Gradually over the years I've tried to substitute natural remedies for the ones with chemicals. There are already too many toxins in circulation.
Tiger Balm, never tried it. I am assuming it is like Biofreeze, which I love. BenGay type of product? Be very careful of ointments like this and combining with a heating pad. I haven't done that since my early 20's, caused huge blisters the size of halo oranges on my back. And I think there is a warning on the packaging to not combine with additional heat.
Now there is an argument for genetic modification. Chanel No. 5? Attar of roses? Chocolate coconut? They could have a whole new future as all-natural house pets-stroke-air fresheners...
At least he didn't spray
It's too hot to close the windows
BTW, since you're so energetic, would you like to come to Michigan and help me? I can send you home with masses of day lilies. I might be able to find some seed pods from my white trilliums as well.
Seriously, I have a backache just from reading about your activities. I hope you rest tomorrow. And, good job done!
One ice pack for your back Susan.
6 trips to the flowerbed with boiling water to kill the weeds (and that's only one end of the bed)
1 trip to the store to buy new pruning clippers - can't find mine! Dad probably had 10 of them in the garage, but where...?
1 burn to the hand from the boiling water - not serious
1 nearly dead rosebush trimmed and *almost* cut down to the point where it needs to be
2 large piles of brush/branches removed from the huge lilac of Mom's - there's a couple of volunteer boxelder trees growing up thru the middle of it where I can't get to them, and the trunks on them are large enough to need to be sawed through - so every year, I just cut them back again.
1 hose holder put back in place - one of Dad's homemade contraptions made of 2 pieces of angle iron with a curved piece of metal attached to hold the hose. I got up on a stepladder while DD held it in place and I hammered it into the ground with sledgehammer. She's a brave girl. ;-)
1 tired, but happy person. I feel like I accomplished something, even if I'm not done yet.
I need to get some edging to keep the soil in the bed - it's right level with the sidewalk. Then I can put some newspaper down and another layer of fresh soil on top of it.
I don't know about hot water, especially if there are worms in that area. they might just dig deeper, and the hot water might only remain on the surface before it's cooled from the soil. I wouldn't want the worms to get a hot bath though.
Daughter, there used to be issues with the ink in newsprint, but I believe that many publishers segued into use of soy ink. I'm not up to date on this though.
CW, I read up on black locusts moving to other areas, and they'll probably continue with the Northern States experiencing climate change. These thing are monsters. The thorns are sharp. It's hard to dig them out w/o wearing heavy gloves and arm protection.
I might use morning glories, though, and they can easily kill the plants. In fact, I think I'll try that as the black locust trees just keep multiplying.
In my experience the hot water and/or vinegar is only going to work on annual weeds, which are generally pretty easy to root out anyway, especially in a new or refurbished bed. Nasty perennial weeds like bindweed, sow thistle and creeping grasses will re emerge from the tiniest surviving root as strong as ever. I agree with Daughterof1930, covering the bed with cardboard, paper or even plastic for two or more years will usually stop most aggressive perennial weeds and will also stop annual seeds from sprouting, and as a bonus you can save on water. (But beware of organic mulches if you are troubled by snails and slugs)
And you reminded me of my mother on the rose, she never could throw out any plant when there was the faintest sign of life! And I saw her bring back many that anyone would have called dead. Good luck with that little green you’re seeing and happy planting!
I had thought about solarizing, but I want to get this done relatively quickly as I kind of jumped the gun a bit and bought some plants to put in before I had the bed ready. (I know, I know...but the urge struck and I wanted to have them ready to put in the ground right away once I got it cleared.)
I did a bit of research and found a couple schools of thought:
1) the vinegar will hang around in the soil too long for plants to survive
2) the vinegar will disperse quickly, especially if hit with rain or other water after it's had time to kill the weeds (48 hrs or so) and replanting can then occur.
Honestly, I think the vinegar will disperse pretty quickly, especially if I give it a couple of days to kill the weeds and then give the bed a good soaking with water. I've used vinegar to kill weeds in the cracks of the sidewalk, growing in the dirt of the driveway etc - and it's *definitely* not a permanent solution - the weeds come back full force later on. So I don't see how it would permanently alter the soil in the bed as long as I flush it well. I also bought 80 lbs. of potting soil to re-fill the bed, since its getting dug up a bit in the process.
So then I looked at other methods - one mentioned was boiling water. I guess that might work and should kill the weeds relatively quickly. So I guess if I decide not to go with the vinegar, the hot water is a solution too.
After I started pulling the weeds, I see ONE green stem on Mom's rosebush that seems to have survived. Everything else on it is dead. Considering transplanting it to save it from the vinegar/hot water dousing.
I've never "vinegarized" a bed, or anything more than just a small area. I think water would dilute the vinegar rather than spreading it.
I wouldn't use chemicals either; they're just too toxic, for anything living.
Something I've done is use morning glories to kill stumps as well as trees. They'll also dispatch moonflowers and sweet peas. You might plan some, let them grow as a ground cover, and when you're not getting any more weeds, add the flowers you want, either retraining the MGs to grow up sticks or stakes, or removing them so they don't choke out the new flowers.
Do you plan to use seeds or plants?
There's another option if you don't mind some unsightly additions, and that's to solarize the area by putting down plastic or cardboard, weighing the edges down with rock or something so that the heat builds up under the plastic and kills whatever's growing.
Cardboard will eventually "dissolve" and integrate with the soil. But don't use any cardboard with ink as I don't know how anyone could determine if the inks are safe for the soil.
I think one of the issues is how large is the bed? Have you ever used a scuffle hoe? If your soil isn't hard, the scuffle hoe removes weeds very easily. But it the soil is hard, it's a bigger challenge. I get the impression that you're weeding by hand?
Glad, I'm glad your locust trees are thornless. The thorned ones are really hard to remove - they're aggressive, they easily tear skin and they grow like weeds.
The black locust actually has lovely leaves - they remind me of large coins. But they're miserable pests. If I remember correctly, I read some years ago that they're an invasive species in Michigan.
Got one end pretty cleared out so far. Question - if I dump vinegar into the bed to kill the roots of the weeds, how long should I wait before re-planting with flowers (so they don't die)? Will that work to kill the weeds and eventually disperse into the soil so I can re-plant? Can I hasten that dispersal along by soaking the bed with a hose? I *hate* using chemicals in the flowerbed or yard and avoid it when I can. There are no plants in the bed that I want to save at this point - I just want to rip everything out and start fresh. The one thing I wanted to save (Mom's 50-year-old pink rosebush) died this year - no leaves, no buds, nothing. :-( At least I still have her red climbing rose.
Thoughts?
Also learned that pods are produced from locusts trees. The pod on the honey locusts are quite edible, wildlife attractors. However the pod on the black locusts is poisonous.
Thinking about them, my mind is stuck on a flower with begins with "L". I tried Lupine, Liatris, but they're just not the same plant as the one in the garden.
In the last few years I've discovered some wild phlox, as well as a wild Ladybell; it took me quite a while to find the exact match to what's growing in the yard.
Checked the clerodendrums - they're beautiful! I think I might get some. My gardening vocabulary has diminished so much and been replaced by dysphagia nomenclature. Maybe I can find some flowers or trees named Dyspha or Gia, or Puree, or Mush....
Okay, I think I found it - Tree of Heaven. I've also got an obnoxious tree with vicious thorns (might be a Black Locust???), thanks to the lazy neighbor who won't cut this monster down but objects to the grape vines on the fence.
As to Dame's Rocket, isn't it sad that some natural beauties are considered weeds? I can understand the thistles, which REALLY are noxious and obnoxious and aggressive, but flowers... how can a flower so lovely as Dame's Rocket be considered noxious?
I think this is a reflection of the need to control the environment, and perhaps the emphasis on grass vs. naturals, herbs, ground covers or flowers.
Perhaps my mental block warrants a trip upstairs to my gardening library and notebooks so I can hopefully refresh my memory, as I'm positive that I planted those purple flowers a few decades ago.
Peanut butter tree. clerodenDRUM?