Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Today In the Garden

The garden is coming along nicely. There were a few scary days when the temperatures at night dipped into the upper thirties. I covered the beds a couple of nights to be safe. Everything came up except a couple of cantaloupes. Most of the plants are still very small, but have really started growing well this week. We had a freeze last Saturday night and my daughter covered the boxes for me. I was a little worried about the tomatoes, but all the plants survived. We have had rain and very warm weather this week and the garden is loving it. And......so is the grass and weeds. There is barely two feet in between the boxes and the fence. There is no room to get a mower in there to take care of it. But, I had plans to cover it with newspaper and cypress wood chips anyway. I started working on that project yesterday. After assessing the grass, I decided it was too much and too thick just to lay newspaper down and hope that it would kill it.


So, I got busy and started pulling the grass and weeds up by hand. Well hello, that was an undertaking. What was I thinking?


Between yesterday and today, I pulled up three wheelbarrows full and have just a little tiny bit left to do closer to the gate.


After the last wheelbarrow full of grass and weeds were hauled off, I began laying down the newspaper. God Bless my mama for saving newspaper for me. It took weeks to get enough because I lay it down thick....maybe 8-10 sheets thick. Next, I watered it down well. 


I only laid down half of the newspaper because I do still have that little tiny bit of grass near the gate to pull up. I'll do that tomorrow. Once the newspaper was down and wet, I started spreading the cypress wood chips. The combination of these two...newspaper and wood chips should kill the remaining grass and weeds underneath and give me a nice clear path around the garden beds. 


 And this is how it looked at 6:30 this evening, when I finished my day.


 Oh wait, this morning when I looked up from my coffee cup, I saw this.....
 

Today was the first time that I have seen Goldfinch in the yard. At one point, there must have been twenty out there. I just couldn't capture them all at once, with my camera. 

Well, I am off to relax. I've worked hard the last two days. Be sure to come back next week. I'll have even more done in the garden. 

Lovin' it,
Laurie

21 comments:

  1. Wow...your garden plants are huge! Amazing! We're still waking up to snow or frost on the ground. Our gardens will go in mid May. You'll be eating veggies by then! haha....

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    1. I know. I hope we'll be eating lettuce by then with the cabbage to follow at the end of May. Do you plant a vegetable garden?

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  2. "If you build it, they will come!" I LOVE those little goldfinches! Nice work in the garden, Laurie - it's beautiful, even half done.

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    1. Thanks, Tanya! I was so excited to see those little Goldfinches. The garden is a lotta work, but I love it and it is looking pretty good, if I say so myself.

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  3. Your garden looks clean and you have planted many plants. The golden finches looks very beautiful. The color of them attracts me lot...

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    1. Thank you so much and thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Your garden has surely improved a lot since your last post about it. The plants look well grown! I didn't know the trick of the newspaper and chips. A lot of work, but worth it!

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    1. Thanks, Sara! Yep, there's been lots going on in the garden. I can't wait to eat some of those fresh vegetables. The newspaper, if put down thick, will keep the weeds out. Eventually, it and the wood chips break down and enrich the soil. For now, it's making a clean garden path.

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  5. Replies
    1. Oh me, too, Monique! Everyone has their thing...the place where they feel excited and rejuvenated. My garden is that for me. I haven't been able to have one for the past few years, so I'm especially excited about it this year.

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  6. Your garden is looking GREAT, Laurie! I haven't even broken the ground yet for mine! But I'm so ready for it. From experience, let me suggest you buy some weed killer (Roundup, or similar) to keep those walkways clear of weeds! They WILL come back, believe it or not.

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    1. Thanks, Don! Well you have been a little busy getting ready for the wedding, so I'm not surprised you haven't started your garden yet. Weddings are a lot of work. My neighbor came over yesterday and suggested weed killer, too. I was just a little afraid of it getting too close to my vegetables. Thanks for your advice....I honestly appreciate it. And, if I do need to do something more drastic, I'll consider weed killer.

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  7. I was just thinking about your raised bed garden yesterday and wondering when we'd get another look at it.

    You did a FANTASTIC job de-weeding and de-grassing the area! What a huge job. But it will be worth it in the long run.

    If the newspaper and wood chips don't work as well as you'd like them to, this recipe was just recently posted on a blog as an environmentally safe weed killer:

    Mix 1 gallon vinegar, 2 cups Epson Salts, 1/4 cup Dawn (original blue) dish soap. It will kill any weeds you spray it on. Spray in the morning after dew has evaporated. Go back after dinner and the weeds will be gone. We haven't tried it yet, but plan to.

    Your garden and plants look WONDERFUL!

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    1. Thank you, Mama Pea! I'm kinda proud of my little garden. And thank you for the weed killer recipe!! I would rather use something environmentally safe and something safer around my food. Let me know how it works for you.

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  8. Well...I am impressed! What a lot of work you have done!
    Your garden looks fantastic....very envious of that!
    This week has certainly been sunnier...I see a lot of things popping up!
    Cottage weekend!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    1. Gosh, it was a lot of work. I've been at it all week and now I'm exhausted. But, it was well worth it. I like neat and tidy and it's well on it's way. Yay for a cottage weekend!

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  9. IYour garden looks new and all neat and tidy! My that is a lot of work pulling up that grass. I didn't see where you are from but you must be in a warmer zone than us. We are in zone 5 in NW Indiana. I have a blog too but not much gardening to show yet although working hard out there! Nancy

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    1. Hi Nancy! Thanks for stopping by. We live in South Carolina. Zone 8a. Yes, lots of hard work going on in the garden, but so worth it. Don't you agree? Please stop by again soon.

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  10. IYour garden looks new and all neat and tidy! My that is a lot of work pulling up that grass. I didn't see where you are from but you must be in a warmer zone than us. We are in zone 5 in NW Indiana. I have a blog too but not much gardening to show yet although working hard out there! Nancy

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  11. That was quite an undertaking! I found this very interesting as I'd like to replace a patch of grass with gravel... I really don't like the idea of harsh chemicals... Have a beautiful day!

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    1. Thanks, Jandi. I don't like the idea of chemicals, either. That's the main reason I pulled up the grass and weeds by hand. In Mama Pea's comment above, she gives a recipe for a weed killer that we are going to try that's environmentally safe. I'll try to make a post, after trying it. Hopefully, you'll check back for that. Have a great day!

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