OK...so here is our hidden shame, laid bare for the world to see, ha. The garden area, which is fenced in of course, has been neglected this season. First it was the never ending rains of April/May/June. Then the heat kicked in and it was upper 90's or higher for most of June/July/August.
Do you ever have those moments in life when you walk past a mirror in your house and just can't bring yourself to look at your own reflection? Maybe you feel you need a hair cut? Or maybe you feel the need to lose a few pounds? Or you don't like what you are wearing? Better to just not see it and then it's not that bad, right? So I've done that, just not looked in the garden. Even as I mowed, I mowed around it and looked the other direction. Of course, letting it go just adds exponentially to much more work later on.
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| Raised bed covered in grass and weeds |
Well, this is what has happened. See the picture above? Yep, there is a 4x4 raised bed in there...I had to draw on the black lines so you could have an idea where it is. I guess you could call this a "cover crop"...but not the GOOD kind, ha! This is one of our raised beds. It reminds us of the TV program "Life After People" that was on a few years back showing how nature takes over so quickly when mankind is not involved.
Well we weren't involved, that's for sure.
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| Raised bed kind of cleaned out |
BUT...it cleans up after a bit lot of work. The weeds and grass just pulled right up. Still had a bit to go on this one. In addition to the beds themselves, I also had to start on the ground around them. That's going to take a bit longer.
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| Mulch covered in weeds |
Here is a section of the mulch. Wait, what? Mulch? Where? Oh it's there...all it took was a bit lot of pulling and...
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| Mulch after weeds pulled |
...THERE IT IS!
The good thing is that the weeds are only growing in the narrow space between the top of the weed block fabric that we put down first and the mulch that was put on top of that. This makes the roots grow laterally in that narrow space and so when I grabbed the base of clumps of grass or weeds, they pulled out in about 2 seconds (while making this oddly satisfying "velcro like" sound).
The good thing is that the weeds are only growing in the narrow space between the top of the weed block fabric that we put down first and the mulch that was put on top of that. This makes the roots grow laterally in that narrow space and so when I grabbed the base of clumps of grass or weeds, they pulled out in about 2 seconds (while making this oddly satisfying "velcro like" sound).
So it's coming back, slowly of course, but coming back. The plan is to go out next weekend and spend both days working in the garden only. I hope to get all the weeds and grass pulled up, making things look more tolerable (so we won't have to avoid looking at it when we walk by, LOL). Then I'll just cover the beds with plastic for the winter and I can scratch that off the list...for now!
Anyone else ever let things get wildly out of control?
Anyone else ever let things get wildly out of control?
Ah, you can console yourself 1st Man - it was bound to happen. Weed control is a (highly) irritating permanent garden chore...
ReplyDeleteGetting your hands into the soil to weed the beds is 50% of the satisfaction of harvesting veggies from those beds ;)
Thank you for the words of wisdom! Yep, irritating is a great word for it, ha. But yes, once you get into the soil it's so rewarding.
Deletemy closets, my garden, my house, my children, me.
ReplyDeletethat made us laugh out loud, ha.
DeleteBetter luck next year.
ReplyDeleteYep, working now so that next year (weather permitting) is a good one.
DeleteControl? What is this thing of which you speak?
ReplyDeleteHA!!!! too funny! Yes, I hear ya!!
DeleteOh, we all have setbacks. It will be beautiful again soon.
ReplyDeleteI like the positive words. I'll remember that this weekend as I get down and dirty in the garden.
DeleteWatch your backs! After two days of bending you might find it a bit difficult to walk erect!! I would chuck those weeds back onto your beds along with some straw and maybe some manure, before covering with plastic. They should all slowly break down, adding nutrients to the soil below.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Too funny, I hear ya. I'll be kind on my body, if I can, ha. I was wondering how much I could put down into the beds. I think some of the grasses I can't, but I'll see. We have a burn pile so I might use that too.
DeleteYou may want to do a soil test in the Spring also.
DeleteThank you for that suggestion Tomato Thymes, will definitely do that!!
DeleteOh my gosh, yes, welcome to reality! It was a nasty, humid summer in Arkansas; I can imagine what it must have been like in Houston! I can deal with heat, but the humidity just destroys me. Almost all of my flower beds are hidden under shoulder-high weeds!
ReplyDeleteIt is not worth killing ourselves over, that much I know!
Hi there!! Yes, the humidity is so oppressive isn't it? I think people who often have just the heat, don't understand how absolutely unbearable it is with the humidity. On the plus side, we all have fabulous skin, right? HA!!! Thanks for the support, makes sense to me!!
DeleteOur vegetable garden is a mess, I could say worse than yours!
ReplyDeleteIt will stay unloved this summer as I have just had a total knee replacement & so limited in what I can do. I have bought some seeds for containers so will be planting those this year where I can manage them.
Good luck with yours!
Well, it's nice to know we're all not alone, right? I hope you are getting better every day! Containers are a great idea for you!
Deletei'm not letting you see our raised beds if that's what you call weeds - bahahahah! but it's always around end-august when we start seriously harvesting that we let our beds go - next month jamie will upturn all of the weeds, add compost, seaweed, the last of the comfrey and then we let the beds rest until spring. there will be a few weeds for us to deal with in spring but we find that this system works for us. and Fiona above is right - 2 straight days of hard weeding, you backs, thighs and glutes are going to be killing you! but enjoy anyway - bahahah!
ReplyDeletesending much love to you both! your friend,
kymber
Hey sweetie!! Letting them go always amazes me how fast they can go from good to bad to worse, ha. I think I'll upturn some of this and thanks for the reminder of the compost. I need to add some before i cover it up for the season. Still have time though, we're not expecting our first real cold front until November! Go figure! I'll post how I feel, good or bad. :-) Much love and hugs back at ya!
DeleteHappens to us all... really!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, that makes me feel better. And yours are about 5 times the amount of mind, ha.
DeleteHooray for you! I was waylaid this spring/summer with family things so this year we referred to ours as the year of neglect, and really only did what was necessary to keep it alive and from being an eyesore. Hope springs eternal and we are now getting things ready for the winter and early spring planting.
ReplyDelete"Year of Neglect", hey, totally hear ya, perfect way to describe ours. Though I didn't keep it from being an eyesore, but with acres around us, I just didn't look at it, that kept it from being an eyesore for us, ha!!!
Delete"Out of control"? You obviously have not seen my yard?
ReplyDeleteHA! I understand...I hope you get yours under control soon!!
DeleteYep, I have seen this look in my garden. Not fun!
ReplyDeleteWeeding it will definitely give you a big - and painful - workout. Remember that one use for Vicks Vapor Rub is for sore muscles.
Some of those weeds look like Bermuda grass and nut grass. Do NOT put those into compost - both of those are notorious for re-generating from just a little bit of the root.
After all that hard work, spring time planting will be so much fun!
It's amazing how fast it just takes over isn't it? Thanks for the tip on the grasses, yeah some (a lot actually) is some kind of grass, that typical crazy farm grass that just runs roughshod over everything. Thanks!!
DeleteYes, spring will be nice when everything is ready (but no monsoon rains, ha).
Currently the entire state of all my gardens! I gave up!
ReplyDeleteHa, sometimes we have to know when to fold 'em, as Kenny Rogers once sang....
DeleteThe part of my yard that I walk past in shame, but it is now so out of control that it is almost insurmountable, is the very long perennial / shrub bed along a rail fence. I planted all kinds of wonderful things in there, but did not take the time to properly edge it, or put down any kind of landscape fabric, so the grass and burdock and bind weed are now taking over. It happens. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteIt does happen to the best of us, no matter how much we try to avoid it. Sometimes we just have to try again. And amazing how fast it can take over doesn't it?
DeleteMy 16 raised beds are a nightmare at the moment...and I have flats and flats of Winter transplants waiting to be planted!! Lazy, lazy gardener this year. The drought just knocked my socks off.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for my heavy duty landscape cloth...the weeds just set on the top and a few whacks of the hula-hoe and I'm back in business. I promise you and myself next year will be better!
We had grand plants for winter growing but, as you can see above, that's not going to happen this year...our weed cloth though has, hopefully, saved us as well. It's just a LOT of work to get ALL of it done but I think it will pull up pretty easily. Next year is our year (yours and ours) right?? :-)
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