It was a pretty day at the farm. Hotter than we'd prefer for October, but pretty.
It was almost a picture perfect day, sky wise anyway, ha. As you can see from the yard, it didn't need to be mowed, which was good. Even though the ground was wet from about 2 1/2 inches of rain, it mostly absorbed and/or ran off. Still, wasn't going to take the mower into areas that might be muddy so I skipped that. Worked in the garden and almost have that finished up.
FIRST UP, WEEDS!
I had to find a before picture of the last bed I need to clean up and so this was it a few weeks back when there were still some old cucumbers on there. The heat of Summer was at its peak and it only got worse from there with the grass and weeds growing.
I got it all cleaned out, fresh soil added and turned and now it's ready for the garlic planting. But wait, what about that clump of of grass?
NEXT UP, FIRE ANTS!
That clump is a large fire ant mound. You can see them above, all stirred up. Every time I pulled up a weed or grass clumps, they swarmed out. I have several bites on my hands and legs to attest to that. Ugh. We hate them. If you are lucky enough to live in a part of the world without fire ants, consider yourself lucky. They are nasty little things. I put down a homemade remedy so next weekend, we're going to see how that worked.
LAST UP, SCORPION!
I moved a clay saucer that was on the railing in the garden and a scorpion wasn't happy to see me. In all fairness, the feeling was mutual and as much as I hate killing things, one of us had to go.
The scorpion drew the short straw, ha.
I didn't need to water the fruit trees after the nice rain so I left those alone, much like I've left the grass around them alone. It's a mess but dormant season is coming soon and I'll be able to take down the fishing line fencing and get the mower in there and probably borrow 2nd Family's push mower.
I also pulled up quite a few of the vines that we posted about the other day. I also sprayed a homemade vinegar solution for weeds, we'll see how that worked.
Hope you all had a great weekend free of pests!
Homemade solution for fire ant mounds.
ReplyDeleteVinegar. Mix equal parts vinegar and water. Add a few drops of liquid soap to increase killing power. Rake open the ant nest and pour in the mixture.
Or you could get a container / bag of fire ant stuff from the store to put on.
https://www.homedepot.com/c/ab/how-to-get-rid-of-fire-ants/9ba683603be9fa5395fab901f63128c4
The clean up after the spring-summer garden is always a chore. Too bad you ran into those terrible fire ants. I have found that several applications of lots of cinnamon, a few days apart, takes care of them. Also that wood ash from my fireplace works - it can also take several applications.
ReplyDeleteA scorpion! Eeek! Glad you saw him before he could sting you.
I ordered some garlic from the place you recommended. It arrived, so I’ll be planting it soon.
Remedies work to kill the ones that eat it. Or, they move on for you to find and chase from nest to nest. The nest protects the queen, removing her to a safe place and forms a new mound. The only thing that works for complete removal is a bait. FireAnt baits kill the whole mound as the poison is take back to the nest. The county agent told this to us at a meeting.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I live in an area when lawns can attack. I dislike those suckers intensely and have a new bed right by the front steps. Tomorrow's task is to find the Amdro!
ReplyDelete