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| You see a weed - I see food that rabbits love, a nutritious herb, a soil improver, and compost material |
A grandmother rebuked the grandchildren, when they complained about weeding. "Without weeds, everyone would be a gardener."
Our helper said, "The weeds are coming through the mulch. What are we going to do?"
I pointed out that the line of weeds developed where we expanded the rose garden. The grassy weeds found the weak-spot and sent up tentative strands. I have a fresh supply of newspapers, so we will put a layer in on top of the weeds and add some black dyed mulch. Sassy and I must return to Lowe's for mulch.
The sunny garden is weedier because we put the mulch on top of grass, without a newspaper layer to shut out all sunlight. I wanted to see how that worked - and it did not. I was counting on sunflowers and pumpkins to overwhelm the weeds, but the weeds have taken advantage of the soil creatures below and my watering above. The plants are all doing well, with a tiny bit of insect damage. I see the pumpkins, tomatoes, and the sunflowers, not the weeds.
We ran out of mulch for covering the back garden, slated for vegetables in the spring. Today I need to dig up two lanes in the future corn patch, where I will plant spinach, egg plant, kale, and lettuce. That area will be the corn patch in the spring, the one with the most sunlight. Corn wind-pollinates, so I need a number of rows devoted to America's favorite food - sweet corn. That area will be coached into maximum earthworm production, with a winter of mulch and a spring of compost.
We have a lot of gardens in the area. One is on an enormous double-lot. I noticed they planted far apart and mowed the grass between rows. That is not all bad, although some would avoid walking between rows, to keep from suppressing root growth.
Our helper said, "How are you going to plant in the spring? What do you do with the mulch?" I am not sure how much mulch will be left, but usually it can be moved aside slightly for planting. The soil is bare and soft underneath. Warming of the soil really activates the decomposition and winter's mulch disappears fast.
In Midland I asked our neighbors to put all the grass clippings on our corn patch - from our yard and theirs. The lanky kid who mowed became a professional baseball player - major league. He and his family thought my gardening methods were bizarre, but they ate the sweet corn and the raspberries.
The fence garden has some weeds, but I used weeds to hold them back. Most of that area was covered with a mulch of dead weeds. Rather than scalp it down to bare soil, I pulled it back, dug a slot, and planted with abandon. I pushed the dead weeds back and sprinkled cypress mulch on top. I have 75 feet of fencing sprouting radishes, pole beans, Malabar spinach, bush beans, sunflowers, gourds, and hollyhocks.
The pole beans and Malabar spinach (a vine) are sending up long tentacles, just about connecting with the fencing. Similar vining is starting on the gourds and pumpkins.
That reminds me - I need scarlet runner beans in the spring, because they attract hummingbirds. I have to order them early because the fanatics use up the supply first thing. No, I have never eaten a scarlet runner bean. I grew them for the birds to enjoy the flowers.
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| Each feather is a work of art. |
Birds, Butterflies, and Hummers
Many gardening books have lists of the best flowers or plants for birds, for butterflies, and separately for hummingbirds. I keep them in mind for landscaping. Like books, the best plants can be bought for very little at the right time. Most do not want to garden in the fall and do not buy much, but fall is the best time to plant trees and bushes. If I line the back fence with bushes to block the view of the trashy, grassy alley, I am going to get them at cut-rate prices or not at all.
Butterfly bushes can grow very tall and they will always attract butterflies with their blooms. I could get crepe mytle going, but that is so common around here. The question is, "Who does NOT have a crepe myrtle bush?" The list is small.
Separating Weeds from Plants
Weed seeds are distributed through the soil, and they last for decades without rotting. Some gardeners fear composting weeds, which are fresh and green, ready to activate the pile. Others never think of composting them on the spot by stretching them out where they were pulled, to shade the soil and keep their cousins from joining the upward growth.
Christian denominations no longer separate the weeds from the good plants. Instead, they are prone to harvest and sow weed seeds, saying, "Look at how fast they grow!"
Discerning the spirits is a primary task of all believers. The weedy growth of false doctrine is everywhere, but few want to do anything except praise the weeds.
