Garden Projects

The fall off the extension ladder really messed me up for this year.  But I am getting back into yardwork.   The immediate problem is invasive weeds from a previous neighbor.  They planted them, they crept into my back yard, and they spread .  My neighbors had an empty back yard, so they just mowed them down (when they realized they were a a problem) every week until they died.

I was not so lucky.  I have flowerbeds.  The vines got in there.  I can't just mow them to death like my neighbors could.  I have pulled them up, but they have deep roots and return.

And I have a few verigated Euonymus shrubs in the flowerbeds that are growing out of control (label said 5' high and 3' wide).  Right.  10' tall and wide is more like it!  And they went all solid green after a few years, so not even much color interest.  I cut them down; they grew back.

Well, it gets worse.  When I first moved here I planted a row of forsythias along the property line (pre-fence).  They are everywhere now!  Cutting them down to the ground doesn't bother them a bit.  They just grow back.  I am nearly at my wit's end between the vines and forsythia!

So it is time for drastic measures (did I mention the poison ivy?).  

I've cut most of the vines to ground level.  I've cut most of the forsythia to ground level.  I've even removed (temporarily) the cat memorial markers.

Iza's is inbetween those now, but I can't find the picture.

But I have been saving large cardbox boxes for a decade.  REALLY large ones.  Like 5' on a side and doubled unfolded.  The memorial garden will be covered with several to smother the cut shrubs and vines and leave a clear space for the markers.

I bought a large roll of black plastic several year ago.  Time to unroll some and cut it to shape to smother the vines elsewhere.  Some collections of desired flowers grow so vigorously, they aren't invaded, so those will be left uncovered.  I have about half the flowerbed to smother though.  The plastic covers will stay there for a year.

It will be ugly.  But I don't see a way around it.  I can dig up a few individual plants surviving among the vines (a single beloved Brunella Frost for example) to move elsewhere.  The Stokes Asters seen resistent to the vines, so they will stay.

But really, I am nearly starting over for 80% of the flowerbed.  Next Fall (assuming the damn vines are actually dead by then) is going to be a busy time.

But I will take a cheerful view.  It's a chance to better this time with new look.  Self-sowing cottage-garden style plants that grow so thickly that they shade out weeds.  Separated by small patches of perennial like Stokes Aster and Autumn Joy Sedums (I love both).  

I WILL make my flowerbeds good again!

But, as I said, it sure will look ugly for a year...  Sometimes you have to mess things up before they get better again.

Been Doing Stuff

First, I have to mention that Bryce Harper of the Washington National baseball team just won the Home Run Contest.  YEEAAAHHHH!

Second, the pond renovation project is complete.  It was harder than I expected.  I originally pulled out all the pots from the pond, and that involved bending down with my arms in the pond cutting roots away to get chunks of plants.  It was exhausting in the heat, but having my arms in the water did help.

I finally got to the point where most of the pond was empty of plants and pulled it up.  That took 3 days of about an hour each day.  I couldn't find the leak in the preformed pond, which still bothers me.  So I added some soil around where I recalled the pond form was low and reinstalled it and filled it.  So after 3 days, there was no leakage, so it was time to replace plants.

Not in the original pots, of course.  I used regular pots years ago but I bought pots designed for ponds last year and used them.  Pond pots have lots is holes for  roots to seeks nutrients in the water.

The 8" pots I had, had growth  around them like beachballs.  So the first thing I did was to chop outside roots off.  That was surprisingly horrible.  The roots were too soft to cut easily.  I finally tried my "digger knife" (like  boning knife with a saw blade).  That wasn't really easy, not I got better using it as I went.

And THAT was only to be able to pull the existing plants out of the old pots (which were broken into pieces by root pressure). 

Planting pond plants is tricky.  You can't just replant them into new pots using regular potting soil (a lot of it just floats away).  What the pond plants want is "muck".  And I was really short on that.  And Home Depot doesn't sell "muck"

As far as I can tell, "muck" is a mixture of organic material, gravel, and clay bound by soil roots.  And you want some stones in the bottom of the pot for the weight to keep the pot sunk and upright.

So I retrieved all the previous pots (most of which didn't even have plants in them anymore - they escaped into the the general root mass) and soaked them in 5 gallon buckets.  When they well utterly soaked, I ripped them apart until the old gravel fell out and I was left with dead roots mass.

Not wanting soil to muddy the new pond water, I blasted the gravel in a large sieve.  I also blasted the ripped off root hairs (that wouldn't regrow).  I slowly cut roots of healthy plants  (waterlillies and Sweet flag) into replantable chunks.

Now I have 4 divided waterlillies potted in the 2' deep section of the pond and 10 potted sweet flag plants and there are still 20 seemingly viable chunks on sweet flag in buskets of water where they will be fine.  I'm keeping them indending them to grow in the the larger 8'x9' pond if I can get it cleared of brambles and relined this year.  Don't worry about all that standing water; I put bT  tablets in all containers monthly.

And that is the next major project.  An 1/8 acre of the backyard has been taken over by wild blackberries, english ivy, and some poison ivy.  Several years ago, my large pond developed a leak and went down to 6" of water.  And the mosquitos moved in.  I only realized the problem  when it was too late to kill the mosquito larvae with bT, so I poked more holes in the liner to drain it.

So now I have a new pond liner, but I have to clear all the space around it to set the new one in.  But it is surrounded with wild blackberries and they are delicious!  So I'm waiting until the harvest ends and then I will clear the whole area.

Today while the area was shaded, I weeded all around the astilbes in the front yard.  It was frustrating.  I added compost to the area last year and the weeds seem to have appreciated it more them the Astilbes.  And the weeds do better in the drought we are having here (not any rain in 4 weeks).  So I went out and pulled weeds out of the dry soil (the best time to do it) and then watered them deeply. 

I lost 2 of 30 Astilbes (according to landscape flags I stuck in when I planted, but that was better that I expected.  A few look weak, but most are thriving.  And I have a dozen more in the backyard where they are struggling.  If I can keep them going til Fall, I will transplant them to the front yard among the others. 

The yard has become infested with poison ivy and some vine.  I'll have to dig the poison ivy out (wearing armlength rubber gloves).  The vines are so widespread, I'll have to spray them.  I don't like that but I don't have much choice. 

There is always SOMETHING to fight with here...  I wish there wasn't.  I have other useful things to do.

Another Good Day Outside

Can you guess what these 2 garden paths and part of a flowerbed have in common?

No weeds!  And why?  They were covered all Winter with old black plastic sheeting!  The stuff was used several year elsewhere, had rip and holes and cutouts for various resons.  but folded up a couple times, it worked great to smother the winter weeds in the paths and bed  and then cook whatever was left in the hot sun the past few weeks!

I spread them out to dry, but actually I have a new use for them.  I have some annoying vine that a neighbor planted then mowed to death.  But not before it escaped to my yard where I can't mow.  This Summer will be a 'KILL THOSE VINES" project.  I don't like using herbicides near the garden, so I will use the string trimmer to cut them to ground level, then cover the areas with the many-times-used black plastic.  I have lots of bricks and stones to hold the plastic down.

They have gotten established in the old asparagus bed.  The asparagus is long gone (lasts about 20 years and they were planted 30 years ago).  Because there are also junk tree saolings growing there, I cut them down to ground level.  Obnoxiously, that won't kill them.  But I have an old piece of plywood that just fits.  So I will set that down AND put black plastic on top weighted down with old cinder blocks.  That old framed bed should be good to use again in 2 years.  Sometimes, things take time to passively improve.

The 2 dwarf apple trees have been in place for 2 decades and I've never gotten a ripe one from them.  The Evil Squirrels take then away before they are ripe.  And poison ivy has taken over the ground beneath them.  So very soon, I will use the hedge trimmer to cut the poison ivy to ground level (wearing a mask and elbow length rubber gloves that will go straight into soapy water in the basement laundry tub after), cover the ground with more of the old black plastic, and cut down the apple trees.

I will use a chain saw to lop the 3" thick apple wood trunks into small 1" slices for B-B-Q smoking, and wait for the poison ivy to smother under the plastic by next year. 

Poison ivy abounds here.  I have 2 neighbors who have parts of their yards they pay no attention to, and the stuff grows rampant.  Birds are immune to poison ivy and eat the berries, so they spread around all over.  I sometimes find new poison ivy plants growing where no poison ivy plant is near, so it has to be from seeds from bird-droppings.

Talking to my neighbors about it has no effect.  I even offerred to spray them myself, but they declined.   I meant the poison ivy, of course, but would consider the neighbors for being so oblivious.  LOL!

Poison Ivy and Hoses

1.  The last of the poison ivy is turning a lovely shade of yellow as it dies.  YAY! 

2.  I finally moved different lengths of hoses around to get them matched to the lengths most useful.  I have a 4 outlet gang valve at the house.  2 of the valves hold hoses. 

1 hose goes to a post 20 feet from the gang valve (so I don't have to drag the hose through my flowerbed).  The hose there now just reaches another post and hose that extends the reach into woods (where I have astilbes and hostas  and ferns).  The hose there reaches a 3rd post and hose that reaches to the back of the yard where there are goatsbeard shrubs (Aruncus dioicus) that need more water than nature provides.  I got tired up coiling and uncoiling 150' of garden hose just to reach the back of the yard...  But the last hose broke and the repair coupling leaked in spite of my best efforts.  So I needed to replace it.

The other hose goes along the fence to the garden way in the back yard opposite the wooded area.  I only needed 50' of hose there and had 100'.  Well, that hose is now at the last stage of the woods hose train.

The front yard hose was too short to reach the corners, so I bought an additional one a few years ago.  Great, now I could water the neighbors' yards.  That one alone is long enough for the front yard.  So the older shorter one there is now in the garden area!

Don't worry, it all works out perfectly.  But It sure took a lot of stretching hoses out and pacing off their lengths to figure out what needed to go where...  And a lot of moving them around and sealing the new connections with plumbers tape.  I think the neighbors were quite entertained watching me drag hoses back and forth.  LOL!

3.  I did buy one new hose.  I regret it though.  I went for the best.  An industrial quality unkinkable 3/4" hose that is UV and mold immune.  Sounded great!  But the hose is as stiff as a board.  It is nearly impossible to coil on a hose holder.  It is now the first hose in the front, where it will almost never have to be uncoiled move than a couple of coils.  Meaning that if I have to water the mailbox daylilies (a rare event) I will need to undo only 2 coils of it.

The good news is that, in case of nuclear war, there will be 2 things left on the property - moles and that garden hose.

Back At Work

I meant this to post July 8th, but typed 18th, so it didn't show when I expected.  The reason I'm doing this will be obvious when I post about "today" tomorrow...  LOL!

July 8th - Well, with the beastly temperatures of the past month, plus straining an ankle (twice) so that I was limping around pretty bad for 2 different weeks, I have gotten back on some projects the past few days.  But first, some summary about the weather:

High temperatures - The average high here is about 80-85 degrees in June.  We had only 2 days that were (barely) below average.  We had 12 days in a row where the temp got above 90, and we set local records on 2 days (99 and 100 degrees).  There is a measurement called "degree days" where the daily high degrees above 65 are accumulated (a high of 85 means there were 20 degree days for the date).  The "normal to date" is 431.  The "actual to date" is 713!  In June alone, there were 472.

Rainfall - We haven't reached the average rainfall for any month this year.  Normal to date is 19".  So far, we have had 13.6".  My lawn already looks like it normally does by mid August.  Ive seen poison ivy plants dying from the lack of rainfall.  I seldom water the flowerbeds, but I have had to do it every few days for the past 3 weeks because the plants wilt so badly. The garden veggies do get regular watering, but that is routine in any year. 

I don't use large water-sprinklers, mainly because I can live with the lawn grass going dormant for the summer, and because little of my flowerbeds and garden (non-lawn) benefit from large rectangular watering patterns.  So I water by hand in specific spots.  Standing in one place watering is too boring, so I have learned that a D-shaped spading fork handle holds a hose nozzle quite nicely.  Stick the fork in the lawn, aim the hose nozzle to fall only on the flowerbeds, leave it in one spot for a good 5 minutes (quite a lot of water in one small area), then move it 6' to the next spot.

The downside is that I have to stay outside the whole time (about 2 hours).  The upside is that, instead of holding the hose, I get to sit in the shade listening to the radio while sipping on a beer (or two).  And while sitting, I get to watch the local wildlife.

For example, today I watched a hummingbird feed from the butterfly bush, some salvias, a cardinal flower, and a daylily.  I watched the finches feeding at the thistle seed feeder.  I watched cardinals at the sunflower feeder.  I saw squirrels chasing each other through the trees.  I watched hundreds of bees at the various flowers.  Most are bumbles, but there are also a fair number of honeybees around my flowers I'm organic and I think that helps them), and I have learned to recognize a number of smaller less-common native bees.

I have even noticed that many of the "bumblebees" are actually Sphinx moths (aka hummingbird moths).  Sadly, the Spinx moth caterpillar is the dreaded tomato hornworm, which can really chew up tomato leaves.  But they aren't originating here, because I thoroughly inspect my tomato plants for them every week.  So I can enjoy the adult's graceful nectar-feeding habit at the flowers without worrying that their babies are eating my tomato plants!

Speaking of the tomatoes, they are doing very well.  I have 8 plants of 5 main season heirloom varieties this year (Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Prudens Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Tennessee Britches) plus one regular cherry tomato growing from a hanging bucket.  There are a few fruits "breaking color", so I should have my first ripe ones soon.  I can hardly wait!

I did the 3rd (and possibly last) poison ivy spraying for the season today.  There is an overgrown corner of the backyard I have been clearing out gradually.  I would dig up scrub saplings and regular vines for a few feet across and 20' wide, then expose another large clump of poison ivy and spray it.  Then 2 weeks later, rake those away and dig up a few more feet.  I will reach the fence next time!  Then I can decide what to do with the spot.  I think I will plant azaleas.  The spot seems good for them, and they are relatively low maintenance.  I sure don't want any more lawn...

I was lucky with that area.  It was originally for stacking firewood.  But I don't use the fireplace much anymore and the wood started to rot.  It got overgrown in the first place because I didn't need to get at the old firewood and it became a dumping space for cut saplings.  I was afraid there would be hornets or yellow jackets in there, but thankfully, none.  No termites either, which surprised me.  I think I can just spread the decayed firewood around on the ground as mulch for the azaleas.

I am hoping to get back to projects with some photo potential this week...

Poison Ivy Progress

Time for a progress report on the poison ivy.  I gave it all a good spray on May 28th.

It was thriving then...

It was looking a bit tired a week later...

It is looking REAL unhappy now...

Now I have to go around and find the ones I missed the first time or that need another shot...

Poison Ivy Woes

I have constant problems with poison ivy.  It's partly because this neighborhood was developed from mature woods in the 80s/90s and partly because I left most of the backyard wooded.  It took a decade just to get the scrub trees (like thorny locust) cleared out.  I like the semi-natural look I have.

But it is partly because 2 adjacent neighbors totally ignore their yards next to mine.  One has a drainage easement through their back yard (10' from my fence) and they basically ignore everything on the side near me.  The other has 10' of brambles near my fence and just never bothers with that area.  A 3rd neighbor is basically absent for some reason (I think the property is involved in a divorce dispute), and while he mows the yard every couple of weeks, he pays no attention to the edges.

So I am constantly fighting off poison ivy coming in through the fence.

I used to have little reaction to it, but several years ago, I got a full body rash from it.  It was a miserable 2 full weeks.  Some of the poison ivy in the neighbor yards is mature enough to produce berries and the birds evidently drop the seeds all around the yard.  New plants spring up out of nowhere even near the house.

I saw the first new poison ivy plants leafing out 2 weeks ago.  They are now fully leafy.   I am an organic gardener.  But that garden/flowerbeds/lawn.  For poison ivy (and also rampant honeysuckle, wild grape, and some vine I haven't identified), I turn to Brush-B-Gon!

So today was "Spray Day".  I filled up my large pressure sprayer (portable, but just barely) and made the rounds.  I was shocked at how much poison ivy was around the yard and how mature some of the plants were!  That's partly because I have been clearing problem spots and revealing places I haven't looked into for years.  For example, I discovered (to my horror) that there is a huge poison ivy vine coming up over the fence and growing 20' up a tree in MY own yard! 

I can pretty much kill off most of the plants in my yard, but I can't get rid of the sources.  I spray carefully (short controlled spray individual plant by plant) through the fence as far as I can (the neighbors have no landscaping near the fence), but there is always more growing back the next year.

So I have a dilemma.  If I ask the neighbors to control/spray the poison ivy in their yards, they will spray wildly right through the fence on a windy day and kill all my plants and flowers.  If I don't mention the problem, I will have poison ivy forever.

Maybe I should ask them if I can spray in their yards and do it carefully...

Anyway, I went around the yard spraying poison ivy plants with great pleasure.  I can't wait to see them turn brown and die!  It was a sunny and nearly windless day, so it was safe.  And only an hour later, all the leaves were dry, so I know they soaked in the spray.

I'll try to remember to post pictures of the dead poison ivy next week...

Poison Ivy Update

Most of the poison ivy I sprayed last week is dying nicely. But that damn big shrubby one over the fence is reluctant to die. I'll have to give it another spraying (or two). But it is supposed to rain later today, so I'll have to wait.

That tall weed with the purple berries I couldn't remember the name of is "Pokeweed". It isn't the worst weed around here, but it is very large so it stands out. And it is hard to dig up because it has a large swollen root about a foot deep.

The worst one I have is mock strawberry. It grows EVERYWHERE. It isn't hard to kill individually because it depends on a surface stem-knot, but when there are 1,000s it is a real pain. And the birds love the fruits so there is always a new supply of them scatterred everywhere. They get into the thick groundcovers so well that they are nearly impossible to pick out.

I had to finally dig out a large area of ground-cover sedums and dianthus becuase I simply could not get all the mock strawberries out and they just kept growing back (I was able to carefully pick a dozen sedum clean of the "mocks" and replant them. They are spreading again well.

Among the poison ivy, the mock strawberry, the honeysuckle, and the pokeweed, I could go crazy. At least I don't have kudzu!

Poison Ivy

I have a perpetual problem with poison ivy, so yesterday was "Seek & Destroy Day". Most of it comes in from the neighbors' yards (4 of 5 sides of me - I have a home plate shaped yard with 2 back neighbors). I have mentioned this problem to all 4 neighbors, but they say they just avoid those patches. So it gradually creeps through my fence and spreads when I'm not looking. Two of the neighbors had poison ivy vines that matured and produce berries, so I get some individual plants growing in the middle of the yard (half of my back yard is semi-wild). I even get some under the deck. How a berry gets under the deck is beyond me...

So I mixed up some Brush-B-Gon and went on patrol. I had to carry the 2 gallon sprayer by hand because there is a slow drip I need to fix. I have a shoulder strap, but it dripped on me that way. My left arm is still sore!

Well, I must have sprayed 100 individual (small) plants, counting neighbor's plants for as far as I could spray through the fence. I was surprised to realize that what I thought was a neighbor's shrub was actually poison ivy! I covered it thoroughly!

I am always careful to choose a calm day and stand upwind from the spot I am spraying. And BTW, if you smoke, this is a good time to do it. The smoke alerts me to any slight shift in wind direction (and therefore spray drift). More than once I have suddenly had to back away from a spot quickly because of a mild wind shift.

I also make it a point to hose down my garden area afterwards, just in case of drift. And I keep the cats inside the whole day after. I wear disposable latex gloves, too.

As long as I had extra spray. I took the opportunity to knock off some plant I had too many of and I can never remember the name of. It has large leaves, purple berries, grows to about 6' high, has a weak stalk, and has a large swollen root (corm, rhizome, whatever). It is easy to break it, but the root seems immortal. Fortunately, it dies quickly when sprayed.

Having some still left over, I sprayed my driveway because I'm tired of mowing it. I should explain... The driveway is asphault, is 23 years old and I have never resurfaced it. There were a few spots where grass established itself in cracks a few years ago, but this year it seems to have really exploded.

I think I will replace it with concrete soon. But for now, just killing the grass would be nice.