Comments on Little Blog In The Big Woods: Garden Triage

oh yah, mice (ugh) - we have a smallish garden and...

2008-09-24T13:06:00.000-05:00

oh yah, mice (ugh) - we have a smallish garden and two fiery kitties so no mice dare tread here - but I can imagine what would happen in a non-city environment (having lived in the country all my life until 6 years ago)...

I was telling my fiance about your blog last night - and how you called the wall street thing ages ago (the looney bin comment kills me - especially because my brother is a stock broker)

:o)

Hi Heather- nice to hear. :-)I did try Ruth Stou...

2008-09-24T09:29:00.000-05:00

Hi Heather- nice to hear. :-)

I did try Ruth Stout's methods, years ago. The problem for us was - mice. We're surrounded by wild lands, and the supply is endless. We raised beautiful potatoes under mulch- then discovered that about 95% of them were massively mouse-chewed when we went to harvest.

My bottom line after 30 years- sometimes mulch is less work; and sometimes it winds up being more. Depends on a LOT of factors- chief one being the easy and cheap availability of the "right" mulch for this particular job.

You should mulch! You can mulch with anything real...

2008-09-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

You should mulch! You can mulch with anything really - newspaper, cardboard, rocks, bark, grass, pulled weeds, straw etc.

I follow Ruth Stout's gardening method because I am lazy!!

PS I love this blog. I found you awhile ago, lost you, found you, lost you, googled greenpa and sigh found you again.

:)

Leila- I thought the FAQ was contained in the name...

2008-07-13T19:49:00.000-05:00

Leila- I thought the FAQ was contained in the names!

Spouse- first wife
Spice - plural of spouse, dont'chaknow- 2nd
Smidgen- tiny person, 3 yrs old
Beelar - oldest child, male 30!
Middle Child - male, 28

then there's Bruce, the dog.

Chile- children have mixed effects- when they're small, they love pulling weeds; and tomato plants, and pumpkin plant. And they tend to step on everything, no matter how may times it's explained.

They do learn , though. Beelar and Middle Child were huge helpers, after we got over the rough spots.

Leila, don't forget Son. Or is that Sons? I think...

2008-07-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

Leila, don't forget Son. Or is that Sons? I think there were two, right?

With piss poor soil here, and hardly any rain, weeds aren't a huge concern. However, once the monsoons start, I have to deal with thousands, literally, of desert tree seedlings sprouting up all over the damn yard, driveway, and garden. Hands and knees work, pulling up the roots. Cutting them off just strengthens them to come back again.

And every single desert weed is prickly or spiny or both. Don't get me started on yanking up a batch of Bermuda grass bare-handed either, only to discover there was a baby prickly pear in the middle of it.

There are gardening issues everywhere. What I want are a couple of garden slaves to help. I shoulda had kids, huh.

We need a FAQ here to keep Spouse, Spice and Smidg...

2008-07-12T00:22:00.000-05:00

We need a FAQ here to keep Spouse, Spice and Smidgen straight. Thank you.

I have done nothing but weed for 5 days and I'm so...

2008-07-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

I have done nothing but weed for 5 days and I'm sore and taking a day in bloggesphere - maybe until evening that is.

We do not have beautiful soil, however.

u could try just leaving the weeds and harvesting ...

2008-07-11T00:55:00.000-05:00

u could try just leaving the weeds and harvesting what's left. Or just trim them down to size. My uncle did that one year and got wonderful veges...his only comment was that it looked so untidy he wasn't willing to try it again. (neat freak) My sister still does it because she is time poor and its still an ok way to go.

viv in nz

Wait, you mean the answer isn't "spend time pick...

2008-07-10T13:50:00.000-05:00

Wait, you mean the answer *isn't* "spend time picking raspberries, you can hack through with a machete in August and eat whatever managed to thrive"?

Ha - I just blogged yesterday about my growing hea...

2008-07-10T11:53:00.000-05:00

Ha - I just blogged yesterday about my growing heartlessness in the garden (and our various failures, which are showing themselves now) -- glad for the affirmation that I am on track.

Hey! I did something right without even knowing i...

2008-07-09T16:55:00.000-05:00

Hey! I did something right without even knowing it! My potatoes look strong and healthy and virtually week-free (they even weathered two hail storms) but my carrots are pretty much losing the battle. I let those weeds get out of hand early because my untrained eye couldn't tell what was weed and what was carrot. I'll know better for next year though.

I absolutely agree. I see you have a background i...

2008-07-09T15:02:00.000-05:00

I absolutely agree. I see you have a background in evolutionary biology. Me, too. Can we say, "Survival of the fittest?" Of course we should help along the ones most likely to survive.

And after the holiday weekend, I'm sure your post on weeds applies to lots of people's gardens. I know it applies to my garden! Last night my husband and I worked on catching up weeding.