On 05/21/2016 07:13 AM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
...
I mean, an axe! I just wanted to dig some holes!

when it gets too dry here and i have to dig in the
areas with clay that i haven't amended yet, i can jump
up in the air and come down on the shovel and barely
make a dent in the soil.

in the areas i've worked in leaves, wood chips,
ashes and have planted things like winter rye it
works much better.

have you tried planting winter rye in the early fall?
(the grain, not the grass seed)

What would be the benefit? I had thought of buckwheat to
attract pollinators and squash bug parasite, but there
is an allergy to buckwheat in my wife's family as she
is afraid of it.



Oh but the weeds no long laugh at me now that they are going down
the holes. Now which one of you is the biggest!

exactly! free stuff from mother nature, harvested
sun energy, minerals, nutrients, all worm food and
more plant food.

As I kept throwing weeds down the holes, your words kept going
through my head: "Free organic matter". Some of these weeds
are like a big dandelion, but with five times the leaves.
I had to squash them down with my shovel!


I do love the way this peat moss feels in my hands. Goodness
I have tried almost everything else, including organic compost.

keep scrounging all the organic materials you can.
makes things much easier in time, concentrate them
to help keep them moist (for an arid climate).

i had some friends drop off wood that is rotting that
they can't burn. i don't use it in gardens, but along
edges to help smother things (put down a few layers of
cardboard and then hold the cardboard down with the wood
chunks). eventually the raccoons and other critters will
break all that down. any humus is good humus.

I keep a couple of paper bags in the garage with all
the plant discards from the kitchen. But, so far,
the weeds are so prolific, I hadn't had to use them.



songbird


Boy the weeds sure have a new attitude. No more making
fun of me. No more singing when it rains. Now they say
"I am not a weed! He is a weed. Milk weed. Tumble weed.
His name is Noxious! Noxious weed! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" No
loyalty among weeds, I guess.

Thank you for all the help!
-T

Anthropomorphize? What me? Okay it might have been
the wind. (No, I can't pronounce it.)