On 06/09/2016 05:49 PM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
On 06/08/2016 05:54 PM, songbird wrote:
T wrote:
...
I finally got the root out. The root didn't do a thing to the
soil around it. The whole experience was a bit amusing.

how did that hole get there? dandelion
might have drilled it for you, but once that
root is down there then worms will follow
the root and perhaps another plant will get
in there.

those tap roots are what i was talking about.

That is one tight fit. And once the worms get down there
(root has to die first), what will the eat? Decomposed
sandstone? Rocks?

depends upon the worm, but some will feed off what the
roots give off and any other bits of stuff in there. when
you cut back some plants (simulate grazing ) they will
balance the roots out with the foliage so that means some
roots will die back, which yes, become worm food eventually.
it's a pretty good way to build up topsoil and you can see
how well it works by examining the history of the Great
Plains and see how fertile those prairies were (and how
deeply too).


Oh yes, I found that swinging an axe actually helps my blood
sugar. (I am one of the 20% that exercise backfires on
T2 Diabetics.) So, the weeds now tremble in fear from me.
By the way, an axe is not a real effective way to remove
weeds, but it SURE is cathartic.

i did a few hundred deep knee bends today
picking strawberries. i'm sure i will
be feeling it tomorrow...


Plantain herb will help fix that.

plantains seem to be loved by bunnies, grasshoppers
and worms. when i weed them out i just turn them
over and leave the roots up in the air to dry out.
if they have been let go to seed or have seed stalks
on them i pull those off and put those on the weed
piles. the birds pick at them...


Oh, in case I forget, death to weeds!

if the spot ain't got nothing better i'll leave the
weed alone as long as i can. i'm too far behind now
to plant or transplant in most spaces, but as i do
get time i replace weeds by ground covers i do like.

we have some thymes that do well here and cover up
a lot of area and don't need a lot of weeding. and
i've also got some creeping phlox, creeping jenny
and i will also toss out old seeds from melons and
squash and see if any of them will get going in the
wilder areas. if they smother some stuff in the
process of growing that's all good...

the weeds i have to keep after are the thistles
(sow thistle and the purple globe thistle) and
some others that are really a pest because they
were brought in with a wildflower seed mix and the
one i don't like happens to be the one that survived
and spread all over the place and is almost impossible
to get rid of... the one i'm reactive to...

love in a mist and poppies we have both thrive and
grow in the crushed limestone. they don't seem to
need much dirt at all. spread like crazy too. but
we like them as they wander around and when they are
done flowering all those stems are free organic
material i bury. the love in a mist pods are
often used for decorative things by flower arrangers.

ok, ramble time over. peace, even to weeds...


songbird



You cut the top of a dandelion (the only one I will not chop at
with my axe) and they will grow back and back and back. Them
I pickle.

Death to weeds, except purslane, which is yummy!