In article ,
Omelet wrote:
In article ,
Billy wrote:
In article ,
Omelet wrote:
In article
,
Billy wrote:
Got into my gardening area for about the first time in two weeks
because
the rain has kept me inside. Near giddy with excitement when I saw the
green manure and clover was taking hold. To me that means in about two
months, I can lay down more newsprint, mulch and, start gardening. And
the crowd goes wild.
I'm planning on playing with landscaping fabric this year with mulch to
control weeds.
and I am planning on playing with black plastic ground covers for my
tomatoes and peppers. After last year's cool summer, I'm ready to do
some tweaking.
I'm leery of plastic. Landscape fabric is a weed stop, but allows water
and air through.
Always a pleasure Om. My main concern is warming the soil. Two years
ago, I had twelve 100F + days and the garden responded wonderfully. Last
year, I had two 100F + days and the garden struggled. Basically, I'm
trying to warm the soil as the sunlight doesn't seem to be to different
from year to year. From my cursory browse of the effects of plastic
ground covers, I found two schools that had done the experiments. They
recommended clear plastic until mid-july to mid-August, when they pulled
back the plastic to keep from over heating the soil. Above 91F (33C),
the roots become over heated and reduces yeild. All the other sites,
anecdotally reported the superlative effects of red plastic, putatively
because of reflected red and infrared wave lengths but there was no
clear advantage
I get sick of weeding sometimes. g
How strange. Actually, one of my triumphs last year was mulching, and
crowding plants together to create enough shade to suppress weeds. It
worked. Unfortunenately, it also lead to a rapid spread of leaf curl
among the green beans and the tomatoes. This year the tomatoes and beans
will be separated to different ends of the garden and I'll try parsnips
and peppers together.
Why is it strange to get tired of weeding? When the weeds want to
overwhelm the tomato plants...
I was being facetious, sweety;-) I hate weeding as much as the next
person. I love watering although my drip is much more efficient. My
weeding gets done on a hit and miss basis when I make my rounds of the
garden. My biggest problems have been the spearmint moving into the
lettuce patch, or the peppermint infiltrating last years tomato area, or
the woodruff trying to over whelm the chives and my lavander. As I
mentioned in another post, I'm trying to get my plants to hold hands,
hoping that the shade and mulch will squeeze out the undesired plants.
It worked pretty well last year except for the tomatoes and the green
beans swapping some kind of leaf curl. They are at separate ends of the
garden this year.
but then, you don't have Johnson Grass and I don't want to use weed
killers in my edible plant beds.
I agree completely.
Gotta feel good about the under dog Giants. They did it the hard way.
Too bad there can only be one winner. Against any other team, except
Green Bay, I would have been rooting for the Patriots.
I have happy co-workers!
Lucky you. The 49ers may have found a quarterback but the rest is doom
and gloom. We have a meddling owner, John York, and a clueless head
coach, Dick Nolan who can't see that his quarterback is injured when it
is obvious to the rest of the world. There is some hope across the Bay
in Oakland though with the Raiders.
Well, it's Basketball season here now, so we root for the spurs. g
I dunno, I like watching the kids play basketball but watching grown men
run up and down a court in shorts doesn't spin my wheels. And of course,
it doesn't have to.
And why are you hanging out on tx.guns if it causes you so much angst?
Funny you should mention that. I was told that there was some good
discussions over there, but as the name implies, it's all about people
who like to shoot things and what they like to shoot them with. I have a
gun. I have a hammer. I have a hose but I don't obsess on them. To me
they are just tools. On the other hand, I'm willing to obsess on
gardening, I think it brings out my inner Hobbit.
I was just on my way over to tx.guns and thank them for their
forbearance of an aging California hippie and bow out of further
discussions.
Glad to see you back at wrecked gardens edible.
Go Spurs;-)
--
Billy
Bush, Cheney & Pelosi, Behind Bars
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/site/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movemen...George_W._Bush