songbird wrote:
...

i've been able to get back out there and
start weeding. the mouse-eared chickweed
is still trying to take over in places and
i'm determined to keep it from going any
further. i've got it back to about 10% of
the original invasion size. not much sign
of the sow thistle. good.

a few days of weeding and yesterday i
scraped the most concentrated areas back to
bare dirt. as the season progresses and i
can move a few transplants to cover any
remaining bare spots and that will likely keep
the invasion from getting much further at all.
probably will take a few more years to
get all the remaining seeds to sprout and
keep those from taking off again, but it
is easier each time because the surrounding
plants are now big enough to make them have
to fight for the space.

bare dirt is free lunch for a weed seed.

even if it takes more time and effort i'm
glad i'm not having to spray any of this
patch. i like being able to go out there and
pull up some garlic or garlic chives and
wipe off the dirt and have a snack completely
worry free.

the garlic will continue growing in each
part of the spiral. the test will continue
to see if the garlic can do well in the shorter
trefoil. the soil being heavy clay it is
less than optimal soil for the garlic, but it
still grows and some cloves are large so there
are parts of something going right in this garden.
it may just take an extra season to get there.
for the long view an extra season isn't much
to fret about. we'll see how this season goes...

right now some of the garlic is six or more
inches taller than the trefoil or alfalfa.
the latter two are just now sprouting. i have
a few pictures of each showing what they look
like. in a week or two the alfalfa will likely
be taller.

the sprouting plants are protected by a layer
of debris from the last growth from last year. i
didn't cut it back, rake it, or burn it. this
provides cover and protection through the winter,
but also is nice to walk on when weeding instead
of smashing the tender crowns. scrape it away and
underneath the plants are doing well. the crowns
of some plants that have been growing for three
years now are quite large with root diameters of
several cm.

not much to weed in the areas i've kept clear
already. a few hours and i'm done, most time was
spent on one troublesome area that had a ton of
clover. tracking down all those runners and
sprouts takes some patience. good thing i enjoy
it. that done i can now make progress on parts
further inwards and further north. grasses,
clovers, queen anne's lace, mustards, etc. all
want to get going in there again. i'm hoping i
can defeat them just a little more and gradually
get the whole patch how i first envisioned it.
as the trefoil and alfalfa gets bigger it does
make it easier so i think i'm on the right track.

some of the weeds that are dug up i leave behind
for the worms and others i've been harvesting to
dry and chop for the worm bins. give the worms a
good jump start to get them ready for going outside
in the veggie gardens.

the plan this season is to still selectively
harvest the green manure for the veggie gardens
and the worms. once or twice the whole patch will
be cut back and left to feed the worms so they can
continue making tunnels and bringing organic
materials into the clay. only the largest of
the woody stems from last season remain on the
surface. in time i hope to get a nice layer of
organic materials established on top and that
will gradually get worked down in when the clay
cracks or the worms and other critters play.
the added nitrogen from the plants will get used
one way or another for either a plant, a bacteria
or some other critter. selectively harvesting
garlic and green manures will remove some of
the gain, but in the long haul i'll expect it to
remain a very useful garden even if it looks
rather wild at times and doesn't always get
weeded perfectly.

a full winter season removed much of the good
organic surface layer and the condition of the
soil was not as nice as it was last year when i
last examined it closely. a part of the natural
cycle.

the plants in their third season likely have
roots down quite a ways. though i am not sure if
they will go far below the water table or not. a
question to answer sometime when i feel like digging
and looking to see what's up.

we'll see how this season goes. as usual, it's
an adventure...

ok, well, yes i could rewrite this again to
organise it a bit better, but that is the fun of
random posts to usenet. heehee.

happy gardening to all, peace, etc. i'm so glad
i can get back outside again, even if this might be
a false start.


songbird