This being the first summer in my retirement, I vowed to keep up with weeding the pumpkin patch. When they were little sprouts on their widely separated hills, I'd run the tiller between them every week or so to remove most of the weeds, then hand-weed close to and on the hills.

Once they started running, they totally covered the patch. Tall weeds are growing among the vines but I can't get to them to pull them out without risking stepping on pumpkin vines and crushing them.

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, the pumpkins are thriving, spreading out as far as they can go, and there are already a variety of pumpkins and squash forming on the vines.

Paul

i only go after the worst weeds that i hate.
the rest get a free pass. the squash plants
here don't leave a whole lot of anything alive
underneath them.


songbird

On 8/26/2016 5:22 PM, Pavel314 wrote:
This being the first summer in my retirement, I vowed to keep up with weeding the pumpkin patch. When they were little sprouts on their widely separated hills, I'd run the tiller between them every week or so to remove most of the weeds, then hand-weed close to and on the hills.

Once they started running, they totally covered the patch. Tall weeds are growing among the vines but I can't get to them to pull them out without risking stepping on pumpkin vines and crushing them.

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, the pumpkins are thriving, spreading out as far as they can go, and there are already a variety of pumpkins and squash forming on the vines.

Paul

Congratulations on the retirement Paul, did mine in 2007 and am very happy.

We've never grown pumpkins but we have grown other big squash, they
seemed to like year old wood ash for some reason as we planted them in a
place where we had burned several old stumps I pulled with the tractor.
They covered everything for half an acre so the pumpkins are probably
killing off the lesser weeds by shading them and sucking up the
nutrients. I wouldn't worry to much about the tall ones, you can always
get them out after the pumpkins are harvested.

Hot this morning and we've had gentle rains passing over for about five
hours now and the temperatures is still close to 80F but at least it's
not 95-100F right now. The grass and gardens are growing like the
proverbial weed.

George

On 08/26/2016 03:22 PM, Pavel314 wrote:
This being the first summer in my retirement, I vowed to keep up with weeding the pumpkin patch. When they were little sprouts on their widely separated hills, I'd run the tiller between them every week or so to remove most of the weeds, then hand-weed close to and on the hills.

Once they started running, they totally covered the patch. Tall weeds are growing among the vines but I can't get to them to pull them out without risking stepping on pumpkin vines and crushing them.

Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, the pumpkins are thriving, spreading out as far as they can go, and there are already a variety of pumpkins and squash forming on the vines.

Paul


Hi Paul,

What the guys have me doing is harvesting the weeds and plowing them
under for compost. It works very well. Weeds are apparently
excellent collectors of sunlight and nutrients from the soil.

But, I think the weeds started to talk to each other and now
I am hard pressed to find any of them, except dandelions,
which I pickle with vinegar. (I am afraid to bury dandelions
as the keep coming and coming and coming.)

I am now relegated to using vegi table scraps from
the kitchen.

:-)

-T

T wrote:
....
What the guys have me doing is harvesting the weeds and plowing them
under for compost. It works very well. Weeds are apparently
excellent collectors of sunlight and nutrients from the soil.

yep. keep at it. free plant foods.


But, I think the weeds started to talk to each other and now
I am hard pressed to find any of them, except dandelions,
which I pickle with vinegar. (I am afraid to bury dandelions
as the keep coming and coming and coming.)

hang 'em high, like the varmints they are.
by the time they dry out they're toast.


I am now relegated to using vegi table scraps from
the kitchen.

i've had to bury about 60lbs of tomato scraps
yesterday and will have to bury another 40lbs
tomorrow...


songbird

On 08/26/2016 08:04 PM, songbird wrote:
i've had to bury about 60lbs of tomato scraps
yesterday and will have to bury another 40lbs
tomorrow...


Hi Songbird,

Can your wife eat tomatoes at least?

Do you have any concern that you will be spreading
disease by burying the old plants?

I created my next years bed for garlic yesterday.
I thought I did such a good job last year until
my harvest sucked: small and pink (alkalinity).

This year I dug it all up again and redid it with
vegi scraps (mostly melon), peat moss, and
Dr. Earth's GEneral purpose organic fertilizer,
with a little of the original dirt mixed in. I
knew something was very wrong when I had to use my
ax to dig up the old bed. :'P

I have been saving melon rinds in hopes of attracting
worms. And, yes, although not your exact words, but
it ain't soil until it has passed through the alimentary
track of a worm.

Some of the old bed dirt (I wouldn't call it soil) was
harder than the rocks I hit with my ax!

I had planted a garlic clone from last year's harvest
into a plastic pot to see when it sprouted, if it did.
And I remember you telling me you planted right
after harvest. This week it sprouted three beautiful
monocot leaves in is now about 8 inches tall, so I
figured it was time to replant.

I have been watering the new bed to get it all settled
in. In a few days I will replant with the best cloves
from last year's harvest.

I put my earwig traps out by the new bed too. Those
daemon spawn love melon rinds too.

I have got a lot of beautiful plants this year (THANK
YOU ALL!). This is the first year I have actually gotten
peppers too! I mix them in with my purslane in my salads.
Yummy!

Eggplant too!

-T

On 08/26/2016 08:36 PM, T wrote:
garlic clone

clove

T wrote:
songbird wrote:
i've had to bury about 60lbs of tomato scraps
yesterday and will have to bury another 40lbs
tomorrow...

Can your wife eat tomatoes at least?

i'm not married, i live with my Mum.

yes, she eats them, but now she says she
feels guilty about enjoying them, i'm trying
to get her to get over it and continue to
enjoy all the stuff she likes. her favorite
is macaroni and tomato juice.


Do you have any concern that you will be spreading
disease by burying the old plants?

no, we rotate planting and i don't fight
late blight (which we get every year).


I created my next years bed for garlic yesterday.
I thought I did such a good job last year until
my harvest sucked: small and pink (alkalinity).

This year I dug it all up again and redid it with
vegi scraps (mostly melon), peat moss, and
Dr. Earth's GEneral purpose organic fertilizer,
with a little of the original dirt mixed in. I
knew something was very wrong when I had to use my
ax to dig up the old bed. :'P

I have been saving melon rinds in hopes of attracting
worms. And, yes, although not your exact words, but
it ain't soil until it has passed through the alimentary
track of a worm.

Some of the old bed dirt (I wouldn't call it soil) was
harder than the rocks I hit with my ax!

so arid there i dunno how anyone can grow
veggies well.


I had planted a garlic clone from last year's harvest
into a plastic pot to see when it sprouted, if it did.
And I remember you telling me you planted right
after harvest. This week it sprouted three beautiful
monocot leaves in is now about 8 inches tall, so I
figured it was time to replant.

you can wait, it won't hurt it. just keep it
in a dark cool place until you can get it planted.
the best time would be in the fall before the cold
rainy season starts.


I have been watering the new bed to get it all settled
in. In a few days I will replant with the best cloves
from last year's harvest.

I put my earwig traps out by the new bed too. Those
daemon spawn love melon rinds too.

i'm sure they will. i have some in the
worm buckets.


I have got a lot of beautiful plants this year (THANK
YOU ALL!). This is the first year I have actually gotten
peppers too! I mix them in with my purslane in my salads.
Yummy!

Eggplant too!

great news!

see, you're getting it, figuring stuff out.

i've never grown eggplant here. so you now know
more about it than me.


songbird