We knew the garden was going to be bad since it had been 3 weeks since it had been weeded. And, we weren't disappointed. (Double click on each pic to 'biggefy'.)
But, we also encountered them in our pond. Our pond is spring fed so it has a good supply of fresh water. But when it rains it obviously raises the level. To compensate & keep it from overflowing the pond dam, we have a drain pipe with a galvanized wire cage above & around it, to keep out weeds. The pipe drains into the branch area & eventually away from the property altogether.
When we got up in the morning, we noticed that the pond level was very high & it didn't seem to be receding. Plus, we can normally see the upper portion of the cage sticking out above the water, but we couldn't see it at all. Greg got in the fiberglass john-boat & paddled to the drain pipe. It was BARELY draining a trickle & the water level was about 2 inches from overflowing the dam! We would really be in trouble if that happens, as the dam would erode & eventually break & drain ALL the water out of the pond.
It had rained so much lately that the suction of the water into the drain pipe was originally very strong & on top of that the pond weeds wrapped themselves around the weakened cage & caused it to collapse on itself thereby stopping the pipe from draining. Greg started pulling weeds away from the cage. I was standing on the dam at the time & could hear the exit pipe start to gurgle very loudly. I wasn't sure what the sound was at first as it was a guttural sound like an animal stuck in the mud trying to get out. Finally a huge blast of water pushed through, (I couldn't see it, only hear it) & eventually the water started draining steadily again.
These are part of the weeds pulled away from the cage.
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| About 1/2 5 gallon buckets worth. |
And, the water was receding from the dock as well.
Greg pulled a few more weeds the next day & before we left you could see about 4 inches of the cage.
My Dad will be up this week & will check it to make sure it isn't stopped up again. We'll need to replace the cage apparatus. We are looking to replace it with stainless cage so it doesn't erode.
After working on the drain pipe we decided to tackle the garden. This is what it looks like. There are hedgerows growing! This is War!
I have newspaper in the some of the block holes & initially thought that the weeds were growing up through the paper. However, after either pulling or string trimming, it appears that the newspaper is helping keep the weeds in the holes, at bay. There are a few coming through but nothing like in the beds.
Almost all the beds have newspaper or cardboard, leaves, hay & a layer of compost but as you can see the weeds don't care. They are definitely worse & harder to pull in the beds w/less 'matter' in them. The 2 higher beds in the front (eventually the asparagus beds) have a thicker layer of compost on them & the weeds seem to be mostly surface weeds most likely brought in by birds. I pulled the weeds out of those 2 beds by hand.
We decided to try an experiment with black 6 mil plastic. We had a few leftover old warped boards so we measured and put a frame of board along the length of each bed & stapled the black plastic to the boards & then put block on the ends. We only had enough boards to do 4 beds but we'll see how it goes & cover the others if it seems to work.
I still want to put down cardboard or landscape cloth & wood chips in the pathways. But need to find a source for wood chips.
Oh well, at least I don't plan on planting anything in most of the beds until the spring of 2015 we will keep fighting until we have conquered the blasted weeds!
Oh, and a note on the grapes. Yes, the other vine is definitely the white variety.
I got about 2 quarts from it & about another pint from the last of the red ones!
7 comments:
This is horrifying to me. My sister has two humongous lakes that are drained into very large concrete pipes, then leeched farther down the hill into a fast moving creek. But she has gravity working for her. This all looks terribly FLAT, or is that an illusion?
Hey Joy,
I wish it was flat. It is terraced & we are trying to fit the beds in the flat areas. But, it isn't working like we had planned. The dam is quite high when the water isn't so high. So when the water finally goes down, this means less water on the garden. Dangit if it isn't always a give & take.
DFW,
Damn weeds get into everything. I'm happy to hear your husband was able to clear the area for and easier flow of water. Can you use rebar? Have someone who welds make a rebar cage. Rebar is always being junked after a construction project (road work or bridge work).
Just a suggestion regarding weeds and plastic. Patrice Lewis over at Rural Revolution http://www.rural-revolution.com/2013/04/getting-garden-ready.html used old bill board signs to line her garden. Check out this post, the bill boards didn't cost her a thing. It a great idea!
I feel your pain regarding the weeds! My garden is completely overrun, and we need to come up with a solution. I have almost a 1/4 acre to sort out, so it won't be easy, quick or cheap I'm afraid.
glad the pond issue was worked out
Thanks Izzy,
If you find a magical solution to the weeds let me know. I do think I will get a handle on the raised beds & the pathways but am concerned about the couple of 1/4 acre plots I was hoping to rotate corn, wheat & oats in the future. I don't want to spend my entire time weeding & having them take over the area so the plants don't grow.
Hey Sandy,
Don't know what happened to my first reply? Must not have hit the publish button.
Anyway, I do follow Patrice's blog & agree that bill board signs are great. They are huge! But, most are already commandeered by farmers in the area to use as siding on open hay sheds or broken barn walls. It's strange to drive by & see a sign for used cars next to a KFC next to another hamburger place, etc.
Yes, weeds are a pain. We do have some rebar that is part of the cage apparatus but it doesn't hold the weld & eventually rusts away just like the cage. My Dad is trying to get someone to build one out of stainless flat bar & stainless cage.
The war on weeds does seem to be never ending. However, I used composted straw and grass clippings all summer long on our garden at home. It worked great. Only pulled a few weeds here and there even with all the rain we had. I'm planning on laying down chopped leaves this month and trying to find some bagged ones from the neighbors to keep the supply going. Hope your weed situation gets under control too!
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