How does your garden grow?

[Sigarms]

Taken yesterday, blueberries we planted last year are shaping up nicely for next year.

Dumb question, is there anything anyone has found that works for killing grass/weeds by laying it over the area? Wife wants to get away from the plastic tarps, trying cardboard. Yes, I know, just pull them all out. Seems to be a never ending battle.

 

[jaxs]

Mulching as you are doing in the beds is the most desirable weed block. Look's good,alow's air and moisture exchange in soil below and improve's soil over time.

 

[CADplans]

Taken yesterday, blueberries we planted last year are shaping up nicely for next year.

Dumb question, is there anything anyone has found that works for killing grass/weeds by laying it over the area?

Wife wants to get away from the plastic tarps, trying cardboard.

I used Treflan for weed control on the farm I worked at in 1975,,

Weed control was literally 100%,, even Johnson grass, including rhizomes,,,

Now, they sell it as Preen, for garden use,,, I decided to try it this year, I WILL master the use of Treflan in the garden!! :cool2:

On the farm, we double tilled Treflan into the soil,, that is what I did to apply it to this area,,
We will see,,,

Preen stops annual grasses and broadleaf weed seeds from developing roots,,
The seeds can sprout, but, since no roots develop, the plant dies.

Probably every commercial farm uses this,,
it is the highest use herbicide in the USA,,,

 

[Sigarms]

Mulching as you are doing in the beds is the most desirable weed block. Look's good,alow's air and moisture exchange in soil below and improve's soil over time.

Mulching, did you say mulching?:laughing:

3 step process...

Leaves from last year... (ironically enough, the fence is from a dog fence that we used for a 10'x10' in the past without raised beds, using NC red clay for the garden).



Compost from the house...



The actual compost bin where the leaves and compost get mixed with each other...



I don't have any issues with weeds / grass in the raised beds, I'm trying to eliminate the weeds / grass on the ground AROUND the raised beds.

CADplans - I looked up the product you suggested and it's a no go. After my wife dealt with the medical profession and her breast cancer, no chemicals. I'm getting to the point where I agree with her (something I never thought of much in the past is the relationship between the FDA, pharmaceutical companies, the medical profession and the government). That said, that's a whole other issue

 

[jaxs]

Mulching,yes,I said mulching:laughing:, what,how or where you process it isn't an exacting undertaking,hence I suggested "AS YOU ARE DOING IN BEDS" rather than going into details as if mulching is something new for you. Yes,I suspect you have no issues with weeds/grass in raised beds and I believe you will have similar success on the ground AROUND the raised beds.:confused3:

 

[CADplans]

CADplans - I looked up the product you suggested and it's a no go. After my wife dealt with the medical profession and her breast cancer, no chemicals. I'm getting to the point where I agree with her (something I never thought of much in the past is the relationship between the FDA, pharmaceutical companies, the medical profession and the government). That said, that's a whole other issue

Yea, I understand,, but,, the fact is that the USA uses 14 million pounds of that herbicide annually,,
(we used about a pound per acre to grow soybeans, that one pound helped produce over a ton of soybeans)
Treflan must be used on everything we eat,,,

 

[Sigarms]

Yea, I understand,, but,, the fact is that the USA uses 14 million pounds of that herbicide annually,,
(we used about a pound per acre to grow soybeans, that one pound helped produce over a ton of soybeans)
Treflan must be used on everything we eat,,,

I don't disagree with you...

Look at soda with it's sugar content and no one complains.

Ever wonder why ADHD has become a issue with todays children and it didn't seem to exist in the same percentage decades ago?

We really are becoming a society of chemicals for better or worse...

 

[CADplans]

Ever wonder why ADHD has become a issue with todays children and it didn't seem to exist in the same percentage decades ago?

..

I always thought ADHD was chemicals,,
today, there was an article, they ran a test,,, simply lengthening the recess period at school,,
100% of the ADHD went away,,,

BUT, a "tester" can skew results to be what they want the answer to be,,, :confused2:

 

[dragoneggs]

Corn planted! We have had good luck the last few years with Silver Queen (white corn). Wife got part way done planting and ran out of seed. Luckily she found more of the same. We were thinking there might be a pollination issue if we didn't use all the same for a very small plot. Should have this been a concern?



And Walla Walla sweet onion starts went in the ground today too!

 

[Alan W.]

Sigarms ifn your blueberries do like mine they may be a little close. Not sure what variety I have. They came from a cut rate nursery. A lot of them are at 12 feet. They sucker like crazy. Every fall I cut out a bunch of suckers in the middle of the row and give them away. This fall I intend to be a bit more harsh on the pruning to see if it helps. I usually pile the leaves on every fall about a foot thick since they are shallow rooted.

 

[ruffdog]

Still too wet to till here. Even the farmers are late getting in the fields....only something like 7% of the corn has been planted. We have a shorter growing season anyways so a late planting hurts.

 

[JPRambo]

I planted 5 blueberry plants on my north Georgia property 5 years ago. They did nothing for 3 years. Then I put 2 pounds of sulfur around them. And poof they are off and running now. I was there two weeks ago and blueberrys are all over them. I hope to get a few more than the birds get this year. I hope to be there as they are rippening.

 

[Jstpssng]

My Grandmother used to cover her blueberry bush with cheesecloth to keep the birds away. I don't know how well covering them would work though if you're away a lot.

I will have to remember the sulfur for my cranberry patch. They are just getting established but lowering the ph might help keep the weeds down.

 

[Millwood]

I planted 5 blueberry plants on my north Georgia property 5 years ago. They did nothing for 3 years. Then I put 2 pounds of sulfur around them. And poof they are off and running now. I was there two weeks ago and blueberrys are all over them. I hope to get a few more than the birds get this year. I hope to be there as they are rippening.

The correct ph range is critical for Blueberries to produce. Our local ph is 7, so it took 400 pounds of Montana Sulfur and 25 yards of green wood chips to bring it down to 5.9 ph in a 80 x 125 foot patch.

 

[dragoneggs]

We have naturally acidic soil here and our 4 blueberry bushes go nuts every year. We don't do anything really but last year, my wife put fir branches down as sort of a weed blocker knowing they are acidic. Didn't hurt. We added a bunch of peat moss a long time ago to the virgin soil just to hold more water as we have sandy glacial till that drains extremely well.

 

[Oaktree]

My Grandmother used to cover her blueberry bush with cheesecloth to keep the birds away. I don't know how well covering them would work though if you're away a lot.

My wife uses nylon netting over her blueberry and strawberry plants. It's sold as deer netting, but seems to work with birds too.

 

[jaxs]

BUT, a "tester" can skew results to be what they want the answer to be,,, :confused2:

Even on a good day,we see that happening. :liar:

 

[dragoneggs]

My wife uses nylon netting over her blueberry and strawberry plants. It's sold as deer netting, but seems to work with birds too.

We use what sounds to be the same stuff to close off our blueberry bushes. For extra long fence posts and a light frame around the top and zip tied together. Every once in a while a bird will find its way in but they never can get out. But I assume it has a nice feast before panicking until I free him.

 

[Jstpssng]

My wife uses nylon netting over her blueberry and strawberry plants. It's sold as deer netting, but seems to work with birds too.

We use what sounds to be the same stuff to close off our blueberry bushes. For extra long fence posts and a light frame around the top and zip tied together. Every once in a while a bird will find its way in but they never can get out. But I assume it has a nice feast before panicking until I free him.

I was throwing out the cheesecloth as an example, but there definitely have been better products introduced since then. I used a product called Reemay Season Extenders - Reemay to keep the birds away when my grapes were ripening. It eventually got brittle from the sun and disintegrated. Funny thing, about 5 years ago I moved my chicken coop about 20 feet from the grape trellis; and haven't had bird problems since.

 

[robbyr]

Taken yesterday, blueberries we planted last year are shaping up nicely for next year.

Dumb question, is there anything anyone has found that works for killing grass/weeds by laying it over the area? Wife wants to get away from the plastic tarps, trying cardboard. Yes, I know, just pull them all out. Seems to be a never ending battle.

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If youæ±*e not too much against spraying google epsom salts, vinegar, and dish soap weed killer recipe.