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Sashweezy

New Member
Does plowing snow count? ok yes, I'm being a smart alec lol!Dora/Garden Goddess

Hee, totally my thought too. :eek:

Let me think, in fall I clean up say 'night' and do all my mulching etc. in the spring. Normally I get caught out with the early frost and snow. This year more than most as we had our first snowfall early November and it stayed. All my plants are sleeping right now under more than three feed of snow. It isn't bad that we have that much snow cover as that insulates them and waters them in spring.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
One thing those witout snow often over look is water. Plants still need water in cold weather and sometime even more so. Southern gardeners know if it is going to freeze you need to soak the ground good it helps the plants stay warm and not suffer as much from dehydration. Winter in the northern areas changes all the rules.
With water in mind if you store your hoses in doors for winter up north now is a good time to do repairs if minor leaks and new hose ends;)
 

Melissa

New Member
I was reading about working the soil to get rid of weed seeds while it is cold. My problem weed it Thistle. I yank it out before it can flower so I don't think there are any seeds but it is still popping up everywhere. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to get hid of the thorny little pest permanently? Thanks!!
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
You are on the right track pulling before seeding, however the thing about most seeds is they can lay dormant untill you come along and start stiring up the soil. That's why this is a great time of year to bring them to the surface for a good freezing. It will kill off some of those seeds that have been waiting on you to come along and stir them up so they could grow;)
 

Melissa

New Member
Will have to wait for the ground to thaw now....Hubby says it may thaw tomorrow but it will be raining so not sure if I want to get drenched. We have a blasted weed field next door and in the fall when the wind blows my gardens are white with all the stupid seeds that blow over from that thing. The guy that owns it just lets it go, he won't bushhog it and it is just grown up with weeds. It has all kinds of kitters in it that creep out at night. He can't afford to build on it so he is just sitting on it. We have approached him about buying it but he wants to keep it. We plan on putting up a big privacy fence on that side as soon as we can afford it, but until then...ughhhh!!
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Oh I have had neighbors like that. You could do what I do ...make lemonade so to speak. I will ask if I can cut and bag the grass for use in my garden. The first few cuttings you may not want to use because of the dried seed, but by the second cutting you will be able to stay ahead of the seeding weeds and keep them cut then you have a great source of green stuff for the compost and garden mulching. I know it sounds backwards and he should be caring for it but there is an advantage to you doing that.
 

Melissa

New Member
The only problem with that is that we would have to rent a bushhog. Its eight acres of old farm land that would need to be finished before I would want to use our zero turn on it. It is full of rocks and who knows what else. It took us two years to get ours in shape that we could actually just mow it. We still don't have the whole thing seeded in grass, but what does grow is green and we can mow it...lol!! I am just hoping that once we get the fence up, it will cut down on some the seed blowing over here. It will definately cut down on the west wind that is so hard on my rose garden. We have planted a line of blue spruce over there but most are still too small to be an efficient wind break.
 

froglady

Member
I think I'm going to grow small herb beds this year, surrounding my garden. I want to get a couple of rolls of hardware cloth and cut it to make little short fences around the individual plants and put small tags that I will cut out from milk jugs, vinegar jugs etc. I keep a magic marker in my garden caddy and can spruce up the tags if they fade before the plants come up and I know what they are.
I got a tiller for my birthday last year and since I hadn't had a veggie garden in a few years, I tilled up a small plot to start with. I mean to go out on warmer days and re till the soil since it had a lot of bermuda and hog grass and crab grass in that area. I'm also digging in shredded leaves etc and it needs a couple more digging in. Also made a barrel out of hardware cloth in the corner of the garden where I am dumping kitchen peelings, egg shells along with more shredded leaves. Spent hours during late summer turning the soil and clearing weed roots ect but it's still needing some work. Reading to get more ideas.
 

Melissa

New Member
Wow Froglady...you have been busy!! It will be nice though. I am hoping for a tiller soon, in the meantime...I gotta do it all by hand. As my husband would say....its ok...its good for ya!!
 

froglady

Member
Smelly, I have dug every garden I ever had with a sharpshooter and a garden fork before now. I just decided I was old enough to deserve a tiller and crave some homegrown veggies. I have grown a few tomato plants in my flower beds but that's not satisfying me. I want squash, okra, a couple rows of green beans, cucumber and who knows what I'll wind up with. Same old dirt I grew up on, and the clay is near the surface having been neglected and what not, but I'm determined. Now if it will only rain in Texas this year!!! And if we don't get a hurricane about the time the okra gets knee high:eek:)
 

Melissa

New Member
Ugh...you have clay also.....its so hard to amend. I ended up digging it out, hauling it away, and puttin in new soil. Maybe it will be easier to amend with a tiller....that is my hope, if I ever get one :)
 

Melissa

New Member
Hey I shouldn't complain....at least I had a three wheeler to help me haul the dirt.
 

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froglady

Member
Yeah, I have one of those too. IN fact I wore one out:D
I need a pickax to get this clay out. After about a foot down it goes on forever so I just do what I can to the topsoil and hope for the best. This old dirt raised enough food to feed a family of nine when I was growing up though so it ought to be enough to feed an old lady:eek: Makes pretty funny looking carrots though haha
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
I think I'm going to grow small herb beds this year, surrounding my garden. Reading to get more ideas.

You have a great idea there. There are herbs the repel pest and making a "wall" around your garden will reduce your pest. I use a combination of Marigolds and herbs. Rosemary is one of the best, Mint will deter ants. Now Pennyroyal and mint is good for fleas. I have it planted in my grass and I just mow it like grass.
If you bed is resting now is also the time to till in fresh manure, Your weather is a lot like mine so you can compost it down over the winter right in the garden.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Wow Froglady...you have been busy!! It will be nice though. I am hoping for a tiller soon, in the meantime...I gotta do it all by hand. As my husband would say....its ok...its good for ya!!

You can always hint to hubbs that a nice gift would be a one day rental of a tiller!
 

Melissa

New Member
Hint?....my hubby does not take hints....I would have to write it down and give it to him....lol!! I am looking into getting a used one. We looked at them at Sears but for what I would need to battle this clay...they are just way too expensive. Have been building alot of raised beds. Its alot easier than digging and hauling that clay away. I read somewhere that planting cover crops and then tilling them in for about three years is the best amendment for heavy clay. I am going to try this in different sections of the yard....well, I will once I get the tiller.
Crabber, thanks for the advice about using the herbs to keep critters out of veggies. I have used marigolds but not the herbs. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep the crows from eating all the corn?
 

Melissa

New Member
Yeah, that would work...the problem is they eat it when no body is around. I go to work and the darn things eat all my corn!!! I bought some of those bird nets but they got through them. I swear that the crows around here are prehistoric or something...they are huge!!
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have to admit though that they are very intelligent birds. I saw a documentary some years back on the ten most intelligent animals and the crow was one of them. A fellow told me one time that crows were protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act and I didn't believe him. But I found out that he was right. There are some exceptions where predation is concerned though.
 


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