I have a confession to make...OK, here goes... I totally let the summer get the
best of me and things have gotten out of hand around here. I honestly would love to say, I have no idea how this happened but I can't. We got off to a great start in the spring. We tilled, brought in
compost and set out our gardens, started seed. I really worked so hard...in the beginning.
We started a new herb garden this year. I have
always wanted an herb garden. I gave it careful thought and did a lot of
planning. When the time came, I put all of the energy and effort into laying it
out and getting it ready to plant. I decided not to use any type of ground
cover under the mulch. I WAS GOING TO DEVOTE MY MORNINGS TO WEEDING and a bit
of meditation! I was certain that I would keep the grass and weeds under
control. OK so, here are my excuses as
to why things got so out of hand.
First, we have had an unbelievable amount of rain at the
beginning of summer, which prevented some of the weeding opportunities. I know
there still were many mornings that I could have gotten up and got out there to
get some of it done but I didn't because the mosquitoes seemed horrible in the
mornings because of the rain. So, that was my second excuse.
At the end of May, my granddaughter’s summer break began and
it seemed as if all my good intention regarding gardening went downhill from
there. She and I do not get to spend very much time
together anymore since she is back in public school so, when her summer break
started, I think I just went on vacation with her. We have been biking, hiking,
swimming and when it started getting really hot, we started ice skating, going
to the movies and just having fun. So, there you have it. There are my excuses. I know we can all find excuses much more easily than getting the work done.
Now let me describe the condition of my herb garden because
honestly, I am ashamed to photograph it at this point. I can use one word to
describe its’ current state, “jungle.” Most things around here seem as if they were growing in a tropical rainforest. Out of control due to the rain, including grass and weeds. Not to worry though, I have a plan. Below is a photo of what it looked like in the beginning.
A couple of weeks ago when instead of weeding, I was surfing
around on the computer. I ran across a very cool gardening tip or suggestion on
killing off weeds and grass without using Roundup or one of those products that
would linger or you certainly would not want use in a garden or herb garden. The
tip was using white vinegar, undiluted as a grass and weed killer. Even if the
ph of the soil was a bit out of balance after the fact, adding a bit of lime
would solve that problem.
I got busy one evening and dug out my strawberry plants and the other few herbs that
I had planted. I treated the areas with the vinegar a
few days ago. The article that I read said that it may take a few treatments;
however, after the first treatment and waiting a couple of days, I do see it is
working. The grass is dying. Once I do manage to get it all
killed off and under control, I am going to lay down a ground cover blanket and
re-mulch and then set the plants back into the garden.
So, the moral of my story or the lesson that I am sharing with you is, "listen to your mom." I should have listened to my mother. Yes mom, you were right! OK, I am certain she
would like for me to repeat that again. YES MOM, YOU WERE RIGHT! *grin* She told me
when she was up for a visit and helping me with the project, “you should think
about putting down a ground cover blanket before mulching.” I think my response was, “nah, I think I will
be able to keep it weeded and under control.” WRONG!!!
On a lighter note, our veggie garden is really doing well. We have a lot of grass growing in there as well but the veggies are still
growing great. I am certain it is going to be an awesome year for tomatoes,
squashes and okra. We planted corn this year also and it is doing well. I will
post a few photos of the garden soon.
I hope you all are having a wonderful summer and your
gardens are growing well. I hear here in the south we are in for some really
hot days ahead. I hope our gardens all survive.
Many Blessings!
