In many respects, it’s been a perfect spring. The cool start
with only a couple of days of bloom blasting heat allowed spring flowering
bulbs to appear on stage long enough to receive a standing ovation. We did have
a nasty frost in May, which punished the keeners who planted annuals too early.
It also severely abused one of my tender hydrangeas — ‘Big Smile’. It survived winter under the snow, sprouted
leaves in earnest, and then lost them all to the frost. Guess who isn’t smiling
now.
The good news is the regular rainfall this June. Instead of
having to water at every legal opportunity to ensure new stuff actually grows
after I planted it, as was the case the last few Junes, I’ve been watching my
rain barrels overflow. The frequent rain is tough on farmers trying to harvest
hay, but at least the corn is racing skyward, as is a columbine in my garden. It
normally grows to about waist height, but thanks to the extra moisture and
perhaps a little too much compost, it’s outpaced the nearby delphinium and is
now as tall as I am, tall enough that I’ve had to give it a ski pole for
support.
Everything is growing well in the veggie garden too,
especially the zucchini. I like to see enthusiastic plants, but with zucchini,
there’s a fine line between a good harvest and a disposal problem.
But, along with the good news goes the not so good, and the
bad, and the worse. This weather has created perfect conditions for opportunistic
vegetation, that is — you guessed it — weeds. When I say weeds, I mean anything
that sprouts where it I don’t want it to sprout. Trouble is, I swear every seed
that ever floated into my back yard, plus every seed produced by plants
actually growing in my garden has sprouted. This is because they were protected
this past winter by a good snow cover. With all the rain, germination has been
guaranteed.
It’s the weeds in the cracks in the patio and pathways that
are the problem. Out front, the gravel paths are especially susceptible and
have taken on the look of an urban wasteland.
If you’re faced with out of control weeds, there are
options. Plenty of mulch is a fairly easy solution for most flowerbeds unless
the weeds are outnumbering preferred plants, as can be the case if a bed has
gone untended. The only solution is to dig out the good plants, replant
elsewhere temporarily, then cover the whole bed with plastic sheeting to
smother out the weeds.
If things are especially bad, it may mean leaving the plants
in and sacrificing everything. The plastic will need to stay in place for as
long as a year, but it does the trick. As for weeds in pathways, I use a crack
weeder, a hook shaped knife that works very well, especially after a rain.
Using boiling water, vinegar, or even salt to kill weeds is
often suggested, and they do work to some degree, but too much of the latter pair
can be harmful in a garden. Another alternative is a flamethrower — not a
military version, but a small blow torch. Keep in mind that this will
contribute to your carbon footprint, so use sparingly. Another trick is to sprinkle
corn gluten on the pathways. It has been shown to inhibit the germination of
seeds, though how well isn’t certain. I’ve tried this in the past and it did
show promise. If all else fails, it’s keep on weeding and hope for a drought —
or maybe not.
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