Yes, our landscaping guy ran over the dead ferns this fall, but not completely to the ground. so now there are dead weeds and new weeds growing amongst them. I'm going to try to water it really well and attempt to pull the weeds out.

If the weeds are really tall already, you'd have to use way too much chemical and it would probably get all over you, too - yuck. I'd mow on whatever the highest setting on your lawnmower is, then spray. Wait a couple of weeks for those to die and see if any new ones come up. If so, then spray those. Wait again and keep repeating if you have to. Till when no more perennial weeds are coming. As far as mulch for the annual weeds, there's really no point at this stage. With as long as you say this area has been neglected, you're probably in a situation much like ours where every time you stir the soil, there are going to be a bazillion new seeds exposed. You're going to be dealing with annual weeds for years to come, but at least they're easy to keep under control. Get yourself a good hoe and get out there before they get any true leaves or even sooner. I hoe once a week at least until mulching time. If you keep the soil loose - don't be walking all over it all the time - it's much easier to hoe. Once you've managed to take care of the perennials, another approach with the annual seeds is to rototill, let them germinate, rototill, let them germinate, and so on. You're getting rid of seeds this way instead of just cutting off their sunlight with mulch, in which case they're still there, lying dormant, waiting for their turn to cause trouble. This much tilling isn't always the best idea for soil tilth, though, depending on what kind of dirt you've got. First, though, I'd concentrate on the perennials and get them eradicated asap. Worry about the others later. P.S. Roundup tip from my (conventional) farmer neighbour... spraying in the fall is more effective than any other time of year. The plant is directing it's energy down into its roots instead of up into growth, which means you need less chemical to kill the plant at its root.

Wow! Loads of more great information. I never even thought of trying used carpet for the walkways between the beds. What a neat idea. Carol, I've run into scorpions (and collided with them) several times here, and it's becoming a dangerous situation for me. I don't think I can afford another sting. We also clearly have snakes, although I've only found one copperhead so far. Now that I know they're around, I keep a closer eye you for them. I noticed that a lot of you have talked of edging material to use as a stopper for the Bermuda grass. It just dawned on me that we still have a whole lot of corrugated metal around from the old chicken pens that have either been destroyed or that need to be taken out. It's really awful stuff to cut, because it's heavy, but anyone who can use it for a garden project is welcome to come and get it. You'd have to do it yourselves, because I'm too feeble to be of any help when it comes to that sort of thing, but it's definitely free. It's just a thought. Roofing for a garden shed? Anchor it as a lean-to shelter for partial shade or windbreak? Lots of different applications, and we have LOTS of it. Bunches and bunches of it. It will just take some muscle to get it out of here. I think my major stumbling block with the whole garden plan is going to be in how to set up some sort of shade without it turning into a big construction project. I really don't want to go there, any more than I want something that a storm can take down or send flying off into Arkansas. Not easily, anyway. My garden plot is not only in full sun. It also gets bounced heat on one end from the back of one of the metal shop buildings to compound the problem. In a normal year it probably would not be such an issue. In temperatures like we've been seeing, it becomes a serious problem. It's hard to keep even the peppers from sagging and wilting. I've even thought about taking cattle panels and running two of them anchored together to make a 32' length and then arching it in a big bow that runs N-S in the garden. Subtracting the distance it would need to go down, it would still leave me with over 20' of span that I could use to suspend shade cloth. The plants would still get some direct sun, but the worst of the midday sun would be cut way down. This needs a whole lot more thought. I don't want to run into a situation of massive overkill, and I think I'm headed in that direction. At least it certainly seems that way. There has to be an easy and effective way to do it, and still leave room for the plants to grow and for me to be able to reach them fairly easily. Hmmmmm. Think, think, think. Or, we could set up the vertical cattle panels and then set posts on all 4 corners and in the middle of the span to support another panel that would balance flat across the top, in a giant T. As far as I'm concerned, anything that climbs up over 6' in height is going to be too much for me to reach anyway, so the overhead crosspiece should not get in the way of anything. I could run my shadecloth across it much easier and a lot more economically (that stuff is expensive!) and it should do the job . . . at least in theory. Right? It would not be as sturdy as the arch, but the shade cloth doesn't have much wind resistance. It we have it well anchored, it just might work. Chandra, I had no idea that HD will rent tillers. We don't have one in Shawnee and the place we rented from last spring had awful equipment. It was old and battered and half broken-down. We had thought of going to Pioneer Rental next year, but I'm not sure what they have available. Has anyone used the HD store in Norman? That's the closest one to us. Do they have Mantis tillers for rent?? That would be awesome. Pat

Krayers, your garden is lovely. You have a real black thumb... And younggardener, you are quite ambitious, it is good to have a plan. If you need some shade anywhere, think about planting some kiwi to grow up and cover a small pergola where you can place a small table and chairs. Give yourself a nice place to sit in your garden area. After that pecan tree comes down,, you might need a small shady spot for yourself, to sit and drink some iced tea? Kiwi are male and female, so you need several females and one male, planted in the same area. It takes them about 5 years to produce fruit, so the sooner you plant the better. They are hardy to something like zone 4 I think. Ours are almost 3 years old now, and I have 4 females and 1 male plant. If I am correct, figs are self pollenating, so you can get by with having only one tree. Our veggie garden is looking a bit ragged too, but the jalapenos are still going great guns. Last year they had blooms still coming in December, and lasted until the hard freezes later that month. Like you, I am getting tired of watering to keep everything else alive, so I'm going to shortly pull those grungy things out. I bought an Okinawa sweet potato at the Saigon Supermarket this week, which has sprouts on it. Maybe it will take hold in one of the raised beds and make something of itself before winter cold gets it. It is the kind that Jay uses to make his sweet tater pies, recipe posted over on the Conversation side of our board. I discover something new at the Saigon market every time I go there. This time I was very pleased to get some dragon fruit. Weird looking, so very colorful, like something Dr. Zeuss would draw. I know it is a favorite of parrots, so if I don't like it, I think my eclectus boy from the Solomon Islands will probably relish having it. And I bought two different kinds of cabbage.