How do I even begin? A muddy spot in urban wilderness
tangerinedoor
4 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
How do I permanently kill native milkweed?
Comments (22)I hope it isn't rude of me to resurrect a thread from a few years ago, but I came across this thread while searching for information on controlling asclepias syriaca, more specifically, whether the rhizomes can be contained so as to prevent them from taking over (the seeds I'm not as concerned about). I have a couple of 1 year old syriacas in my garden (planted last year), as well as some new syriaca and purpurascens seedlings I have started indoors. I'm just now realizing/reading about how aggressive established syriaca can be. I have been fighting ongoing battles with Japanese knotweed and bindweed in my garden, which makes me very leery of inviting more rhizome-related trouble! I also have a fairly small garden, which means that if the syriaca begins spreading, it will quickly be popping up in my raised veggie beds on the one side, or in my rose/perennial beds on the other side. That said, is there a way to contain the syriaca rhizomes? Jazzygardener, above, mentions black plastic landscape edging--do others recommend this approach? Perhaps I'm overly cautious because of my J. knotweed experiences--those roots spread far too deeply underground for some black plastic to do much good, but J. knotweed is somewhat notorious for that so it may not apply to syriaca. If black plastic would work, what about large nursery pots sunk into the ground? Or alternatively, might it be a better idea for me to focus on better-behaved asclepias that would be more manageable? As mentioned, I do have some purpurascens seedlings and from my reading, it looks like there are many other asclepias varieties that are better behaved. I don't want to do the butterflies any disservice, but I don't know if I can take on another garden battle! What would you recommend? Thanks all for any thoughts and opinions. :)...See MoreWatering Cottage Gardens - Do You, How Do You, How Much
Comments (29)Right now, I need a sump pump...and I live on a hill. More rain in the forecast, too. The weather pattern has changed here - normally an El Nino year means severe drought in Oklahoma. Not this season anyway. With our normally semi-dry to dry summers, I use the garden hose to water EVERY day in most areas and every other day in other areas that prefer dryer conditions. We have our own well, so I can also use the sprinkler without ill affects on my plants. It is just like rain water. The birds, butterflies, bees and amphibians love it too. When I hand water, the birds follow me from tree to tree, so I spray up into the trees and they chirp and sing for me. The occasional tortoise will come out of hiding for a long, cool drink, too. I set the mister on the tropicals and water-loving ferns etc. to keep them happy. This takes all day. I use soaker hoses under my veggies when it is very hot and very dry to prevent scorching and so the water will get down deep where the nutrients are and encourage deep roots. For under my Phlox and roses, &etc., I screw on a fan sprayer and let it run slowly, gently and deeply under them to prevent leaf-scorch, and do this as often as needed. I even water in the winter if it is a dry winter. Soil heave (freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw) is terrible here in Okie, and in dry winters this will kill plants and even small trees and shrubs. And of course, potted plants need a drink just about every day in the summer. That is how I have to do it here to keep mine alive year round. ~Annie...See MoreStarting an urban farm
Comments (38)not much to report in the last three months. spring planting, harvest, and sales were good. but i came down with mono and that pretty much knocked me out. talk about an energy drain. i had just enough energy to put in 200 of the tomatoes that i started, but not enough energy to stake and keep weeded. the grass took over... and that was on my plot next to my house. currently swimming in tomatoes, just none for market. my spring crop bed became my sweet potato bed (a few hundred slips), but those are for me and not for market. i had some problems with the plow not digging in properly and a wet spring / early summer meant that i never turned over the amount of ground that i had hoped to on my urban farm plot. thus no winter squash this year. but i doubt i would have had any anyway based on the weed emergence i experienced on the test ground that i did turn over out there. i got a violation notice from the city about grass height. it was well over 3' tall. in the past, a neighbor had coordinated someone to bale it, but that wasn't an option this year. i had 7 days to knock it all down. so i was out there with the tractor and a brush hog. i went over every inch of that property for the first time. i have a new appreciation for the size of the property. it took a whole weekend to finish. i ended up buying a rake and a small square baler so that i can bale it myself from now on. it won't be the prettiest stuff, but i've got very low dollars invested in it. even if just for compost, holiday display, etc. it will be better than just cutting it w/ brush hog and leaving it on field. i talked with the code compliance officer and he is more comfortable with things now that i will be taking care of the grass. as long as it's cut twice a year, everything will be good. i bought a couple adjacent lots, so closing in on having a rectangle. four lots remain. i'm in conversations with an owner of three of the lots. hope to reach an agreement to purchase those soon. the fourth will probably be offered at tax sale because of delinquent taxes in the next year or so. a great learning year so far....See MoreDrainage company did job - soil is not hardening/muddy
Comments (9)What is it that you are "reporting" to the town officials and why are you waiting until next year? We are planning to move next year. This house was purchased on the grounds of my unemployed father who wanted to get closer to work - a place he hardly worked. My father died in April. My mother is 80 and wants no part of this POS house that my father did not contribute to purchasing. (deed means nothing). The concrete had to be torn up as that would not pass inspection. Neighbors: You cannot dig in the yard without notifying the utilities. You can also not put pipes in and point it towards the neighbors to move your water onto someone else's property. It needs to go to the street. That is per the town and verified by the contractors. I have pictures of them digging and pointing the pipes towards our property. You also need to get permits to do this work. They did not do any of that. Already checked. If the town finds this out, they will be in deep sh-- and will have to fix what they did. This is going away from the point of my post. You may be an expert in drainage (somewhat) but are lacking in common sense. The neighbors will retaliate if we decide to report them for pointing their drainage to our yard. Would you like to see the security cam videos I have of the 40 year old man revealing his penis towards our house and peeing on the fence? How about the various cars that arrive at all hours and stop briefly at the house for a pop in? How about the children hitting our house constantly (knocking pictures off the living room walls) with their basketball hoop pointed towards our house and property. The best one was when it hit our front window. I was hoping the ball would break it. Right now, I'm doing EVERYTHING since my father died and between working 45+ hours per week, helping my 80 year old mother and doing everything my father did, I'm a big overwhelmed and busy. I would have to go through some CDs to find photos of the back yard to post for you. What I posted it what was on my phone and easy to grab. You know what - F-- it --- forget I ever posted here as I'm only getting criticism and other questions about my personal life that seems to be more interesting than the question of "WHO DID YOUR WORK AND WERE THEY QUALIFIED?" This is a pretty expensive mistake to make (hiring the wrong contractor) with money that we don't have (dead father = insurance went to funeral costs). #smh...See MoreChristopher CNC
4 years agotangerinedoor
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agotangerinedoor
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agomad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
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3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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