Mystery Weed / Vegetable? Advice Please!
Jackie L
2 years ago
We moved house recently and have noticed a bunch of plants sprouting in an existing overgrown bed that we have not yet tidied. We have seen everything from carrots to asparagus growing. However, the plant in the below photo has us at a loss (excuse the grass, I'm referring to the large leaves). We've checked the leaves and it does not have the usual stems associated with silverbeet, does anyone know if it is a weed or vegetable?
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Comments (12)
LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoRelated Discussions
NEWBIE - How to reform my "weed garden" into a vegetable garden?
Comments (22)Rent a Rototiller or buy one (link URL below). It will rip out all roots, rocks and weeds. You can then till in some compost, add organic nutrients like Rock Phosphate, green sand, Blood Meal, Bone meal and you have a great start. If you have very bad soil, add in some vermiculite (expensive) but it will greatly improve your soil quality. Alternatively you can use raised beds but that drives the cost up as you have to buy soil as well as the hardware for setting up the raised beds. Here is a link that might be useful: Light weight but powerful tiller...See MoreTucson Newbie needs vegetable advice please
Comments (10)The books in my library include: - Gardening for Beginners: How to Grow Vegetables in Arid Climate by Cromell, AZ Master Gardner Press - Desert Harvest, A Guide to Vege Gardening in Arid Lands by Nyhuis - Desert Gardening Fruits & Veges by Brookbank - Gardening in the Deserts of Arizona - Mary Irish I have more, but you get the picture. Thanks for explaining, that the "pots get hot and that kills the roots." Frankly, that never would have occurred to me, that roots in the ground stay cool, while those in the pot get much hotter. I have moved the pots so they get a bit less sunlight. Since I can't (yet) get the plants into the ground, my plan is to wrap the pots with reflective material (cheap space blankets) that will reflect the heat away from the pots and thus keep the roots cooler. All other suggestions and ideas are welcome. Thanks!!...See MoreWoodland Garden advice required - what to plant to keep the weeds out?
Comments (30)Perhaps true to character for some, poison ivy has taken over this thread. My search for "understory shrubs to shade out weeds" led me here. I am in North Florida, and I like to have safe access to my mature loblolly grove to clear out by hand or weed wrench the returning coral ardesia, nandina, air potato, and broad leaf privet. (In my experience "done once and for all" and "gardening" are mutually exclusive.) But the poison ivy also overgrown there is an obstacle course. Would introducing lots of some native shade loving plants out compete the above listed exotic invasives, so I could let the poison ivy alone? Or would the PI eventually fill up the chain link fence and smother the old camelias there? We are talking fairly deep shade on the ground but dappled sun on the camelia branches. What natives if any?...See MoreWeed control advice
Comments (26)I think I can understand your allergy tete_a_tete. A friend told me she has trouble growing carrots but rejected all my advice about how I grow carrots. Right now I have only a stray weed in the bed that has closely planted carrots and two rows of two different varieties of beets. I probably didn't thin the carrots well enough but we're getting some nice baby carrots and beets right now. My friend planned to use black plastic of some sort to prevent weeds but all I can think of is suffocating the soil. She's only growing for one person so her small garden shouldn't require a lot of weeding. I do use black plastic to kill creeping jenny in the early spring because it only takes a few hours for it to creep into a bed and the winter squash bed gets neglected after the vines die down and squashes have been harvested. Some of my beds were built in 2007 (lasagna method) so I've built up some nice soil. I can see the difference in this dry season between a flower bed that never got a lot of compost and the veggie beds that get a lot. Dry powder in one, nice texture in the other and seems to be holding moisture better. I can understand commercial use of plastic as part of weed control methods but I don't think most home gardeners need to use it much....See More
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
2 years agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years ago
vgkg Z-7 Va
2 years agorobert567
2 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
2 years ago
CA Kate z9
2 years agoJackie L
2 years ago
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
2 years agovgkg Z-7 Va
2 years agoLoneJack Zn 6a, KC
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
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