Weed Your Garden

It is constantly time to weed your garden in the spring and summer, especially if you have been blessed with a lot of good rain. First, you will need to be able to tell the difference between the plants growing from the seeds you planted and the weeds. Once you can tell the difference, pull the weeds up, pulling the roots out as well. Some weeds may be deep down so you might have to use a shovel to get them out of the ground.

Weed Your Garden - 6/5-6/11/2023

Monday, June 5, 2023

Isn't this photo gorgeous? I love the way the sun is bouncing off of the clouds. Eventually, we did get rain.

Good Monday morning! We were going to close this coming Saturday for David's high school reunion but now he does not want to go so we will be open this Saturday, June 10th from 10am until 2pm.

It rained again in the night so I don't have to water my plants this morning. That is awesome. It is already hot and humid. It is already 81° at 11am.

My Trimlight Edge lights are out again. Of course, we had thunderstorms all weekend. We think it is the surge protector that the company plugged the lights in. A surge protector is supposed to protect something electronic from blowing out. Every time we get a storm, these lights burn out. I am truly sick of it. Last time, the guy made it seem like it was my fault, telling me this is getting expensive and that no one else has this problem but us. I am in the house when this stuff happens. I can't even reach the plug when I am on the stepladder. It is up high on the ceiling. I told David he needs to deal with them again because I am pretty sure they will not say that stuff to a man.

It rained in the evening for the fourth day in a row. The extra rain has been nice, making everything lush and green. Of course, the weeds are nice and big. More rain means you have to weed your garden more unless you are using weed barrier. That stuff is phenomenal because you don't have to weed but if you want to transplant something, you need to cut a nice big hole, bigger than the hole you burn in.

What a gorgeous sunset God gave us this evening. I was outside putting my chicks to bed and I looked up. Just beautiful!

Weed Your Garden - Weed Barrier

This black garden cloth is called weed barrier.

To make things easier off the bat, before you start your garden, cover the bare soil with a landscape cloth called weed barrier. Lay this down and use special clips to hold it down into the ground. This prevents weeds from growing. The stuff is great. When it is time to plant, there is a sort of flame thrower that burns round holes in the cloth so you can plant your seeds. You can also cut the fabric with a knife or scissors. In the long run, even though it is not cheap, it saves you a lot of time doing unnecessary and time consuming weeding.

This fabric allows some air and water to pass through it but keeps the seeds from weeds from germinating and spreading.

Be sure to smooth out your garden bed before laying the fabric down. Weed your garden bed of everything and remove rocks. Then lay it down and pin the fabric to hold it in place. Wind will carry it away if it is not pinned down. Yes, that happened to us when it gets really windy out here on the farm.

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Today, we thought we would get rain, but the storm clouds quickly dissipated and they did not come back.

It is now 4pm and 89° Fahrenheit. It is miserably humid. The clouds are starting to roll in. Every evening for the past four days in a row, it has rained. The forecast says no rain today, yet the clouds are coming in.

Summer is here in all of its heat, bringing an end to school, graduations, summer vacations, and weather that is too hot for a garden, although the temperatures have been mild compared to last year. It is time to start thinking about your fall garden as you weed your garden that you planted in the spring.

Things here are green and growing beautifully but it could hit 100° any day now. Last year, it hit 100° in early May and stayed that way until September. The only things that grew well were okra and zinnias. So far, everything is growing so nicely right now.

If you are up north, we have a lot of spring seeds for you to grow. If you are down south, it is too late so as I said earlier, it is time to plan your fall garden and get your fall seeds ordered now while we still have a great selection.

It is also a good time to check on what garden chores you need to do in the month of June and get those done early.

I hung up a new waterer and feeder in the Leghorn's pen. They figured it out pretty quickly. It makes it easier for them to get food and water. I think I really like it. I have two more for the big chicks.

While I was outside late this afternoon taking care of the animals, the clouds gathered and the wind blew beautiful cool air our way. It felt great. I was sure we would get rain for the fifth day in a row. We did not. I went in to cook dinner and when I stepped out again, the clouds were gone and the heat and humidity were back.

We had a huge harvest of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, strawberries, blackberries, peppers, and goji berries. We had a lot of fresh produce cooked and raw for dinner. It was delicious.

Squash, zucchini, and different cucumbers are all mixed in here. The garden is really delivering this year. Last year it was too hot. This year, it has been great so far!

Some of the large tomatoes picked today. There were also many cherry tomatoes.

The cell tower two lots over was being put together on the ground today, piece by piece. It is very interesting.

Here is a small portion of what will soon be the new Verizon tower. They have been putting it together for days now. Every time I look, there is more.

Weed Your Garden - One Small Space At A Time

When we first moved to our property, we had the waist high weeds plowed under and then we started killing bull nettle. We had to do this to have places for our garden to grow.

Weeds seem to multiply overnight. You can get all of the weeds out of one space and a week later, if you have not kept up, they are back and then some. That is why it is important to have certain days where you have to attend to the weeds. You may need to hire someone to help you weed your garden, especially if you have a big garden.Always pull the weeds up by the roots or they will come right back. Make sure you train whoever is helping you to do the same. Use gloves and small shovels to dig them up if they won't come up easily. Be careful because some weeds will prick you. Watch for snakes and scary spiders.

Mentally, when you go to weed your garden, start in one spot and finish that. Then do a different spot the next day. For instance, today I am going to pull up all of the weeds in my corn. Tomorrow, I will weed my potato patch. Once you are done with an area, mulch it to help keep the weeds down.

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Sunrise this morning from our back deck. I got out early and fed and watered everyone. The humidity was high that early.

Good morning. The UV light we put in the pond filter last week is not working. The water keeps getting darker. I cleaned it yesterday. I am cleaning the pond again today. I wish that we had not gotten a pond because it just won't stay clean. The UV filter that we put in three times now just isn't cutting it. The light burned out and we cannot get the right replacement. We called Water Garden Gems and they sent one that is too big. I tried finding one on Amazon. They did not have the exact one. The one they sent does not work. The light will not come on.

I had to clean the pond again today but it is still dark.

The hens appear to be on strike because they don't want to lay in the heat. Not sure why, but the air conditioners are not coming on out there.

I just saw a weather report that the heat index will be above 100 starting this weekend. So I guess the miserable hot summer has finally found us.

The men are hard at work in the heat building the cell tower.

The cell tower continues to grow.

Well, summer is here. It is hot and humid. School is out this week. People are planning their summer vacations. Of course, we will be here all summer long. I miss the days when we had the freedom to just go and have a good time. If you are in the San Antonio area this summer, drive on out and see us at the farm. Tours of the farm are just $3 per person and right now, there is so much to see with so many things growing in our gardens.

Weed Your Garden - Pull Weeds Up By The Roots

Weed your garden well when you are planting melons as they will take over and spread out.

As I mentioned yesterday, you want to properly weed your garden by pulling weeds up with the roots intact. Do not leave the weeds in the ground because if you do, the plant will just grow back. Wear good gardening gloves so you don't get splinters from stickers in the weeds. Use shovels, hoes, and garden forks. Throw your weeds in the wheelbarrow and haul them off to the compost heap. Don't just throw them on the ground for them to grow back.

Make sure that your helpers know what ones are plants you want and what ones are weeds. If they don't know, they will pull up your plants and leave some of the weeds. I speak from experience here.

So a few weeks ago, we were having a pick your own carrots event and two of the ladies who did the pick your own carrots decided they were on the weed your garden bandwagon. They actually pulled the carrots to take home and they pulled out a bunch of weeds. It was great and they said they enjoyed it. We did not purposely have weeds for that purpose.

It is hard to get good help, especially in the heat. We do have an outdoor crew. Weeding is one of their tasks along with watering, harvesting, planting, fixing pvc watering systems as they break and so many other chores that David has them doing each day they are here. They are not here every day so some days we have to send out our indoor crew to take care of things. A lot of times, David and I have to do what needs to be done, especially on weekends when we are all who are here.

Some of our weeds, like bull nettle, which is nasty with a lot of prickers, go down deep in the ground. You have to really dig to get those roots. We have removed a lot of them but some just keep on coming back, like those in the parking lot. When the parking lot was dug back in 2019, they did not plow deep enough so the bull nettles there keep coming back. We brought in a lot of expensive dirt to go on top of our sand and we do not want to destroy all of that to go down deep.

Thursday, June 8, 2023

Good morning. I slept pretty good and got up and out the backdoor pretty early to feed all of the animals out back. Everyone was good out there. The baby chicks are three and a half weeks old now and they love the new coop. They are getting the hang out of sleeping in the nesting quarters and some have been roosting. When I open the door, they all come running out now to eat and roam around their yard. I am not sure but three of the Easter Eggers look like they have darker and bigger combs than the rest. I have never had Easter Eggers before but I sure hope we didn't get three roosters. I paid extra to get all girls for egg production.

Today, the Leghorns are nine weeks old. They are getting big fast. Foghorn keeps attempting to crow but it sounds like he needs a shot of testosterone before he gets that crow right. He is so cute trying to crow. Soon, he will do it.

There are spider webs all over the place, plus a lot of wasps. So I have been taking down spider webs by my animal shelters and on the pond. Yes, spiders are building web habitats right across the pond and across the falls. I took a bunch of them down this morning. Some crazy spider had built a web in the night across the Leghorn pen's little window, complete with wrapped dead bugs. It was disgusting so I got that down out back with a water gun I found out there.

Then a little while later, David was talking to some of our workers out on the deck here at the business and they found two wasp nests so I had to spray them good. They had a lot of active workers. I have already taken down so many this season.

The best way to weed your garden on the ground or in large raised beds is to get a long handled hoe. If you have small spaces to work with in your garden, get a hand held hoe. Make sure you get some good garden gloves and a bucket to throw the weeds in as well. Start out with one small bed or a small square of your garden. Get it all weeded and then move on to the next small section. This way it does not seem overwhelming to weed your garden and you will get it all done over time.

The best time to weed your garden is after the rain or after you've watered because then the soil is loose. Many weeds will just come right out. Lots of them don't have deep roots if you have been weeding on a regular basis.

Well, it hit 100° this afternoon so the cool weather is now over.

The guys picked so much produce including some of my potatoes. They have never before been picked and I should have been the one to pull up the first ones. Many are very tiny. They say they dug up some of the dead ones.

When I fed my chickens tonight, there was one large brown potato from my garden lying amongst the chicken poo and hay in the chicken's play area. Why? Chickens are not supposed to eat uncooked potatoes.

Weed Your Garden - Weed After Rain or Watering

This is one of our many garden beds. As you can see, it has some weeds. Keep on top of it and weed your garden as soon as you see new weeds.

The way we have been getting rain here has been wonderful but it really makes a lot of weeds grow which means more chances to weed your garden. Not only have we been getting rain but, of course, we water our crops each week. David has some sort of rotation schedule. I hand water my plants and my trees that are too young to put out in the orchard. There are even weeds growing in the pots my trees are in.

Cut Your Own Zinnias

We have enough gorgeous zinnias growing around the farm now that we are offering Cut Your Own Zinnias. Cut three, four, five, or six zinnias with an eight inch stem and take them home with a small vase starting at just $7.45 for three. Here is the link.

Friday, June 9, 2023

Happy Friday. It is 1pm and 94°. It is supposed to hit 102° and then cool down to 73° overnight. Absolutely miserable. I went out early this morning and fed and watered all of the animals but did not take any photos. It was so humid. The air was disgustingly thick.

The Trim Light guys came this morning, changed out the panel in the indoor unit, took off the obviously defective surge protector, and gave us more amp power outside. This is the third replacement they have had to do. The lights were just installed this past fall. They say they no longer give out surge protectors and the other clients have no problems. We did not ask for one. They gave it to us. I hope they don't have to keep coming back every time there is a thunderstorm because we have had a lot of them this year.

Weed Your Garden - Jump On Weeds Whenever You See Them

Peppers are growing in this bed but so are the weeds. The weeds keep your plants from getting water and nutrients they need to make food for you. Weed your garden!

When you see a weed in one of your raised garden beds, don't think that you will get it next Monday. Pull it out right then and there. If you wait until next Monday to pull him out, all of his relatives and friends will have moved in, making your job out in the heat that much worse.

Saturday, June 10, 2023

3 for $1. Only today until 2pm.

Good morning. The animals got fed before 7am today. David left to get his haircut by 6:30am so I rushed around and got everything all taken care of. I started some laundry and did dishes. I came to the store and put up more product. Today we are having buy three yellow squashes for $1. Today only.

The baby chicks knocked over their water and one escaped this evening. After a lot of sweat, she finally got back in the chick yard. I fixed up everything. They are growing fast.

Matt made pulled pork for Svengoolie and it was delicious! He also put up new drone footage of the place on YouTube that he professionally edited.

Weed Your Garden - Put Plants Closer Together

This garden bed is mostly well weeded and looking great! All it needs is a little mulch.

Another way to cut down on weeds is to plant your plants closer together. Do they really need to be 12 inches apart? That is just 12 inches where a whole family of weeds can move in and take up residence while your plant is growing. There is nothing easy about gardening. It is hard work. You have to weed your garden so your plants will get the water and fertilizer they need. If you leave the weeds, the weeds will get the water and fertilizer meant for your plants.

Sunday, June 11, 2023

Good Sunday morning. It is supposed to be 102° and miserable today. I got up early and went out to feed the animals before 7am. There was a beautiful, strong breeze that kept on blowing so I felt good the whole time I was out there. All of the animals were doing great. I had to water the plants up front because they were so dry. Then I came back to my area and watered. Of course, some very special folks moved a bunch of plants to my area, blocking me from my workspace and blocking me from some of my plants. But that is a rant for another day.

David's friend from high school is in Texas for a reunion. We ended up not going yesterday so his friend is coming by to see the farm. We have not seen them in maybe 15 years since they live up in Washington state now.

We may have to leave church early for it. We did leave church about ten minutes before it was finished. There were very few people there today.

Left to right at our Official Selfie Station: Pat, Sharee, & David. Pat & David went to school together and played football together in Leakey. I took the photos.

Well, Pat and Sharee did come by the farm and we had a great visit. We gave them the grand tour and they stayed about three hours. We haven't seen them in over 16 years since before they left Texas. Interestingly, Pat comes here for business every summer but has never let us know before. But that is how it goes in life, isn't it?

After the tour we were supposed to go out to eat but they had to go do other things. We came in and had leftovers. It is now almost 6pm and it is 103°. That is ridiculous. I have to go out and take care of the animals but it is just too hot. I just came back in from feeding the fish and locking up the business. I cannot believe this awful heat is here again. At least this year, we got tomatoes and so many other beautiful vegetables and fruits. We are grateful.

Our tomato harvest for today minus all of the split ones. Those went to the chickens who loved every minute of it! The super big one, top left corner weighs 23 ounces. It is gigantic.

Weed Your Garden - Mulch Your Garden

These garden beds are in the front by our Farm Store. We are planting flowers in the tubs and herbs in the towers.

Either go buy bags of mulch from your local garden center or buy a mulcher and make a ton of mulch to put down on your garden after you weed. Mulching really does help to control the weeds and it keeps the ground more moist so you don't have to water as often.

Return from Weed Your Garden to Our Fourth Year

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