SIGforum
Fighting season in full swing in my back yard
June 29, 2019, 07:07 AM
asonieFighting season in full swing in my back yard
Up until this week it’s mostly been the weeds. Holy hell the weeds. I’ve lived in a few places while I was on active duty but I’ve never seen a place where the weeds will straight up overrun a property like they will in Ohio. If you’re not spending at least 5 hours a week fighting the weeds you might as well forget it.
I’ve also been engaging in some pretty intense maneuvers to deter the rabbits taking an interest in my veggie garden. The green beans are a near total loss this year but I found a garlic/cayenne pepper blend which has encouraged them to move on before they claimed the rest. At least for now.
This week I caught a scouting party of Japanese beetles. Last year I almost lost a very nice Japanese maple to beetles, not to mention the garden. I had three significant outbreaks over the course of the summer and I thought I was going to cause a mass extinction event with the amount of Sevens dust I deployed. The old timer next door clued me in on milky spore so while this year will likely be another Greek epic maybe I can get the drop on them next season.
I love my yard while I still have the energy to fight the good fight but I can see the day where I might just pave the thing over. Who else feels my pain?
June 29, 2019, 07:09 AM
ArtieSBattling weeds here in Central Florida too. Can't deploy the GrazonNext until I have regular rain. Hasn't rained in 10 days...
"I vowed to myself to fight against evil more completely and more wholeheartedly than I ever did before. . . . That’s the only way to pay back part of that vast debt, to live up to and try to fulfill that tremendous obligation."
Alfred Hornik, Sunday, December 2, 1945 to his family, on his continuing duty to others for surviving WW II.
June 29, 2019, 07:46 AM
BeancookerI used to battle the moss in Washington, so I feel where you’re coming from. I pavestoned the back yard, and it didn’t help. Moss grew on everything.
Here I don’t have a lot to worry about. A little roundup once in a while and I am good to go.
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum: You must have your pants custom tailored to fit your massive balls.
The “lol” thread June 29, 2019, 08:35 AM
JohnCourageWeeds is Georgia are a constant battle. I have some in my mulch that RoundUp cant kill so I have to pull them by hand. I never get them all, it’s just a fight to not let them over run the property.
JC
June 29, 2019, 08:38 AM
AglifterWould some chickens be helpful?
June 29, 2019, 08:43 AM
Beancookerquote:
Originally posted by Aglifter:
Would some chickens be helpful?
Goats. They’ll eat everything all the way to the root. It’ll be a dry vegetation free yard in no time.
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum: You must have your pants custom tailored to fit your massive balls.
The “lol” thread June 29, 2019, 09:23 AM
LeemurI was on vacation for a week. When I left the garden was weed free. When I got back it looked like the rest of the yard.
June 29, 2019, 09:41 AM
ensigmaticquote:
Originally posted by asonie:
If you’re not spending at least 5 hours a week fighting the weeds you might as well forget it.
You're doing it wrong
. Use of proper herbicides in a timely fashion will eliminate most problems for all or most of a growing season. I didn't spend five hours/week last season, and that was the year I finally cracked-down on the weeds.
If you're not seeding, pre-emergent treatments in early- to mid-spring and mid- to late-summer will take
a lot of work out of it. (I'd guess late April to early May and mid-August to mid-September in Ohio, respectively.)
quote:
Originally posted by asonie:
I’ve also been engaging in some pretty intense maneuvers to deter the rabbits taking an interest in my veggie garden.
T-posts and rabbit wire. Done. (Put the wire into the ground a few inches or line the perimeter with bricks or stones.)
quote:
Originally posted by asonie:
This week I caught a scouting party of Japanese beetles. Last year I almost lost a very nice Japanese maple to beetles, not to mention the garden. I had three significant outbreaks over the course of the summer ...
Scott's GrubEx, or similar, applied in late May through early June (in your area) would go a long way toward eliminating, or at least moderating, that problem.
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher June 29, 2019, 09:51 AM
henryazquote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
T-posts and rabbit wire. Done. (Put the wire into the ground a few inches or line the perimeter with bricks or stones.)
Yes, get rabbit wire. Do not expect chain link fencing to keep them out. I have actually seen with my own eyes rabbits going right through the diamond-shaped hole in chain link. And they don't pause or anything, just full bore right through the fence (while the dog was chasing it).
When in doubt, mumble June 29, 2019, 01:32 PM
LS1 GTOWhile it won't help for weeds and rabbits, Diatamacious Earth is a killer for exoskeleton bugs . Once a year or so we'll spread it around the yard to control fleas and flies. You can get it at Tractor Supply or similar type store. Not a lot coin when buying there.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own...