What Did You Do In The Garden?

[flowerbug]

We have a terrible infestation of canadian thistle all over the ranch. I can no linger even walk out in the back pasture where my stock used to be, as they are so thick and taller than me

they're hard to get rid of once they're well established. sadly i kept leaving these alone thinking the farmers who were spraying the field would eventually get them - they didn't and now it is being left fallow so...

i don't want to let these go to flower stage if i can help it so i'll keep mowing them back as much as i can until i can ask the neighbor (who owns the field) if he'll pay for herbicide or what he'd want to do about it.

when i see them here in the yard i'll dig them out if i can get a shovel into the ground. the patch in the field to the south is too big for me to dig by hand all at once but i could eventually get it done a bit at a time as long as i can keep them from going to seed.

they're easier to get rid of compared to some other weeds i've dealt with. proper gloves and other clothes required if touching them when they get bigger. i just mowed them down about a month ago when i saw them getting taller, it took an extra hour to do but it sure does knock them back and then i got them again last week so they're not very tall and i won't let them get very tall.

 

[heirloomgal]

I pulled a ton of weeds by the rock wall, in front of the roses I went after with my chainsaw this spring, and cut down to nothing.
They are looking pretty pleased with themselves!

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You have the most beautiful rose bushes I've ever seen. Until I saw your photos, I didn't think roses could really look like that.

 

[heirloomgal]

We have a terrible infestation of canadian thistle all over the ranch. I can no linger even walk out in the back pasture where my stock used to be, as they are so thick and taller than me

Those are vicious! I occasionally get a thistle sliver in my big toe from them if I step on one of the small ones by accident while wearing sandals. I researched them once in an effort to get rid of them, they struck me as an odd weed because weeds generally are not that vicious here. Turns out it's not even from Canada, it was one of the first invasive species to arrive here in grain shipments from Europe.

 

[Zeedman]

When we started the rural garden in 2005, there was a bad infestation of Canada thistle there that initially took advantage of the tillage & spread. It took DW & I several years of relentless attack, but we finally wiped them out. We just kept at them with a pick hoe, cutting off any emerging shoots before they could build up strength, and digging up roots where we could. The roots finally ran out of stored energy & died.

A patch of those thistles appeared in front of my wood pile; that one I sprayed with weed killer, at the same time I sprayed the persistent burdock that was there. Both are gone now... nothing left there but creeping Jenny (that is the only place I will tolerate its presence).

I've had several bull thistles pop up this year... probably spread from the vacant, thistle-farming lot just upwind. There is a tall, perennial, invasive thistle spreading in my area that I have yet to identify, and they now have that too. It seems to be spreading along roadways, where I sometimes see huge patches (it seems to kill everything else where it grows).

 

[digitS']

I ventured a little way into what was the gardening neighbor's ground but became a weed patch. The closer Italian and Canada thistle were clipped off close to the ground.

Italian & Canada, @heirloomgal ? Yeah, probably like the "Spanish" flu of 100+ years ago - now thought to have originated with US servicemen sent to Europe, if I remember right.

Arrived at the big veggie garden about 6AM and the wind was more-or-less just right for running the sprinklers. (It's 90°f (32°C) right now at 5PM.) Harvested another Red LaSoda potato plant and having a cabbage roll and peas & new potatoes for dinner. Brought a fairly small Italian eggplant home. Surprise- none of the others are even close! And, as I had hoped - there were 3 heads of broccoli that have developed and were harvested despite the marmot raid.

 

[Cosmo spring garden]

Weededpart of the strawberry patch. It was so hot and humid even at 6pm that sweat was just rolling off me. Not fun but it needed to get done.
Also watered the beans, picked off bunch of June bugs, bean beetles, cucumber beetles and Japanese beetles. Harvested some cucs, squash and basil.
Got a box ready for a friend who buys fresh veggies from me during the summer. Sometimes I trade them for her dish scrubbies that she makes.
Also transplanted some dill, marigold and cilantro in the greenhouse.

Also made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with the kids, no crust pumpkin pie and a big batch of pumpkin waffles.
Have a good night all

 

[peteyfoozer]

You have the most beautiful rose bushes I've ever seen. Until I saw your photos, I didn't think roses could really look like that.

The roses that do well here, really do well here! This one is on my chicken coop…

 

[peteyfoozer]

Couldn’t do much today but finally managed to make it to the back room to work on a stained glass piece for a baby gift. Time got away from me until Fen showed up with his empty dog bowl and sure enough, it was time for his dinner. He’s too smart by half!
I fed him and went out to water the garden, got some more cardboard and old hay down between the raised beds, got a bunch of radishes and begged my itty, bitty, almost microscopic plants to grow and make food.
On the way back i cut some poplar branches, raspberry leaves, little sunflowers and some currant bush for the rabbits They seemed pleased with their dinner

 

[flowerbug]

Those are vicious! I occasionally get a thistle sliver in my big toe from them if I step on one of the small ones by accident while wearing sandals. I researched them once in an effort to get rid of them, they struck me as an odd weed because weeds generally are not that vicious here. Turns out it's not even from Canada, it was one of the first invasive species to arrive here in grain shipments from Europe.

they have roots that are much easier to track down in the clay as compared to some of the others i've had to deal with. they're big and bright white which makes them easier to pick out of the dirt after breaking up clods. also if you can repeatedly dig up and pull what comes up they do eventually run out of energy (like any other plant that is repeatedly cut back or dug up). it just takes persistence and consistent effort.

smothering them with cardboard also will help, but you may still need to go through and pull the cardboard aside and chop the sprouts back if they can find gaps to come through.

 

[flowerbug]

...
Italian & Canada, @heirloomgal ? Yeah, probably like the "Spanish" flu of 100+ years ago - now thought to have originated with US servicemen sent to Europe, if I remember right.

that was supposedly from chickens that had some kind of disease that jumped from them to him.