Weeding

Before

A couple Sundays ago, Master Ken spent at least an hour talking about mulching and weed control. He said that he personally doesn't spend much effort fighting weeds, but if we really want to suppress weeds, we need to get 3-4 inches of mulch. When Backyard Food Garden worked on Sand Village Farm last year, they dumped 2 truck loads of mulch on the farm. It barely covered the area. Now after the rain season, much of the weeds have returned. I also noticed some new weeds that I don't remember seeing before.

During Master Ken's lecture, Crabgrass and Bermuda Grass were mentioned as two common tough weeds to control. I didn't know exactly what they looked like at the time, but I was pretty sure I have both on the farm among many others, such as California poppy and Nasturtium. Anything can be a weed if it is growing in the areas that you don't want them to be.

After

The patio area was now covered with weeds. You could barely see the patio. It was time to pull those weeds out, so I can host BBQ gatherings during the summer months. I spent just under an hour pulling as many weeds as possible from between the bricks. It gets hot very quickly when you are doing bending, squatting, and pulling under the sun. I got about half way done and decided to finish up later on, possible after the sun goes down.

I saved a few California poppy and nasturtium plants that I pulled out. A friend of mine loves anything orange including orange flowers. California poppy and nasturtium both have bright orange flowers, so I am going to see if I can get them to grow in a couple pots. From past experience I know they don't transplant well. Alternatively I can grow them from seeds.

California poppy is considered a weed on the farm