Friday, July 15, 2005
Here's a few shots I took around the house. Just trying out the new camera. In each case you can click for a larger version.
I call this one "Beetles in the Blooms":
This one is entitled, "The Corbomite Maneuver":
Please send me my NEA check now.
Now here are a couple of questions for my readers, who's ability to identify obscure plants I have been dazzled by in the past.
Does anyone know what this plant is? It grows all around our yard, has very little root-structure (pulls up very easy), grows these little orange flowers and seems to be a favorite for the deer to nibble on. Is it a weed, or should we leave it be?
And this one is certainly a weed. It grows everywhere. Here it is among the strawberries. What is it?
The bigger one is whatcha call yer "average tall kinda light green weed". The smaller one in the strab'ries is one of them "little darker green weeds".
/hitches his thumbs in his overalls and spits...
Yup.
Hi Sol, don't know the name of Weed No. 1, but it's definitely a weed. Criteria for weed demolition activities: is it ugly? is it threatening to take over the garden? is it taking water and nutrients away from your expensive perennials? does it distract from the shrub or flower it's next to? Editing is so important in a garden!
I think the weeds in your strawberry beds are some kind of mint, based on the leaves (alternating perpendicular growth). Mint is among the most invasive of plants and they are no doubt taking way from the potential fruits you could be enjoying. Kill them!
I tend to leave the pretty, non-invasive weeds at the edge of our property. They soften the edges and help with the transition to the woods. Weeds in the garden beds closer to the house are mercilesly uprooted or slain with Roundup.
Thanks! I'm going to try to notice if those things have any smell...I don't think they do. I'm pulling them up as I can get to them, but they are literally everywhere. Not just in the garden but...everywhere. I need some sort of high-tech spray that targets their genetic structure (and only theirs).
Although, oddly enough, we do have a definite mint problem there. Spearmint, I believe. Very fragrant, but also taking over the garden (only the garden area). The root structure is twined all over underground...like an underground vine that sends up shoots. I've managed to keep it down in the area in the shot above, but it's a constant battle.
I'm telling you, Roundup is your friend. Very effective in killing weeds, readily breaks down in the environment, doesn't linger like the organo-phosphates of yore.
A time-consuming but effective method is to cut the weed off at the ground surface and spray the exposed area of the plant/root interface with Roundup. Sometimes it's impossible to remove all root material without really disrupting the other plants in your garden. This way you kill the roots, which are perfectly capable of regenerating the entire plant. Even itty bitty pieces of roots left behind grow into full-fledged evil weeds a just a few weeks. This battle will be an ongoing one, but you will see fewer weeds every year if you stick with it. Hmmm, is there a corollary to the WOT here?
Roundup Rocks