Tuesday, June 5, 2012

For those behind in weeding, this could make you feel better/Do you know what these weeds are?

(This is the third day since starting this post.  Maybe I can finish it up, because I already have some photos taken for another post.)
Looking across the street from our driveway, you'd never know a vegetable garden could thrive with all those trees.  The tall one is a walnut tree, which one is never supposed to garden under.  I didn't know that when I first started, and the plants there did about as well as any in the garden.



I had lots of marigolds come up from two different heirloom varieties I grew last year, and I moved some to this area.  There are also some zinnias and tithonias coming up.


There are also a number of kiss me over the garden gates.  I finally decided to thin the ones in front of the log a couple days after taking this photo.



There are a few volunteer fennel plants growing here and there.  I'm thinking you aren't supposed to have them near other plants, either, but the plants that grow over here are ones that are determined to survive, and I can't tell if the fennel causes any problems.


This is the area on the other side of the trees.  These kiss me over the garden gate plants are taller than the ones growing so closely together, and are blooming.  They will still get taller.


I've mentioned I got some seedlings of these from a friend a few years ago.  I have since passed a number along to other folks.  This is a wonderful old fashioned flower I've never seen in a garden center, although I have seen seeds the last few years.


There are some basil seedlings in the area around the kiss me's.


This is the main poke weed plant I let grow.


I can't remember if this is Soloman's Seal or False Soloman's Seal.  I didn't think it was going to make it last year, because the stem broke.


Here is a volunteer clump of daisies.


This area does not get watered very often, but the spiderwort I tossed in is doing fine.  I may move some more over there.


I was going to make a succulent wall planter with these blocks we picked up from the EcoStore, but changed my mind, and decided to make a raised bed.  We haven't had the time to get free city compost, so I went ahead and planted peppers and tomatoes in mounds, with the plan to get the compost in there soon.


Here's a longer view, facing east.


The plants are growing pretty well so far, and the tomatoes are blooming.


I am hoping to get most of the weeds out soon.  I want to keep some for the rabbits to munch on, and would like to figure out what some of them are, because they could be host plants for caterpillars.


I haven't been munching on the lamb's quarters as much as in the past.


I need to find out when the best time is to cut money plant to dry the seedheads.  There are trees growing right through the lunerias.


Back to the vegetable area, I planted lots of parsley for the caterpillars.


I had lettuce come up early, but the harvest has not been the best, I think, due to the weather.  I have some more coming up, and am glad the evenings are cooling off a little, since the days are in the 80s.  Time will tell if these grow enough to harvest before they cook.


There are a number of volunteer agastaches.  This one was about 4 feet tall last year, and even though I trimmed it back a few weeks ago, it is growing large again.


I learned what this is from a book I have, but don't remember what it is.  At a tour of a local prairie Sunday, I found out that rabbits do not eat it.  I had been letting some grow, hoping they would eat it instead of my plants.


I have been making an effort to keep the onions weeded.  I'm not sure why they fall over.


I planted beans, cucumbers, and a few carrots in the enclosure a few days ago.  I pinned it down, hoping to keep the rabbits out.


I gave a start of this campanula of some kind to the woman who lived here before the current renter, before I was asked if I want to garden it, and she planted it back here.  Look how much it spread!  I have been pulling some, but it has not stayed pulled.


It sure has a pretty bloom.  Maybe I should put some in a wash tub.  I have some at home still, and may dig it out, as it keeps spreading farther than I want it to, and again, it is not staying dug out when I try to limit its spread.


These potatoes are a few feet from the enclosure.  They are a bit leggy, because they don't get as much sun as they'd like.


This is facing the south side of the garden, the other way from the above photo.  I wear gloves when I pull out the stinky sumac.


When we had the curb work done on our street, I moved a number of perennial geraniums to the area along the fence in this garden.


I planted some bushes to provide some screening from the next door yard a few years ago.  I need to learn how and when to prune them.  There are lots of weeds in this area that need taken out.


I'm thinking this is a porcelain vine.


Look what the neighbors have growing between the fence and their wood dealy!  I want to look up to see if one can keep a mulberry tree pruned and manage the size of it.  Do you know?  I'd love to have some mulberries to eat.


I can't remember if this is the mock orange, or one of the viburnums I planted.


I'm pretty sure this is Mohawk Viburnum.


This will be the third summer for the raspberry plants.  I hope they spread more this year.  We had a few raspberries last year.  I need to find a way to divide the compost pile so that I can turn it more easily.  Also, I wonder if it will cause the neighbors' fence to rot if it is touching it like that.


Heading back west, dill and marigolds are coming up near the old broken make up station deal that used to be our daughter's.  There are a lot of violets in the area, too.  You can barely see the wood pile on the other side of the tub that the previous renters' son helped me make a number of years ago.  Oh, I guess part of it is next to the tub.


Here is one of the weeds I'd like help identifying.  Do you know what it is?


Here's a closer view:


Here's another.  Do you know what this is?


Here's a bloom from the above plant.


This is looking back toward the street, and our yard.  For those behind, does this make you feel better?  ;o)


Maybe this will.  I am not currently using the hose caddy.  I need to figure out what to do with it.  The neighbors who live here cut some branches back and piled them here.  I am not feeling the need to have another wood pile, so I plan to move these away from this area.  I really need to get the weeds under control.  I am just not feeling the need to get rid of all of them, though.  I still think some may be of use to insects in some way.


The neighbors on the other side of the property moved last week, and three young men from another state, who are going to UNL will be moving in.  One is taking agriculture classes of some kind, another is into landscaping, and I forgot what the third is taking, maybe something to do with livestock.  Two of them are brothers, and it is their parents who bought the house.  I showed the mother the fence, where there is some writing I had been planning on painting over, and she said they would power wash it.  When she was telling me what the guys are taking, I mentioned wanting to find out what the weeds are, and she said that the one into landscaping would probably know what they are.  She said he may want to take care of them.  I said, "Oh, no, I don't use chemicals.  I am planning on pulling some and keeping others for the insects.  I think she thought that strange, but that's OK.

I hope your spring/summer is going well.  I am enjoying working at summer school with two students who I know from the school I work at.  It's prime gardening time, but so far, I am managing.  It's been a bit hot to be out.  By the time it was nice last night, the biting insects were out.  I did get some deadheading done, though.

13 comments:

  1. nice collection of vegetables.
    Never seen this side of your garden - so different from the floral one in your front yard.

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    1. Hi James, this garden is across the street. The owner of the house used to live in it, and was neighbors with my in-laws. I share some of the produce with him and his tenants, when I have enough to share.

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  2. The yellow flowering plant I believe is tri-foliate clover which is a noxious weed. I know the others too. I believe the last one with the yellow bloom may be in the nightshade family.

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  3. I'm always so entranced by pretty leaf shapes good and bad Sandy

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  4. Sue, the only thing that reminded me of my gardening this year was that pile of dead weeds....I tend to leave those everywhere. As for the rest of it, I think it looks great. Now if you really want to see some weeds and "relaxed" gardening, just let me know!

    I agree with the nightshade family on that first weed; not sure about the yellow bloom. It does remind me a bit of our chinese lantern weed but the leaf looks different. Have you looked for a 'weeds of Nebraska' or a wild flower of Nebraska' website?

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  5. Boy oh boy do weeds get ahead of us fast...You should see mine; weeds but also invasives! Good luck out there. gail

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  6. I define a weed as a plant in the wrong place. I too am struggling to stay ahead of weeds - and I leave piles around, since I hesitate to put weed seeds in the compost. Thanks for sharing this side of your garden.

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  7. I think I have the same two weeds with yellow blooms that you have, Sue, but I'm sorry I can't identify them. I've been looking for a good book to help in identifying weeds; it seems like every year something new pops up that I've never had in my garden before. Whether I know what they are or not, it seems like it's a never-ending battle in my garden to keep the weeds out.

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  8. Kit 'Aerie-el' Cameron wrote this comment on FB, saying she wasn't able to leave a comment here. Dang, I think I have this set for the easiest way to make comments, but I've had problems leaving comments on other blogs at times. Sometimes, things don't work right. She told me I could copy and paste it here. (Thanks, Aerie-el!)

    Seems like there is never an end to gardening (a good thing, mostly!), especially when adding garden beds, like the raised bed you put in using the blocks. You are way ahead of me! But don't feel bad for me, I'm starting from scratch in a new location, and have a lot to learn for this zone before I start putting in or taking out anything except the weeds.
    about an hour ago.

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  9. Thanks for your comments, and identifications of my weeds. while I'm cutting and pasting, I will also put the FB comment from Alison, who I met online from another friend's FB posts, since she identified them as well.

    "Sweet clover is the yellow flower the rabbits won't eat. Deer eat it at the farm but don't control it. The hanging yellow flower is on a ground cherry. There are about 3 or 4 that grow in NE, not sure which one. The middle non-flowering weed is mapleleaf goosefoot. We have it in our garden. PS we had lambs quarters tonight for supper!"

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  10. That was a false soloman's seal! Not to worry! Your garden is still shaping up to be quite nice though, it looks very collective.

    -Oscar Valencia

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  11. I can't help you with identifying you plants Sue, but I have to say I'm impressed with the variety of things you have coming along. It's all doing great.

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  12. So there ARE some areas of your yard you haven't covered with plants yet! I thought you had it all completely planted over :-) I'm trying to smother weeds with lots of mulch, but it doesn't always help. I know the names of cultivated plants pretty well, but must admit I'm hopeless at identifying "weeds" - which are just native plants, some of them quite beautiful really.

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.