First 4 x 4 plot planted!

[skeetermonkey]

So, in a surfeit of work, I shifted 16 cubic feet of soil on Saturday night while everyone was partying.  I dug a 4’ by 4’ hole, and then I sifted it all back in.  The result was a nice, soft, loosely packed soil.  That took about 3 hours.  On Sunday at twilight, I laid out the grid and used a small 1 1/2” bowl to make indentations in the right

Comments

[skeetermonkey]

The weed thing isn't as bad after I sift the soil. On the patch I did last month, it has subsequently rained and I think I got 2 foxtails in a 4x4 section. No mallow, nothing else. That may be because the topsoil is buried and sifted, so the stuff on top hasn't as many seeds; I don't know. But it's been pretty weed free. With more rain, perhaps it'll have more weeds, but watering in a surgical fashion also means I have less green stuff to pull up because it just won't grow without water.

So far, I'm using only foot wide pathways, but I may make that 1.5' if it seems too difficult. But also, the majority of work has been sifting the soil, and I have some ideas about making a better sifter with some scrap wood and screens. I welcome anyone's advice on how to sift soil. I also need to start mixing in the horse manure in about 33% ratios.

I also find it therapeutic to dig up the mallow and bury it good. I hate the stuff. I also have nettles and chamomile(!). Terry's comment about it lasting dozens of years buried under the ground does not encourage me in the slightest. It's like the cockroach of weeds!

[don_fitch]

Don't let Terry scare you. Yup, many weed seeds can survive for years under storage conditions, or even in the soil. But in the latter situation, the percentage that survive, for most species, seems to drop off quite rapidly. Rhizometous grasses, such as Bermuda, and nut-grass, are Seriously Evil, but assiduous persistence does pay off. Of course, if you relax vigilance for just one season, you're back at (or close to) square one. Generally speaking, I abhor a "Zero Tolerance" approach, but when considering weeds, in a small garden, much good can be said for it.