Weeds

The cucumber seeds are up and growing.  I know the warm soil really makes a difference but its crazy how fast they are growing.  Beans are just starting to pop up too.

I guess I should talk about weeds.  Recently having a conversation with my mother about her alyssum and moss roses that have re-seeded themselves everywhere I flashed back to my Biology and Botany roots.  A weed really is just a plant that is not growing where you want one to grow.  Be it a bindweed or pigweed or cucumber or watermelon, if it is not growing in a place that you have specifically planted it....it is a weed.

I think the best way to rid yourself of this weed is to pull it.  If you get it early enough it won't have any seeds that it will spread from.  Unfortunately the "weeds" we fight have seeds that will disperse when they are very young. The portulaca you pull probably won't have any seeds it will spread all over the place, the creeping spurge you pull out however will.  If it has even a few leaves it seems that it will have seeds ready to jump off the parent plant and land wherever you have pulled it.  Even the portulaca you want ( moss rose) and the weed sometimes called a water weed or purslane seems to have different ideas of when to spread the seeds.

Purslane is a "weed" that is a very edible plant but we spend a lot of time pulling it and trying to kill it in our gardens.  It also tends to have viable seeds very early and when we do pull it we just spread it around. It even goes as far as growing from cuttings. You can drop a chunk of this purslane and it will sprout and grow.  It is very hardy.  I really wish a lot of my garden plants were that resilient.

August Planting!

It's almost August! The end is near! YES YES YES  I have ordered my cucumber, bean, carrot and even some tomato seeds.  The best hope for some cukes in the fall is plant the seeds now since they do not enjoy the soil as it cools down. They always do better in warmer soil.  I ordered carrot tape again since it makes it so much easier to plant and you don't have to thin them.

I have been using a soaker hose for the watermelons and have to admit after all my years of turning my nose up at the weird looking leaking little black hoses I am a fan.  It really makes it a lot easier to water when its still sunny outside.  I have noticed the vines seem to do a little better when you make sure you run the boiling water out of the hose before you hook it to the soaker portion.  Everything about them makes sense if I really sort it out in my head, not sure why I have never really used them. The cucumber rows will all have their own line of this genius hose so as they grow and spread out I can simply connect to the line of soaker hose and water right at the root.

The watermelons have been doing great.  They are now even climbing up the old dill stalks and setting fruit.  The pumpkins have failed for the most part.  I am holding on to the theory that there are just some things I can grow and some things I cannot.

Since August is approaching, I am looking forward to the fall of course.  Not yet time to get the cabbages in for sauerkraut or the radishes or beets but it still gives me hope that the end of summer is near in AZ and everything will cool down and I can get back to my garden...