Weekly update -- August 24

On August 21 we had two days (24 to 48 hours) of rain. Here is a map of the rainfall totals as of 7 Am on the 22nd. We are in the purple area near the top of the map with 2.51 inches of rain average, but in Elmhurst it was amazing the amount of rain that came from several different storms.

Courtesy of NOAA.gov

A press release from the City of Elmhurst stated this:

The City of Elmhurst experienced a significant rain event beginning Thursday, Aug. 21, and
continuing through the overnight hours into Friday, Aug. 22. Real-time data from the United States Geological Survey reveals several heavy bursts; 0.31 inches in 10 minutes just before midnight; 1.19 inches in approximately 30 minutes just after midnight; 0.26 inches in 10 minutes at 1:15 a.m.; and .42 inches in 20 minutes at approximately 2 a.m.

A total of 4 inches of rain fell in northern Elmhrust, where the garden is (only 2 inches down were I live.)

The roads to the garden were flooded and I expect that the garden itself was under water. I could not go see for myself as the roads to it were shut down.   The railroad tracks however, would act as a barrier keeping the rain in the lower area to the north of the tracks which is where the garden is located.

taken with my cell phone so not as clear but you can see the darkened earth from the rain

Lots of tomatoes, but nothing ripe because it is not that warm.  The rain is not making the tomatoes happy.  They may die from too much moisture.

When I was finally able to visit on August 23rd you could see the mud and dirt in the garden paths showed that a river must have run through the garden area.  It was too wet to walk even on the paths and I became a muddy mess just trying to harvest a few zinnias for the garden club competition.

Because of the rain, the weed population, especially in the back garden area around the squash and beans, has more than doubled.  Some of the weeds are taller than the squash and melons.  You can see the yellowish fruit about int he middle of the last photo.  That is the only melon so far on the musk melon plant, but with all this rain I am not sure the powdery mildew problem will be going away at all.

The peas were about to give us a second crop, but I think they are going to die back instead because of the wet ground.  The beans both bush and heirloom climbing beans seem to be faring well, but I could not harvest them  for fear of ruining the soil around them.

All I did was cut my zinnias.

You can see the remnants of the river in the path to the right but the broccoli rabe and hot peppers seem to be doing well despite the soaking.

I did not stay very long, as I was sinking into the ground everywhere I stepped both in the grass around the patch and on the garden paths too.

Weekly update 6/22 & 6/29 - Weeds and Rain

It has been raining for weeks now.  Just about every day between Father's Day and Sunday, June 22 it rained.  Not just a nice shower, a sweeping, heavy rain and wind storm that soaked the ground.  When I went to the garden to weed and harvest everything was so wet that even walking on the paths was a sloppy slippery mess. If you pulled a weed you got large clumps of soil along with it.  There was no possibility of weeding without severely damaging the garden, compressing the soil, and making a mess. So we put away the tools and went home.

taken 6-21-14

I remember when this happened in 1993 and caused the Mississippi River to flood so I am hoping we get a reprieve from the continuing rain soon, but it is not looking that great.

you can see lots of weeds, but not too big yet (6-21-14)

It wasn't until Friday June 27 that I was finally able to get into the garden.  It did not rain on Thursday at all and Wednesday it rained only in the morning, so by Friday I thought I might have a chance to attack the weeds that were quickly taking over. Now with another week of growth, some weeds were bigger than the plants they surrounded.

You cannot even see the basil planted between the tomatoes

Friday was hot and humid.  I worked for two hours or so and got about 1/3 of the garden weeded.  By the end I was a hot, sweaty mess that took two showers to make human again.  Granted I did the hardest parts first because, well I know myself, if I have to come back and the hardest part is left, I will throw up my hands in despair and run away, however if I return and see an easier task I will knuckle down and get to work.

around the weeded beans 6-27-14

Friday night, the hubby came back with me to the garden around 7 PM and we worked for another hour and tackled most of the weeds.  The garden looks much better now and I think that we got most of them before they produced seed.

Will not weed the herb garden until next week, but everything else is well weeded now.

Keys to Tackling a Weed Population:

Weeds are opportunistic plants, popping up wherever conditions allow. Even if you embrace a more casual attitude toward weeds, you'll want to control their growth by focusing on prevention as well as eradication. With that in mind, think about all the things that you do to stimulate plant growth. Now, to suppress weeds, do the opposite. 

1. Yank them young

Your first defense against weeds is to pull or hoe them before they get established. Learn to identify weeds as young seedlings and nab them as they emerge. 

2. Stop the seed

If you don't get them as babies, at least don't let them go to seed. As the old gardening saw goes, "One year's seeding makes seven years' weeding."

3 . Mulch

Organic mulches include compost, shredded leaves, wood chips, bark, dried grass clippings, and other biodegradable material. A 2- to 3-inch layer will keep sunlight from reaching the weed seeds, preventing their germination. Apply mulch immediately after weeding or digging your soil. Take care to keep mulch an inch or two away from plant stems to prevent rot caused by moisture retained in the mulch. Your mulch material will also conserve water, keep roots cool, and nourish the soil as it decomposes. 

Another gardener put grass clippings over the entire plot then planted through them.

4. Plant densely

Grow plants close together, and they will consume the available space, nutrients, and sunlight, thereby bullying the weeds out of the way.  This works really well for herbs.  But even my husband commented once the tomatoes get a bit bigger they will starve out most of the weeds around them.

tightly planted lettuce crops

5. Pull, Dig and Hoe

Remember not to yank perennial weeds. You'll break off the root, and another weed will appear. Use a long screwdriver or weed-pulling tool with a forked end. Hand-pulling becomes easier as your soil improves.  For larger weeds, you may want to use a shovel to get all the root and runners.  And using a pointed hoe, diamond shaped, give you the ability to scrape off shallow root weeds and dig out a pesky established weed.

6. Cover

Some gardeners use plastic sheeting, newspaper, and weed-barrier cloth (sometimes called landscape cloth) as mulchlike covers. This is very popular in the Community Garden.  Probably among people who do not have the time to stop by the garden everyday to yank the young weeds.  If this is you, just play the material over your planting areas and cut holes for your plants to grow through. Dark fabric will block out light and smother young weeds.  

Another garden in the community patch using landscape cloth