Weeding really sucks. It's incredibly tedious and my back and legs start to ache almost right away. I'm sure that part of the problem is that I pull things out by hand instead of digging up weedy areas with some sort of tool. Most of the time though, I lean over thinking "let me just get this one weed, it'll just take a sec" and then realize there's more down there that needs to be pulled.
The things I think about while weeding are similar to the things I think about while running or at the gym ie: I'm talking myself into continuing and telling myself a) that its not that bad and won't last that much longer....I'm "almost there" b) that the work I put in now will be worth it in the end because it will make the next time that much easier and c) that this is something I can and will be proud of once I'm done.
Ok I'm done complaining.
I did a good job today. I weeded and then added a bunch of mulch to keep future invaders at bay. I know that even though there will be a zillion new little weeds in a few days the weeds I pulled today would have grown much larger and be stealing precious sun, water and nutrients from the plants I really care about. Check out the garlic above!
In fact, I really like weeding or rather I feel good about the fact that I do it dutifully. It seems to me that a big part of being a good gardener is just a willingness to do a lot of tedious work. Knowing what work to do and how to do it correctly and the timing, spacing and needs and wants of things is the rest and I'm getting better at all of that but, those things are trickier. Weeding I can definitely do.
Plus, it gives me something to do in the garden pretty much every time I go out there. Even if I don't need to water. In June, I always have to weed.
Overall I'm feeling really good about the garden layout this year. There are lots of things going in different directions and the plants look organized but, not so orderly that they're boring. I can get to everything and everybody seems to have enough space to grow.......except maybe the zucchini. Frankly, I'm a little terrified of the zucchini.
The sink continues to be a challenge but, now that I've gotten the person who was putting cigarette butts in it to stop, I've planted some seeds and will hopefully have some new flowers growing out of it.
7 comments:
I like weeding, too... both for the thinking time and for the feeling of accomplishment you get when it's done!
That little sink garden is adorable. What did you plant in there?
Hey blackswamp girl.
Thanks for stopping. I planted mostly california poppies in the sink although I let a neighbor sprinkle some wildflower seeds in there while I was away and I'm not sure what was in them. I'm looking forward to the surprise. The sink is really tricky because it's so shallow and doesn't drain well. It can either be too dry or flooded.
Wow, looks good! You are really on the ball, you should see my mess -- i didn't even bother to post pics yet. It's just gonna go from bad to worse ;)
I find that if I weed as I go along, it's not so bad...trying to find a zen attitude along the way. When I'm not in the mood, I don't weed (just like I gave up alarm clocks years ago)...arrange our lives the way we like them. Nice post.
Barrie
I love to weeding. It doensn't take any thought process at all. I LOVE THAT PINK SINK...
I usually like to weed. I pretend the weeds are worries and I'm plucking them right out of my life... I said usually. Today the heat index was 103. Weeding lasted a few minutes.
Just a suggestion, but you might want to try using newspapers, or straw to mulch around plants...I can just about eliminate the need to weed on 3acres by using mulch....
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