Garden Project

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 19:54:51 -0400 from Streams

A couple of years ago we spent some time fencing in a garden area for my wife. We made raised beds, brought in good soil, and secured the whole area to keep dogs, cats and larger-sized critters out.

I think @whistlewright ???? was doing a similar project around the same time.

a photo of a fenced in garden with a woman pouring water into a can

I was just out looking at the garden and comparing the current photo with the old one.Here is what it looks like now:

whistlewright ????

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 23:08:31 -0400 from zap

That's great! I am not even going to take a picture of ours. We are in an extreme drought right now and everything on the property is burnt up. We haven't had any significant rain in about two years now.

Adam Robertson

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 23:49:05 -0400 from Streams

We are also in a drought, however, the water district we are in has rights to five different rervoirs so we are still alloiwed outdoor watering

Cyborg 2-A ✅

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 00:19:33 -0400 from libertious

Cheese and rice it's super dry in copper.

mike

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 16:58:37 -0400 from y

I built something similar but did it on the cheap about 7-8 years ago and it's really starting to degrade and fall apart now. It also got taken over by un-killable "devil grass". Will use yours for inspiration when I do it over, but still not sure what to do about the devil grass. It takes a few years under black plastic with a generous dose of RoundUp every six months to eradicate it - and even then it's all over the surrounding lawn and will just creep in and take it over again. But gardening here has simply been a tragedy. The first few years it was drought. Now nothing will grow because the ground is too boggy and everything drowns.

Adam Robertson

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 20:10:27 -0400 from Streams

@mike We also did a much cheaper job some years ago (I even used logs from some fallen trees) but it completely fell apart. This time we purchased treated lumber, cemented in the posts 18 inches deep and splurged on a green-plastic-coated fencing. So far it is holding up nicely.

I am sorry to say that the same devil grass is currently creeping into the garden. Our tentative plan is to (when the grass takes over completely) to turn it into a chicken yard for a year and see if they clear it out

whistlewright ????

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 21:46:17 -0400 from zap

If our chickens are any indication they will clear out the grass for the year they are in that section but a year after that the devil grass will be back in spades.

I am not too sure what devil grass is exactly but we are overrun in nut grass and silverleaf nightshade around here. Chickens won't touch the nightshade, well they will scratch at it but not eat it.

whistlewright ????

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 21:49:19 -0400 from zap

Here is the wikipedia article on the silverleaf nightshade. My Latin friends call it trompillo. It is my understanding that if you pick the berries at the right time they are not as poisonous and can be used for rennet in cheesemaking. We have not tried this theory out.

Solanum elaeagnifolium - Wikipedia

Solanum elaeagnifolium, the silverleaf nightshade[1] or silver-leaved nightshade, is a common native plant to parts of the southwestern USA, and sometimes weed of western North America and also found in South America. Other common names include prairie berry, silverleaf nettle, white horsenettle or silver nightshade. In South Africa it is known as ...

Adam Robertson

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 22:55:18 -0400 from Streams

We don't have that here, but it grew in S.C. when Oliver there as a child

Sophie Hassfurther

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 05:02:12 -0400 from hubzilla

@mike
Devil's grass is also an indicator plant - too much zinc in the soil, and it is a plant that pulls zinc out of the soil.

So mowing the lawn, putting cardboard over it, a little bit of soil mixed with compost and then growing other plants that are zinc-tolerant / zinc-extracting
could help. Like mustard, thistle, and a few others. I am no specialist, but maybe some of your neighbors have experience with that method...

Alimentazione e quello che sta intorno

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 11:34:28 -0400 from hubzilla

If "Devil's grass" instead means gramigna rossa (Cynodon dactylon), which is everywhere where I live, I would say as far as eradication is concerned: a never-ending task

Adam Robertson

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 12:20:15 -0400 from Streams

@Alimentazione e quello che sta intorno Yes, that picture is what we have.

We have had this type of grass on our property for over 12 years and have not discovered any way of eradicating it. It is quite powerful.

mike

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 16:32:18 -0400 from y

Yeah there are a number of different varieties. I think in America the most common are Bermuda grass and Buffalo grass. In Australia it's Kikuyu. (pronounced 'kie-kee-you'). My wife wonders where I got the name 'devil grass'. Truth is I made it up, but I'm sure anybody who has ever tried to eradicate it will know instantly what I'm referring to.

Alimentazione e quello che sta intorno

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 18:51:38 -0400 last edited: Wed, 03 Aug 2022 19:05:56 -0400 from hubzilla

I didn't know Kikuyu before.
This grass really seems to be even more aggressive.

whistlewright ????

Wed, 03 Aug 2022 21:50:35 -0400 from zap

Oh... Well my whole yard is naught but Bermuda and a touch of St Augustine. There ain't no killing it. All it needs to survive is a little water