This past week I decided that, rather than trying to clear a large space for a lot of vegetables this year, I would simply grow a “stew” garden consisting of asparagus, red and russet potatoes, and carrots in the plot already cultivated.  While I don’t consider asparagus a stew vegetable, I love it.  (I only wish I didn’t have to wait until next year to eat it!)  The decision to stop there didn’t require a lot of thought.  The grass surrounding my garden is growing full tilt and aggressively trying to reclaim lost territory, requiring measures for stopping its advance.  (I know, good luck with that!)  Ironically, I’m trying to get a lawn growing around my house, and have spent days spreading new topsoil, seeding, and watering.  I still managed to weed my garden and dig out the grass between the beds.  I’m pleased with the result; it looks SO much neater!

The red potatoes are growing well and I noticed a few russets peeping through the soil.  A neighbor graciously gave me some rhubarb plants.  I’m looking forward to strawberry rhubarb pie later this summer!

I wanted a hedge along my west boundary but was not sure what to plant.  I finally decided on Canadian hemlock, a beautiful ferny evergreen, and just finished planting 24 of them.

My sister and brother-in-law helped plant my lawn.  Before we seeded, they suggesting arranging some flat stones around the downspouts to help slow erosion from the runoff.  I think it looks quite nice, besides.

I also planted currants and elderberries, which I enclosed in cages to prevent deer from getting to them.  (Little Mount St. Helens looms in the top right corner. It was going to be a rock garden, but I found the pile’s composition was mostly fill, along with a lot of rocks and grass roots.  Still. . .there may be hope.)

© KoppingAnAttitude, 2016  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without written permission from the author is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.

I had spent several days digging out grass for a garden spot. Wanting to devote all my energies to that one task, I tossed the rocks and sod pieces to the side, intending to gather them up, pile the rocks, and burn the grass after it dried.  What I did not consider, however, is the amount of soil retained by those fine, dense roots even after I’d knocked out as much of it as I could.  Those thick clumps are hard enough to burn without clods of dirt the consistency of concrete clinging to them.  Added to that, there was a lot more to pick up than I realized.

I had about six of these loads.  Not surprisingly, the grass underneath all that sod didn’t look very happy.

 I decided to dispose of the rocks first.  I hauled my loaded Gorilla cart  to the edge of the field and started building my pile.  There is a low bank and a lot of rocks, so the grass along that side had never been mowed and had dried to a thick unruly mat.  I had already raked much of it away from the fence, ready for burning.

As I worked, I thought about the sickly grass underneath the sod and got an idea:  What if, instead of burning those pieces, I instead piled them, root side up, atop the grass growing where I had burned?  Maybe that would suppress the new growth enough to eliminate the

need to burn the following year.  As I increased my garden plot, I would immediately load the sod and take it over, eliminating the extra pick-up.

So, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. . .and the bank doesn’t even look that bad!  I will admit, though, it looks better from a distance.

I know that some plants, like purslane, when placed upside down will develop roots on their leaves and stems and replant themselves.  I don’t know whether grass fits into that category but, if so, it will provide the subject for another post!

© KoppingAnAttitude, 2016  Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without written permission from the author is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given.