Back to the Garden

A couple weeks ago, Chris tilled up the mess that was my vegetable garden. We pulled out as much Bermuda grass (pronounced bu-mood-a if you are a real Southerner) as possible and I decided to try a second planting before the 'winter' weather comes to stay. It has been in the 80's here during the day, in the mid 60's at night. Meanwhile, my folks up in Montana got their first good snow for the year.

I had some left-over pea, radish, carrot, and lettuce seed, so planted some haphazard rows, and watered them in... I have a solid row of peas, and two of radishes. A row of timid carrot hairs are showing some promise, and a few lettuce seeds sprouted. I thinned out the radishes today, and saved them to top a salad later today. Mind you, I don't know if radish spouts taste good, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try them.

I also decided to rake some of the first fall leaves on a portion of the garden in an attempt to stifle all the sneaky little weedlings that popped up over night. Aside from the invasive Bermuda grass, another thing I despise about Southern flora is the crazy weeds that sprout in the fall. You'd think it was spring, watching the way these bold plants sprout in the face of oncoming winter. In a few weeks, I'll be able to pull up this stuff by the fist full.

I keep wanting to try an experiment, inspired by my Saturday morning listenings to Mike McGrath's "You Bet Your Garden" on NPR. Corn gluten meal is a preemergent herbicide and fertilizer in one. For six months after an application, the stuff kills the roots of any sprouting seed. It also gives the ground a good dose of nitrogen. Late summer or early fall would be the perfect time to apply it around here, as it would keep these weeds from sprouting, and our lawn would look fabulous the next spring. And if I applied it early enough, and skipped any fall plantings in my garden, perhaps I could start with a nearly weed-free garden in the spring! My only problem is I don't know where to find it around here, and I can't justify the cost at this point, anyway...

I know what some of you are thinking... Since I have such a small veggie garden, why haven't I built some raised beds, load it up with good soil and compost, enjoy the natural weed barrier, and fore go the tilling? I'd like to. But once again, I'm limited by time and finances. Someday, maybe.