 |
| Eating snow with Daddy while hiking. |
to me as a little girl."To bed, to bed," said Sleepy Head.
"Tarry a while," said Slow.
"Put on the pot," said Greedy Gut,
"We'll sup before we go."
The last two summers have been garden disasters.
We left our cabin in January 2020 expecting to return in March after an Arizona Snowbird RV trip. Our float cabin is in Canada. COVID turned pandemic and border crossings became difficult.
 |
| Summer 2020 weedy float garden. |
When returned in July, my float garden was overgrown with weeds. It took days to ready my beds for the next growing season. Things had to be better by then.
After what we thought would be another short RV Snowbird Trip in 2021, we were detained once more south of the border. Eased rules for fully vaccinated Canadians let us head home in July. I bet you can guess what I found, a float garden
gone wild - AGAIN!
 |
| Weeding the 2021 float garden. |
 |
| Weighted soil cover. |
The writing was on the wall, or should I say in the soil.
It's time to put my float garden to bed. This year I covered the cleared beds with black yard waste bags.
The only soil that remains clear is where spring bulbs and garlic need to grow in our absence.
 |
| The float garden put to bed with winter bulbs planted. |
We are going on an Arizona Snowbird RV trip again this winter. We hope to return in March to prepare our beds for spring bulbs and seeds. Hopefully, we won't find weeds gone wild.
Do you cover beds to discourage winter and spring weed growth? If not, what do you do to keep your garden ready for spring planting? -- Margy
That must have been so disappointing!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you did it. Makes me tired just reading about it!
The first round of weeding in July was bad enough. We should have covered the beds then since we knew it was too late to plant any crops. Lesson learned I hope. - Margy
Deleteoh my so much work
ReplyDeleteHopefully this time working ahead rather than reacting will pay off. - Margy
Delete...I am wedding, spreading compost and tilling my garden. It has a few raised beds, but they don't float.
ReplyDeleteI miss my compost pile on shore where I could process garden clipping. Now my barrel compost maker can only handle kitchen scraps and it doesn't create much new soil. - Margy
DeleteMargy - so glad to have you back at Mosaic Monday! Oh my, those are TALL weeds! I do not cover my beds; that would be a LOT of plastic ... but more importantly for me, I want the seeds to spread willy-nilly, weeds and non-weeds alike. I am willing to do the work of weeding in order to get the propagation of the desirable plants!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to be back. It has been fun writing blog posts again so I have something to share. I have such little soil to work with I have to be stingy when it comes to weeds. - Margy
DeleteWhat a lot of work to weed your float garden beds. I cover my beds with old burlap coffee sacks early in the spring before the weeds begin to grow. They eventually break down in the soil. They make good mulch for tomato plants, too.
ReplyDeleteI hope this year's trip will go as planned, but with Covid, one never knows.
Burlap sounds like a good option. I might look into them for mulching. It gets hot and dry during summers. - Margy
DeleteNature has a mind of its own. Hope you have better luck this year.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Luck so far that a big wind storm didn't pull up the plastic from under its driftwood weights. - Margy
DeleteGood to know somethings have done well in pandemic days! Wishing you a weed free year ahead!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we are feeling a bit like the weeds wanting to go wild. Not yet for us thought. - Margy
DeleteAh, what a shame you have been stopped from getting to your cabin but good on you for trying to get the garden right each time!
ReplyDeleteI don't see long quarantine requirements now that we are fully vaccinated, at least I hope so. - Margy
DeleteArizona sounds like a good winter destination. We've all had to give up things during this bad pandemic. But your garden will be something to look forward to next year.
ReplyDeleteThis will be the fourth year to do a Snowbird RV trip to Arizona. It's nice to get some sun while our cabin is impacted with clouds, rain and wind. - Margy
DeleteWeeds are so persistent aren't they? We have a neighbor who has many weeds in his yard as he likes a "natural" landscape. That means all the weed seeds blow our way and we are constantly weeding. I do not like to use chemicals so we go out and pull, pull, pull. It keeps us busy and limber. Enjoy your winter in beautiful AZ!
ReplyDeleteWe can't use chemicals because the water drains into the lake and we drink the lake water. The seeds must come from far and wide since we are surrounded by water and evergreen forests. - Margy
DeleteGood that you are working on your gardening despite Covid days
ReplyDeleteHave a nice week
Muchđź’–love
The great thing about the cabin is we can get outdoors anytime without worrying about crowds. When we are in town at the condo we feel stuck inside most of the time. - Margy
DeleteWeeds grow so fast and are so persistent. But you are tougher than weeds by tackling with them. I don't mind weeding to some extent, but nuisance is mosquitoes coming around. Good luck with your Arizona trip.
ReplyDeleteYoko
They sure do, especially in the spring and summer. In years past they weren't so bad because I could get them pulled early when they were small and hadn't already gone to seed. - Margy
DeleteLet’s hope travel is back to usual this coming year and you are able to return in the spring. Covering the gardens should hopefully work. Happy winter travels.
ReplyDelete