I vanquish thee, ribbon grass!
26 May 2009 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
3rdragonFollowing long-standing tradition, my posts from home tend to be rather more boring, nitty-gritty, and down-to-earth than my posts from school. In this case, quite literally.
Due to one thing and another (no, really just one thing: my brother wasn't going to get back from the shore until very late, and he was being dropped off at dad's house), I stayed at dad's house last night, a night that I was not expecting to spend here. Between the two fitted sheets problem and the fact that it got really cold and windy early this morning, I gave up on sleep at about 5:52 and got up to tackle The Garden.
A bit of history: Several years ago (>9) a neighbor gave my mother and I an ornamental grass for the front garden. Not too long after (>4 years ago), I, now in sole command, realized that this grass constituted A Serious Problem. (It is a mark of how much I like that neighbor - and the fact that she didn't know what she was getting us into - that we are still on speaking terms.) This grass was aggressive. This grass was invasive. This grass, unlike the ridiculous sort of grass that we all try to grow in our lawns, thrived all too well and spread at an alarming rate, pushing out all other plants. Hence began my annual crusade against the ribbon grass. Unfortunately, once I decided to take action against the grass, I wasn't here most of the time. And even when I was, it was a very intimidating task. Furthermore, the nature of ribbon grass being what it is, it's the sort of task that needs to be done in several installments, say, over the course of a summer. With the result that once a year I yank out most to all of the visible ribbon grass, but I can't get the entire root system, and by the next year, it is not only back, but it has spread.
This year I was smart. I picked a cool, rainy day. I'll be here, on and off, for the next three months, and will be able to remove any ribbon grass that escaped. I went after the ribbon grass with a shovel, rather than the weed-poking tool that leaves the ground mostly intact but allows you to get the roots (of regular weeds like dandelions). And I wore gloves (as a result, my hands, while sore, are not cut up - a definite improvement).
Four hours of work later, there are now tomatoes in the front garden. Dad will be bringing pepper plants tonight.
Due to one thing and another (no, really just one thing: my brother wasn't going to get back from the shore until very late, and he was being dropped off at dad's house), I stayed at dad's house last night, a night that I was not expecting to spend here. Between the two fitted sheets problem and the fact that it got really cold and windy early this morning, I gave up on sleep at about 5:52 and got up to tackle The Garden.
A bit of history: Several years ago (>9) a neighbor gave my mother and I an ornamental grass for the front garden. Not too long after (>4 years ago), I, now in sole command, realized that this grass constituted A Serious Problem. (It is a mark of how much I like that neighbor - and the fact that she didn't know what she was getting us into - that we are still on speaking terms.) This grass was aggressive. This grass was invasive. This grass, unlike the ridiculous sort of grass that we all try to grow in our lawns, thrived all too well and spread at an alarming rate, pushing out all other plants. Hence began my annual crusade against the ribbon grass. Unfortunately, once I decided to take action against the grass, I wasn't here most of the time. And even when I was, it was a very intimidating task. Furthermore, the nature of ribbon grass being what it is, it's the sort of task that needs to be done in several installments, say, over the course of a summer. With the result that once a year I yank out most to all of the visible ribbon grass, but I can't get the entire root system, and by the next year, it is not only back, but it has spread.
This year I was smart. I picked a cool, rainy day. I'll be here, on and off, for the next three months, and will be able to remove any ribbon grass that escaped. I went after the ribbon grass with a shovel, rather than the weed-poking tool that leaves the ground mostly intact but allows you to get the roots (of regular weeds like dandelions). And I wore gloves (as a result, my hands, while sore, are not cut up - a definite improvement).
Four hours of work later, there are now tomatoes in the front garden. Dad will be bringing pepper plants tonight.
