Garden update: Weeds and the psychology of Swiss chard
It was probably May 20 when I swore I would weed the garden religiously and never get behind.
So it was a shock last night when we stopped at the community garden and could barely find our plot for the weeds.
Great. Now we're "those people."
In an attempt to repair our reputation, we were at the garden by 6 this morning. Yawning and scratching, we were about to put down the coffee and get to work when a friendly gardener wandered over.
"It's been a bad year for the weeds," he said sympathetically.
That's the great thing about community gardening. Alone in the back yard, you feel like the only person who's ever lost her curcurbits in a field of velvet leaf.
Gardening among strangers, everyone's a friend. And they all blame the weather, rather than your lack of diligence, for the weeds.
In addition to pulling 4 tons of weeds, we picked our second crop of Swiss chard this morning. It's a hearty green that grows all summer. (Unlike spinach, which is wimping out right about now.)
We learned a couple things about chard husbandry last season:
Don't pick delicately. Cut the stuff off at the ground and move on. It will come back.
Don't let it grow more than 12 minutes before picking it again. The smaller the leaves, the better.
Don't waste affection on the chard. Save it for the Brussels sprouts. We prefer to use passive aggression when working around the chard.
For example:
"Oh, no, chard! Don't worry. I got it. You just wait right there while I go get the hose. No, really, it's no problem at all."
How does your garden grow?
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Jun 30, 2011 at 8:57 p.m.
Suggest removal
From each plant of swiss chard, the largest leaves should be picked leaving the plant to keep producing new leaves from the center of the plant. You just need to reach in and snap individual leaves from each plant. One shouldnt' really wack the whole plant at once. ;-)
Jun 30, 2011 at 3:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
Good idea, turkeyman.
Jun 30, 2011 at 1:15 p.m.
Suggest removal
The magic word is cardboard. Get some single ply. Lay it down between the plants & rows (I have some extra) Works really good with tomatoes Keeps the weeds down,the ground from drying out & the tomatoes off the ground. Best is by next year if will have rotted away.
Jun 29, 2011 at 7:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
Community garden weeds are resilient (evil) creatures. Every year, the husband and I swear to stay on top of things so the weeds don't take over, then we watch in frustration as the weeds grow faster than our food, and by the end of July we're grumbling, "Next year we'll stay on top of things..."
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This year I think we're actually winning the battle. We mulched heavily with straw and the only tall green plants we see are the ones we put there on purpose. (And the weeds in neighboring plots, of course.)
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Don't feel too bad about being 'those people' because the rest of us know exactly how vicious those weeds are. Evil, evil creatures they are...
Jun 29, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
Anita was stir frying Swiss chard with arugula at the Janesville Farmers Market last Saturday. I also found out what bubble tea was all about. (hint: there's no bubbles in it).
http://tinyurl.com/JFM-20110625
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