2020 SFG Adventures in Hampstead, NC

Hello SFG friends!!!
Hope all is well with everyone. Maybe this year I will be more productive on this forum and in the garden.

Hello Ralitaco, glad to see you back.

ralitaco wrote: Maybe this year I will be more productive on this forum and in the garden.

My crystal ball says this will be our best year ever!

countrynaturals wrote:

ralitaco wrote: Maybe this year I will be more productive on this forum and in the garden.

My crystal ball says this will be our best year ever!

"A garden is never so good as it will be next year."  ~Thomas Cooper

Thank you all for your encouragement. I ALWAYS tell folks we have THE BEST PEOPLE on this forum.

We are an optimistic group.

When will you be starting the seedlings, or will you be purchasing starts this spring?

Well first I have to thin out or completely pull up my strawberries and weeds. then I will most likely use starts

Having table top beds has got to make it a lot easier for you to weed/thin.

I was looking at my pictures and saw that I had built my 4x4 tabletop with an untreated plywood bottom back in April 2015. I lined it with 6 mil plastic. 





Here is a photo of the underside from today:


For the most part it still seems solid. I did not get a chance to inspect it as long as I wanted because my DW's Frenchie saw me on the ground and thought it was time to play 



Anyway, I thought this might help answer the question of "how long does the plywood last in a tabletop?"
So...5 years and counting.

I have neglected my SFG beds for pretty much the last 2 years, with the occasional weeding of the major growth. One of my 2x8 beds is covered in what the PlantNet app suggests is Chickweed. These buggers have sprouted throughout the entire bed and when I try to pull them up they break off at the soil or pull up clumps of the soil. 

Here are my questions
1. Just out of curiosity, is this chickweed?
2. How should I get rid of it so it won't come back.
     a. Pull it out as best I can
OR
     b. Cover the bed with some Black plastic to kill it off.
OR 
     c. Roll it into the existing soil

If the answer is B, do I just secure the plastic and leave it for a month or so? I know this may be a silly question, but I know if I have something laying in the yard like a doormat, there will be new growth under it. I want to be sure I get rid of this so I can plant something yummy.

I did take some time today and cleaned up one of my 2x8 TT's. This bed used to be our herb garden. Over the years, we pulled them out or they died off or were broken by storms. When my Strawberries multiplied, I used this bed to plant some of the offshoots.

BEFORE:


AFTER:



I forgot I had planted some tulip bulbs in a couple of squares. My DW had gotten some in a pot as a gift and when they died off, I just stuck them in the open squares. Truthfully, I did not think they would grow, but the Mel's Mix is something else...

Nice! I love having a few flowers mixed in. It turns gardening into a celebration. Hmm, I guess it really is, anyway. During the Depression and WWII, the Victory Garden must have really been a blessing to those who lost so much.

Unfortunately, since the Chickweed has been able to go to seed, it is going to be very difficult and time consuming to get rid of it.  Since it is a very shallow root plant, the easiest way to get rid of the plants is to use a fork (not a shovel) to loosen the soil and pull the plants out without breaking the roots. They have a lot of runners, and the runners will pull up with the plants. After the plants are out, work through the soil with your fingers to find any missed pieces of root and pull them out.

Over time you will see young plants start from the seeds that were left behind. Pull them out as soon as they are spotted, while the roots are small.

OhioGardener wrote:Unfortunately, since the Chickweed has been able to go to seed, it is going to be very difficult and time consuming to get rid of it.  Since it is a very shallow root plant, the easiest way to get rid of the plants is to use a fork (not a shovel) to loosen the soil and pull the plants out without breaking the roots. They have a lot of runners, and the runners will pull up with the plants. After the plants are out, work through the soil with your fingers to find any missed pieces of root and pull them out.

Over time you will see young plants start from the seeds that were left behind. Pull them out as soon as they are spotted, while the roots are small.

Once I pull them out, can I cover with Black Plastic to heat the soil to kill the seeds? If so, how long should I leave them covered

So this week I got my hands dirty and cleaned up my other 2 beds. 

One of my 2x8 TT's had the chickweed (see above) which I pulled:
Here is an AFTER pic:


When I pulled a clump I noticed some small round orange balls.
I am wondering if they are seeds, eggs or something to do with nematodes?
Any thoughts?

A few years ago (maybe 2018) I planted a half dead, free strawberry plant in my original 4x4 TT. That year the one plant sent out runners, and
I had several plants - about 4 per square. They produced small to medium berries that were so-so on the sweetness.
Those plants sent out runners the next year, etc., etc. and this is what I ended up with:



I pulled them all out. Then I replanted the largest, healthiest looking ones 1 per square:

I am hoping that by having only 1 per square, the plants will grow bigger, produce larger, sweeter berries.




So, now what do I do with a few leftovers. I planted about 50 in the ground (I know, I know)

Nice, Ralitaco. We'll have to start calling you the strawberry whisperer. Mine haven't done a thing in over a year.

ralitaco wrote:So this week I got my hands dirty and cleaned up my other 2 beds.  . . . When I pulled a clump I noticed some small round orange balls.
I am wondering if they are seeds, eggs or something to do with nematodes?
Any thoughts?

I sure hope someone can answer this question. If they are eggs, clear plastic for solarizing may help if they are eggs.

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html

ralitaco wrote:When I pulled a clump I noticed some small round orange balls.
I am wondering if they are seeds, eggs or something to do with nematodes?
Any thoughts?

Those are not Root-Knot Nematode, since they are not encasing the roots themselves. They look a lot like earthworm cocoons, but I suspect they are a fungi that is breaking down organic material.

countrynaturals wrote:Nice, Ralitaco. We'll have to start calling you the strawberry whisperer. Mine haven't done a thing in over a year.

That’s funny. I just ignored them and they flourished. Of course the plants I fret over all die. But que sera.

sanderson wrote:I sure hope someone can answer this question.  If they are eggs, clear plastic for solarizing may help if they are eggs.

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74145.html

me too. 
I think I’m gonna buy some clear plastic like the article says. 

Hey then I’ll have it to make a hoop house.

OhioGardener wrote:Those are not Root-Knot Nematode, since they are not encasing the roots themselves. They look a lot like earthworm cocoons, but I suspect they are a fungi that is breaking down organic material.

Thanks OG. The only reason I thought they might have something to do with nematodes is because I had issues with them in that end of the bed. 

If they are worms then I just relocated them to a hole I was filling in the yard

It's personal this time...@#$%@#$% Squirrels!!!!

I got these bins from work. Not sure what I am doing with them but they could be used for seed starting or maybe even lettuce.

That is a lot of bins.  How deep are they????