June rainshowers bring... WEEDS

* UPDATE: I will be sending out another UNOFFICIAL weed warning today. I know it's been wet and hard to get into the garden, so this email will just be a heads-up.

Everyone,

We've had more rain than usual this June -- almost 2" more -- , which means a few things:

1. Our veg have been growing nicely without much need for irrigation,
2. Our weeds are also growing really, really nicely, too, and
3. It's been harder to get into the garden without losing a shoe in the mud.

The weeds part is what concerns me. Of course, our garden attracts a lot of visitors and so we want it to look nice, but really, to you and me, the main concern with weeds is that they're competing with our veg for nutrients and space.

The easiest way to keep your weeds to a minimum is to cover your soil. There's a hold on straw at the moment, but there are tons of other things to use to cover your soil -- newspaper (sheets or shredded), cardboard boxes, cardboard paper, compost (thick -- 2-4" deep), grass clippings (great source of nitrogen), dried leaves, aged manure, and leafmold, to name a few. No shredded hardwood or wood chips still. But all of these other options will tame the weedjungle in your plot and reduce the need for you to bother the soil by cultivating (which incidentally brings more weed seeds to the surface).

I've heard some grumblings about the compost bins being full. Yep, I know it, and we're working on it. I've had two groups of volunteers come out and clean out the tops of the bins -- you've probably seen the results of their work in the clumps of decomposing weeds along the fenceline. We're experimenting to keep the weeds along the fenceline suppressed. I'm also going to clean out the bins further this week when I have a chance to use the Kubota.

But here's the thing -- if you cover your soil, you have fewer weeds. Those weeds that do make it through the newspaper will be small and few and easily weeded when they're small. The smaller the weeds when they get put in the compost bins, the slower the bins will be to fill up.

Some other thoughts:

1. Please don't leave clumps of weeds in the walkways -- or in another person's plot, as has been happening. Be responsible for your own weeds. 
2. I'll be honest with you -- when I find a clump of weeds in the walkway, I put them back in the plot out of which they came. 
3. Consider using some space in your plot as your own small compost area. You don't need a bin or chickenwire, even. Just start a little pile and let the sun's heat break them down. 
4. You don't even have to go that far -- toss your weeds in your walkways. Once the roots are out of the ground, most weeds aren't coming back to life, they'll decompose nicely, and you're no longer having to overflow the compost bins.

About the weeds in the walkways -- Stephanie is in the process of removing the straw from the walkways, and Andres will be mowing the walkways from here on in.

Finally -- check out Stephanie's blog post on edible weeds. I love purslane, which grows in abundance in my backyard.

Thanks!