Weed Warnings No More

Weed warnings are over for the season for several reasons:

1. The amount of rain we've gotten in this last week is outrageous -- more than 4". It's been hot outside, but not enough to dry the soil. When the soil is this wet, there's no point in compacting it by walking on it.

2. Also, it's not good to work with vegetable plants that are this wet -- you can spread disease from plant to plant, especially with tomatoes and beans. Better to leave them alone, or prune them carefully (while wiping down the pruner to remove contagion). If your tomatoes have fallen over, and you still want to harvest, then try to stake them up, but do it carefully.

3. Finally, it's late enough in the season that weeds aren't serious competition for your vegetable plants anymore. Early in the season, weeds can take over a garden, but that's not so easy now. Sure, the garden looks a little ragged, but a vegetable garden almost always looks ragged during the fall.