2024 garden season

[chilipeppermaniac]

TNTreehugger,

I am thinking about getting or renting a medium sized tractor with a small hoe on one end and a bucket on the other. A friend in Southern PA has one that I have been after him to lend me. The trouble is, it is almost a major pain to only be one guy. Work goes so much faster with an operator and some ground men. Sadly, I lost my closest to me, once reliable helper when he went out on his own.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

TNTreehugger,

I am thinking about getting or renting a medium sized tractor with a small hoe on one end and a bucket on the other. A friend in Southern PA has one that I have been after him to lend me. The trouble is, it is almost a major pain to only be one guy. Work goes so much faster with an operator and some ground men. Sadly, I lost my closest to me, once reliable helper when he went out on his own.

I'm a single female about your age, recovering from a herniated disk. And I manage 2.5 acres all by my lonesome.
With a good plan, I have no doubt you can also.
What is your plan/ final goal?

Btw, it matters not to me, but this question might get more visibility and participation if posted in the "Homeowner Help" forum.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

So very sorry for your loss.

As to the weed/overgrowth problem photos would be very helpful.
What you describe sounds like my property and I've finally got it "under control" partly by giving up fighting it and letting it do it's own thing.

The big trouble with doing its own thing is that it has taken over the wife's former raised bed veg garden areas, which I need to clear to make access so we can get ladders and scaffolds and such up to re-roof and re-side the house.

On top of that, in our tree line, there is much growth of that creeping Kudzu vine going up in the trees and causing issues along with Poke Weed.

The driveway is mostly grassy type weeds and some thistle and even Poke weed

 

[TNTreeHugger]

The big trouble with doing its own thing is that it has taken over the wife's former raised bed veg garden areas, which I need to clear to make access so we can get ladders and scaffolds and such up to re-roof and re-side the house.

On top of that, in our tree line, there is much growth of that creeping Kudzu vine going up in the trees and causing issues along with Poke Weed.

The driveway is mostly grassy type weeds and some thistle and even Poke weed

Really difficult to give advice without photos.

But alarm bells went off when I read "Kudzu." I'd take a flame-thrower to that stuff... even though the beautiful flower clusters smell deliciously similar to grape soda.

Does anyone live on this property?
Once you get it cleared the way you want it, if not maintained, it will all grow back with a vengeance.
That's why I changed my plan and gave up fighting in some areas.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

What is your plan/ final goal?

The plan is to basically get a handle on the overgrowth in order to make the spaces I need to access for house maintenance happen, and to clean up the unsightly places that got away from me while looking after Dad.

The key is to be able to do it efficiently and as safe for the cat as possible. After we began to lose loved ones beginning in 2022 till Dad here in 2024, Starting with my mom's brother, our 3 elderly dogs, my mom, 2 of our 3 Feral cats, and now Dad, I obviously do not want to do any measures that could poison my last creature to love. We have come a long way from his 100% fear of humans to now a trusting enough little fella who will sit on my lap, get unlimited petting, and control our mouse population pretty well.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

As for the Kudzu scenario. OUR STATE is seriously over run with the stuff. I was researching the best ways to eradicate it and if I remember right, some sources mentioned that the roots can grow as deep as 9 feet. Hence why it is such a bugger.

Yes, we are living here.. I will see what I can do about pics, and hopefully regain some time to fix my skidsteer, Zero turn and other yard maintenance equipment that has been on the back burner.

 

[muddstopper]

sounds like you have white hominy corn if its that tall

I planted red indian pop corn. I bought a ear of it from the amish down in tellico tenn and planted it to collect seed. I dont make hominy but if I did, I would be planting the white polific as the ears are a foot long with lots of big kernells. Best corn for corn meal also. White polific will grow 13ft tall and usually has two ears per stalk. I also grow Tenn pencil cobb. I alternate growing each year as I try to save seed and I dont want it mixing. My indian corn is planted outside my house and there isnt another garden anywhere close. I planted the pencil cobb beside the house the first year for the same reason. These are heirloom corn and true seed can be hard to come by. Biggest problem is it takes a lot longer to mature than the newer hybrid types

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

But alarm bells went off when I read "Kudzu." I'd take a flame-thrower to that stuff... even though the beautiful flower clusters smell deliciously similar to grape soda.

I never noticed any flowers or clusters from the Kudzu. Now Poke Weed makes some interesting clusters of "fruit"

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

I planted red indian pop corn. I bought a ear of it from the amish down in tellico tenn and planted it to collect seed. I dont make hominy but if I did, I would be planting the white polific as the ears are a foot long with lots of big kernells. Best corn for corn meal also. White polific will grow 13ft tall and usually has two ears per stalk. I also grow Tenn pencil cobb. I alternate growing each year as I try to save seed and I dont want it mixing. My indian corn is planted outside my house and there isnt another garden anywhere close. I planted the pencil cobb beside the house the first year for the same reason. These are heirloom corn and true seed can be hard to come by. Biggest problem is it takes a lot longer to mature than the newer hybrid types

sounds like an interesting crop experiment.

 

[sonny580]

round-up and 2-4-d , 4 oz of each per gallon of water and spray the **** out of the place! And NO it wont hurt cats! Got a dozen here and I spray all the time with that mix. --- IF its bad you will have to spray more that once. Once killed you still have to bulldoze or rake the dead stuff out. Make small piles and burn where fire wont get into anything like buildings and go slow with it.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

sonny580, I already have my torch I used on the driveway last summer. Need another bottle of propane but that is easy enough to come by.

As for the pile burning type burns, we have access to Weed and Brush disposal at our landfill. I could always haul the dead stuff for free and negate any fire issues or airborne Poison Oak/Ivy/Sumac etc fumes

I am seeing that 2-4-d is also known by a name of Enlist Duo from DOW. Now to see about availability here in my state of MD.

 

[muddstopper]

SO, my main issues are, How to rid the overgrown weeds without using weed killer ( we have a sweet feral cat I definitely do not want to get poisoned)

Number one, Roundup wont kill your cat. two, it is very hard and probably irresponisible t make recommendation o this type of work without at least seeing a picture of what the work looks like. With that said, its hard to beat a good old weed eater for cleaning up garden beds, but are we talking weeds or small shrubs. Kudzu grows fast but choices for control is constant mowing or fencing in a bunch of goats. Mowing every week will eventually kill the roots. If the weeds are not trees, I have had good luck using a weed eater with the metal blade. I acually made a blade using a old bandsaw blade from my metal cutting bandsaw. I took a old weed eater head that used those plastic blades and cut and drilled the blade to fit. It worked great for even trimming low hanging limbs on trees. The saw blades would bend instead of break if you hit anything to hard and you just bent them back and kept working. dangerous if you hit meat pr bone. but it sure would wack weeds.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Do Not Use 2,4-D
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/tree-damage-from-crop-spraying.360136/

A year after my property was contaminated, my dog was suddenly diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the day after diagnosis, I had to have him euthanized.
It has taken three years for everything to even begin to show signs of normal life in my yard, some never will, and some are still exhibiting signs of contamination.

If the kudzu is in a fence row/property line, you can always keep it trimmed back as a hedge/ ground cover.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

The more shade you encourage, the less understory weeds you'll have and the less you'll have to mow.

Most of my tree trimming/clearing I did with a reciprocal saw and other hand tools.
Believe me, it can be done.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Do Not Use 2,4-D
https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/tree-damage-from-crop-spraying.360136/

A year after my property was contaminated, my dog was suddenly diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the day after diagnosis, I had to have him euthanized.
It has taken three years for everything to even begin to show signs of normal life in my yard, some never will, and some are still exhibiting signs of contamination.

If the kudzu is in a fence row/property line, you can always keep it trimmed back as a hedge/ ground cover.

After reading about the 2-4-d, yeah, I don't think my little 200 foot driveway, tree line, or raised beds need all that.
If anything crops up after I manually/tractorly remove overgrowth, judicious shots of vinegar/dawn soap/ water solution on the buds and sprouts should help considerably.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

After reading about the 2-4-d, yeah, I don't think my little 200 foot driveway, tree line, or raised beds need all that.
If anything crops up after I manually/tractorly remove overgrowth, judicious shots of vinegar/dawn soap/ water solution on the buds and sprouts should help considerably.

Be sure any stobs left are short enough so you can mow over them. They will eventually rot away.

Several times I paid a crew to clear the fence row... but it was a waste of money because they left stumps I couldn't mow over and all that crap eventually grew back. I went over it with my sawsall and cut down what I could and staked the others so I don't hit them with the mower.

 

[chilipeppermaniac]

Number one, Roundup wont kill your cat. two, it is very hard and probably irresponisible t make recommendation o this type of work without at least seeing a picture of what the work looks like. With that said, its hard to beat a good old weed eater for cleaning up garden beds, but are we talking weeds or small shrubs. Kudzu grows fast but choices for control is constant mowing or fencing in a bunch of goats. Mowing every week will eventually kill the roots. If the weeds are not trees, I have had good luck using a weed eater with the metal blade. I acually made a blade using a old bandsaw blade from my metal cutting bandsaw. I took a old weed eater head that used those plastic blades and cut and drilled the blade to fit. It worked great for even trimming low hanging limbs on trees. The saw blades would bend instead of break if you hit anything to hard and you just bent them back and kept working. dangerous if you hit meat pr bone. but it sure would wack weeds.

Thanks muddstopper,

I actually have a brush blade for my one echo trimmer. I will put it to use, plus as per your suggestion, I'll have to use the " constant mowing" method once I get things cleared up with power/hand tools. Don't sweat the" irresponsible" suggestions. I am not a total newb to grounds keeping/clearing.
My main tactics have always been a combo of MANUAL LABOR, clearing and grading with my LX985 with bucket and forks, and things such as chains, come a longs, tarps, ropes chippers, chainsaws, wheel barrows, shovels, burn barrel, landfill brush piles, etc.

My initial post was basically seeking any tips or tricks to help me speed up my work until I can get my normal equipment repairs complete. My Truck, Skid Steer are down at the moment. Also my LOW back, Hips and legs are fighting me, but I will have to grit it out. I am pretty much resigning myself to realizing that I am likely facing a step by step, day by day, one bite at a time process to get everything cleaned up enough to make, chimney repairs, roofing and siding the house accessible without overgrown weeds as tripping hazards or being in the way of ladders, pump jacks, man lifts, etc.

Once I get my truck and zero turn up and running, I should make good headway. Come this Fall when I get the skid steer fixes complete, I will be set to handle the heavier grunt work like pulling small trees, dragging out any leftover growth and larger roots and then I can grade the tree line areas, . My plan will then be to hire a tree company to trim all our trees with limbs that are too high for me to handle by myself, and to drop an 80 foot Tulip Poplar that poses a threat to our house if huge winds etc roar through.

As I told TNTreehugger, I will shoot some pics as I am able and we can take it from there.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

We went from no rain to too much.
My big fat tomato I was ripening on the vine split and fell off - splat.
My spaghetti squash are ripening in stages.
One fell off, looks ripe, and the stem is brown and mostly dry.
Another still hanging, the stem looks good, not brown yet
Two on the ground, the stems are brown an mushy, yellow on one side, white on the other. I flipped these over.

 

[sonny580]

your squash is not mature and wont have the strings developed in it at that stage. These get as big as footballs here.
Melons here are rotting on the ground and we are NOT getting any rain to cause it. Bad year all round this time. Plants still die out from the heat and high humidity we now have.
Vinegar wont kill anything! LOL!!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

your squash is not mature and wont have the strings developed in it at that stage. These get as big as footballs here.
Melons here are rotting on the ground and we are NOT getting any rain to cause it. Bad year all round this time. Plants still die out from the heat and high humidity we now have.
Vinegar wont kill anything! LOL!!

I know they're half the size of what I buy in the store... and look to me to be actually shrinking in size.
Can it be cooked like an acorn squash even if it isn't stringy?