by Stan Logan | Oct 30, 2020 | Garden tools, Weeds
Do you remember that day in high school biology when you dissected a night crawler? If you don’t, let me tell you that it is an earthworm about 7 inches long. You used your scalpel to carefully cut in incision in the dorsal surface at the anterior end. Then using a probe, you scratched at the tissue of the wall segments and pulled back and pinned the body walls to the wax of the dissection tray. Further scratching with the probe finally revealed the brain which consisted of two connected tiny white lumps lying on top of the esophagus. We called this process teasing, and I am reminded of my first dissection back in 1957 whenever I am fighting the oxalis growing in my lawn. I only have a few spots where oxalis insists on returning. Several years ago. I removed 8 square feet of lawn that was hopelessly infested with this weed. I thought I had eradicated it, but 2 or 3 areas continue to be a problem.
So weekly, after each mowing, I get down on my hands and knees and use a teasing technique to remove any oxalis before it has a chance to go to seed. The tool I use is a dinner plate knife because is it rigid, narrow, and had a dull rounded end. I grab the oxalis by the neck (not really the neck) and pull gently. At the same time, I tease (scratch) the soil where I figure the root is located. Generally. the root gives way and another plant bites the dust (so to speak).
I figure that I have a right to tell you about this experience because it does involve a tool, albeit a tool with very limited use. By the way, this is also the tool I use to spread peanut butter in the rat traps that I try to keep baited year-round.
I guess the one question remains—will I be able to completely tease the oxalis to death—or will it outlast me and tease me to death?
Stan, The Tool Man
P.S. My editor says the last line is a little grim.
Table knife as garden tool
by Stan Logan | Oct 11, 2020 | Safe Gardening
Have you recently been frustrated by having more garden refuse than your bin can hold? This has been my case in recent weeks as fall approaches and I have increasing amount of debris to get rid of. I have found that by climbing into my bin, and jumping up and down, I can compress the plant material into a much smaller volume. Now although this activity is a lot of fun, there are several dangers of which you must be aware. The plant material itself can be a threat if there are sharp pokey things that might penetrate your legs. Then too, the act of climbing into or out of a bin creates the possibility of a tumble. Then too, if you compress the plant material too low, you may not be able to escape. But I guess that’s OK since it’s an organic bin, and you are definitely organic. Sounds like a gruesome episode you might watch on TV about a missing person. Yuck.
I hope that you don’t have to face the weekly volume problem of garden refuse like I do. The City of Davis doesn’t do street pickups for 6 straight months! In any case, perhaps you should leave dumpster stomping to a local neighborhood child. They would probably love it.
Stan, The Tool Man
Polypropylene Dolly
by Stan Logan | Oct 10, 2020 | Safe Gardening
Have you recently been frustrated by having more garden refuse than your bin can hold? This has been my case in recent weeks as fall approaches and I have increasing amount of debris to get rid of. I have found that by climbing into my bin, and jumping up and down, I can compress the plant material into a much smaller volume. Now although this activity is a lot of fun, there are several dangers of which you must be aware. The plant material itself can be a threat if there are sharp pokey things that might penetrate your legs. Then too, the act of climbing into or out of a bin creates the possibility of a tumble. Then too, if you compress the plant material too low, you may not be able to escape. But I guess that’s OK since it’s an organic bin, and you are definitely organic. Sounds like a gruesome episode you might watch on TV about a missing person. Yuck.
I hope that you don’t have to face the weekly volume problem of garden refuse like I do. The City of Davis doesn’t do street pickups for 6 straight months! In any case, perhaps you should leave dumpster stomping to a local neighborhood child. They would probably love it.
Stan, The Tool Man
by Stan Logan | Oct 5, 2020 | Garden tools
How is organic dumpster diving different from ordinary dumpster diving? Well, ordinary dumpster diving has been around for decades—ever since dumpsters have been created to store discarded items. Organic dumpster diving is a more recent activity allowed by the recent effort to keep organic materials out of the landfill. Now, searching through the contents of your organic bin may seem somewhat unpleasant, if not downright disgusting. However, sometime a dive seems imperative. Have you ever been working with a favorite tool, and after depositing plant clipping or weeds into your organic bin, that beloved tool has disappeared? After endless searches has revealed no misplaced tool, the fear slowly arises that you have thrown away your tool. This happened to me several days ago when my hand rake suddenly disappeared. So, I pulled the garden refuse out of my bin. No tool. Then I went over to my neighbor’s bin, to which I had added my excess, and pulled all the plant material out and into a garbage can. No tool. Now I must admit that most organic dumpster dives are unsuccessful. I figure the success rate is about 20%. And sure enough, I later found the hand rake lying on the back of the Prius in the driveway. I continues to amaze me how I will have absolutely no recollection of where I put something down.
So, I guess I’d have to say that organic dumpster diving is not something I think you’ll enjoy, but it is the only way that you can be assured that your treasured tool is not gone forever.
Happy diving (?)
Stan, The Tool Man
by Stan Logan | Sep 1, 2020 | Garden tools
LaVille and I were poking in 36” fencing around a Rudbeckia that had grown crazy tall and threatened to bend over into a mess. Beneath that fencing was another grouping of 18” fence sections that were no longer effective. I was reminded of how often we have used the short fence sections. Here are several reasons you may want to consider a purchase. Frequently one plant will outgrow an adjacent one and shade it out. A single fence section can be placed between them to separate the foliage. Simply propping up a plant that is unable to support itself is useful. Plants can be held away from your lawn to prevent interference with mowing. You can create a safety barrier to protect plants when you drag a hose around the garden. Finally you can make a reminder barrier to stop human traffic. I can’t tell you how many mini sprayers I broke off by stepping across a planted area. A single section of fence stopped that. You might even want to spray paint a traffic stopper white to make it more noticeable.
If you purchase sturdy fencing, it will last a lifetime. I would suggest you avoid “wire” fencing as it may not have the strength or durability you require. Also pick a style that has a loop attached to one side. This is for joining sections together as you will slide the stake at the unlooped end of a second section though that loop. This means of attachment makes all kinds of articulation possible. The fact that sections can be separated make storage easier, and they can be stored out in the weather.
“So . . . Why the weird title,” you ask. Well, I just couldn’t resist. You see, if you were my age, that sentence would have more meaning. But then even if you are old, you may never have played cowboy and Indians, which of course would be completely unacceptable in current times. Still confused? Google “Don’t fence me in”, and you will be able to listen to a song of that title. Then you may ask LaVille who she sat next to on a fire engine in a parade when she was seven. You see, her dad had a lot of pull those days in Imperial Valley.
A lot of fencing examples can be found on Amazon—just google “garden fencing”. I think 18” by 18” panels are the most practical size.
Hope to hear you singing those familiar lyrics the next time I see you.
Stan, The Singing Cowboy (I wish)
Wire Fencing
