Burning Desires Gone Bad

Burning Desires Gone Bad

by | Nov 15, 2022 | Garden tools, Safe Gardening, Weeds

If you have followed my blogs, you will remember how I have touted the benefits of controlling weeds by burning them. The main advantage is that the weed seeds are destroyed along with the weed.

A collection of propane-fueled weed burners.

My experience with weed burning has evolved over the years. The first tool I used was the small green propane tank and torch you see on the pavement in the photo below. I would walk through our garden, bend over, and press the red button to produce a flame that cooked whatever weed I found. I would use a trowel to shield drip lines or valued plants.

When I joined Daisy Mah’s crew at the WPA Rock garden, I used this torch to fry the weeds growing in the paths. This slow process led me to advance to a much bigger torch. I attached a 5 gallon propane tank to a hand truck and wheeled throughout all the Rock Garden paths. It wasn’t long before all paths were weed free.

Recently, due to back problems, I was unable to bend over to reach the weeds. So, I bought a burner with a long tube extension that allowed me to burn weeds while standing erect. This system works well except there is no button to turn the flame on and off as you move around, and the flame is much larger than that produced by the smaller torch.

Well, a month ago, I was using this long burning torch in the garden, and I quickly burned some weeds next to the fence, and then continued to work my way around the yard. I was alerted by my wife, who had been indoors, that there was an emergency. And, sure enough, flames were roaring several feet above our fence. A nearby hose finally quelled the flames, but the damage was done.

What you see in the photo is the view from my neighbor’s yard. My new torch had ignited dry material on the other side of the fence and flames quickly engulfed the redwood boards. It did not help that daytime temps were around 100 degrees. Also, had there not been an open space at the base of the fence, there would not have been any fire damage.

A wood fence with large burnt sections.

When I have talked about the use of a torch to control weeds, I mention the possibility of burning a fence as sort of a joke. As it turned out, the joke was on me.

Happy (but safe) burning,

Stan, The Burning Man

Got Gloves?

Got Gloves?

by | May 6, 2022 | Garden tools, Safe Gardening

Well, of course you have gloves. No gardener has no gloves! So, I am a little reluctant to suggest that you buy more gloves. You have probably gone through a lot of gloves in your gardening experience and have settled on a pair that seems perfect for you. But. . . if you need new gloves, I have a suggestion for you. This is the working glove made by MaxiFlex. I came across this glove at a garage sale years ago. This guy was giving them away, so how could I resist? The gloves I picked up sat in a box along with a variety of others for years until I finally, for some reason, tried them out. Their ugly appearance had put me off, but likely it was the fact that I couldn’t find my favorite gloves that caused me to make the plunge. In any case, these are now my go-to gloves.

So, why would I suggest these gloves for you? They appear to be waterproof. They’re not. They look like they would protect your hands from thorns. They do not. But if you slip one on, you will find that they fit . . . like a glove. They are really flexible (duh). The insides are lined with some kind of soft fabric. There are little dots of nitril covering the palm side that give you good grip. They are quite durable. You can jam your hand down through the soil to grab the root of a weed and not have to worry about creating a hole in the glove fingers. They absorb skin moisture so you don’t end up with a serious case of slimy hand.

If you are in need of a new pair of gloves, they are available on Amazon. By chance, the particular kind I have is FlexiGlove Endurance. It appears you are unable to buy just one pair of gloves, but a set of 3, for instance, would probably last a lifetime—however long that may be. You will see that they are rather inexpensive. Note that you can purchase your choice of color, as long as that choice is black. So your gloves may not color coordinate with the rest of your gardening garb, but I think you will find the sacrifice is worth it. So, I think you should give these gloves a try. If you don’t like them, you could always give them to LaVille—she of much smaller hands than I.

Stan, The Ugly Glove Man

Maxi FlexiGlove

Maxi FlexiGlove

 

Armed Conflict

Armed Conflict

by | Aug 28, 2021 | Garden tools, Safe Gardening

Armed Conflict

Armed Conflict

As the person who sharpened the tool shown, I feel it is my duty to warn you of a particular situation that may result in a wound like the one in the photo.  It is important to remember that when yanking on plant material, that when that material comes loose, the grasping arm may suddenly fly backwards.  If your other hand is holding a sharp object, that object may come into contact with said arm, resulting in skin penetration and a leaking of bodily fluids.  To that end, please use extra caution when using one of the tools I have so thoroughly honed.  It would ease my mind if you would create a first aide station in your back yard that would include a lot of bandages and perhaps a tourniquet.

Stan, The Concerned Man

In Search of Moderation

by | May 17, 2021 | Safe Gardening

Here, unfortunately, is an example of “Do as I say, and not as I have done”.  Moderation is a goal to which most of us aspire—whether it is diet, sun exposure, exercise routines, or mountain climbing.  Gardening should especially fall into this category.  For instance, I was barking in the front yard today.  (“Barking” is the technical term for applying bark to your landscape.)  It was 90 degrees out.  It wasn’t too long before I was tired.  So rather than pushing it, I went into the house and relaxed on my recliner.  And, of course, fell asleep.  I was proud of myself because I quit before I became exhausted, which has been the usual outcome of my gardening activities.  (For your information the way you determine whether you are just tired, or truly exhausted is by the length of your tongue hanging out of your mouth.)  This pause was just the first of many that occurred through the day.  The motivation to overdo activities is to finish the job, and it is a very difficult goal to resist.  But I implore you to consider your physical well being over your mental wellbeing (be it as it may).  Give your body a break and take a break.  The weeds will be willing to wait until you return.  Besides, they will be easier to find.  The mess of leaves will remain—perhaps not in the same location—but they will be somewhere.  Water those potted plants and put them into the ground tomorrow.  I think you get the idea.  Be sensible in your gardening activities—save some of the fun until tomorrow . . or next week.

Stan, The Rested Man

The Dumpster Stomp

The Dumpster Stomp

by | 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

Polypropylene Dolly

Hello Dolly

by | 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