Gardening: (2016– )

[Shelby]

I've been looking into weed control for our asparagus patch.  Our asparagus is probably at least 13 years old by now and has spread out a lot.  I am always very very very scared to apply herbicides --and thank goodness I looked into the one Ronnie was thinking about using.  Anyway, in researching I've run across people that swear by using either rock salt or table salt.  They sprinkle it all over the patch in early spring before anything emerges.  Anyone have any experience with this?

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

I've been looking into weed control for our asparagus patch.  Our asparagus is probably at least 13 years old by now and has spread out a lot.  I am always very very very scared to apply herbicides --and thank goodness I looked into the one Ronnie was thinking about using.  Anyway, in researching I've run across people that swear by using either rock salt or table salt.  They sprinkle it all over the patch in early spring before anything emerges.  Anyone have any experience with this?

 

I just asked my friend, who is an accomplished gardener. She hadn't heard of it, but sent me this link to an article on the topic. The article has some very specific notes: that it can work on small scale, but you risk ruining the soil for the rest of the plants if you do it wrong. Here is an excerpt:

 

Quote

Applying salt to weeds must be done extremely carefully so as to avoid damage to nearby vegetation. Use a funnel to direct the saltwater to the weed; this will help keep the solution from splattering. Once you have applied the solution, water any nearby plants well. This will help to mitigate damage and will cause the salt to leach below the root zone of the plants. Caution: A popular question asked by gardeners is “Can I pour salt on the ground to kill weeds?” This is not a good practice, as it can easily damage surrounding vegetation and soil. The salt weed killing method works best if the salt is diluted and applied directly to the weed. 

Read more at Gardening Know How: Salt Recipe For Weeds – How To Use Salt To Kill Weeds https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/using-salt-to-kill-weeds.htm

 

She says she's a big believer in edging, to keep the plants from spreading beyond where they're supposed to be. I don't know whether that would help your situation. It's hard to imagine too much asparagus!

[Toliver]

I would say a big "NO!" to putting salt in/on your soil. It's a sure way to to kill the land.

[Shelby]

28 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I just asked my friend, who is an accomplished gardener. She hadn't heard of it, but sent me this link to an article on the topic. The article has some very specific notes: that it can work on small scale, but you risk ruining the soil for the rest of the plants if you do it wrong. Here is an excerpt:

 

 

She says she's a big believer in edging, to keep the plants from spreading beyond where they're supposed to be. I don't know whether that would help your situation. It's hard to imagine too much asparagus!

Yeah I just can't bring myself to curb any asparagus growth.  Thank you and your friend for your help.

12 minutes ago, Toliver said:

I would say a big "NO!" to putting salt in/on your soil. It's a sure way to to kill the land.

I see your point.

 

The internet is a wealth of information....and it's always conflicting it seems like.

 

 I may just have to succumb to using round-up.  At the end of asparagus season we let it all grow up anyway...so .....

[KennethT]

27 minutes ago, Toliver said:

I would say a big "NO!" to putting salt in/on your soil. It's a sure way to to kill the land.

This is the problem with salting - once you salt an area, it will be a long time until anything will grow there again - unless you do a lot of flushing!

 

ETA - I don't think it "kills the land" but it would certainly kill all the beneficial bacterial/fungi (like trichoderma, mycorrhizae, etc) which are essential to allow your plants to take up nutrients in soil.

Edited April 3, 2019 by KennethT (log)

[Martin Fisher]

I'm starting an asparagus bed this year after not having one for about 10 years.

I've always grown organically.

I controlled weeds in my asparagus beds via mulch....double ground pine bark, chopped weed seed free straw, etc.

If some weeds do happen to pop up here and there they're very easy to pull out of the mulch bedding.

[dcarch]

2 hours ago, Shelby said:

I've been looking into weed control for our asparagus patch.  Our asparagus is probably at least 13 years old by now and has spread out a lot.  I am always very very very scared to apply herbicides --and thank goodness I looked into the one Ronnie was thinking about using.  Anyway, in researching I've run across people that swear by using either rock salt or table salt.  They sprinkle it all over the patch in early spring before anything emerges.  Anyone have any experience with this?

 

I kind of  feel that this year's weeds will be next year's compost fertilizer.  I don't go too crazy weeding.

 

Are there proofs that weeds can significantly decrease asparagus production? 

 

If the weeds compete with asparagus in soil nutrients, I just pour more fertilizer. Takes a lot less time.

 

I weed some to give more room to edible weeds such as purslane, violets, etc.

 

dcarch

 

 

[Martin Fisher]

The affect of weeds on asparagus and other plants depends on the weed.

God forbid something like field bindweed get a foothold and take over...it's an evil plant.

Where I'm at, Ground Ivy AKA Creeping Charley is a very serious problem.

It can smother asparagus.

 

ETA: Lambsquarter and patience dock are edible weeds,  but I wouldn't want them in my asparagus beds...they can also take-ever.

Edited April 3, 2019 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Martin Fisher]

A living mulch like inoculated New Zealand white clover should work splendidly.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Starting from household laundry bleach, what would be a good dilution for sanitizing my Click & Grow growing unit?  I seem to have a fungus problem.

 

[dcarch]

5 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Starting from household laundry bleach, what would be a good dilution for sanitizing my Click & Grow growing unit?  I seem to have a fungus problem.

 

 

Hydrogen peroxide. Not sure about dilution proportion.

 

dcarch

 

[AlaMoi]

for bleach on tools, etc:  1 part bleach + 9 parts water (by volume)

[gfweb]

My meager ramps patch this year.

 

[dcarch]

30 minutes ago, gfweb said:

My meager ramps patch this year.

 

 

Party! Party! Party!  

 

dcarch

 

 

[heidih]

10 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

Hydrogen peroxide. Not sure about dilution proportion.

 

dcarch

 

 

Rubbng alcahol is how we clean thngs like mealybugs off growing plants. We spray it on. Plant doesn't care but bugs get suffocted. Work on fungus too. 

[KennethT]

16 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Starting from household laundry bleach, what would be a good dilution for sanitizing my Click & Grow growing unit?  I seem to have a fungus problem.

 

If you want to sanitize while you have plants growing in there, I would use hydrogen peroxide - but I'd stay away from the stuff you get in the drugstore as it contains additives and stabilizers.  Instead, you can get 17% or 35% H2O2 which don't require additives because it is stable at those percentages.  Be very careful when you use that stuff because if you get it on your skin, it will burn.  I've used 17% for years with my lime tree - about 8ml per gallon works fine to sanitize the system and won't hurt the plants.

 

If you are not growing anything at the moment, then using a bleach solution will be fine.  Just make sure it's rinsed thoroughly and allowed to air dry before putting plants back in.  Also, don't add bleach to the soil since it will kill all the microorganisms in there, which will make it very hard for plants to uptake nutrients.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I would be sanitizing without plants.  I need to be sure that whatever I use doesn't affect the plastic.  I'm not quite ready to sanitize because one pea plant is currently struggling to produce a pod.

 

Meanwhile I put my Burpee order in today.  I was a bit tardy this year and zinnia* seeds I wanted were out of stock.  How can you be out of stock of zinnia seeds?

 

 

*note:  zinnia are edible.

 

[KennethT]

14 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I would be sanitizing without plants.  I need to be sure that whatever I use doesn't affect the plastic.  I'm not quite ready to sanitize because one pea plant is currently struggling to produce a pod.

 

Meanwhile I put my Burpee order in today.  I was a bit tardy this year and zinnia* seeds I wanted were out of stock.  How can you be out of stock of zinnia seeds?

 

 

*note:  zinnia are edible.

 

OK - then bleach would be the way to do it most easily without procuring specialty stuff. 

 

Also, in addition to bleach or H2O2, there another option for sanitizing while plants are still there and growing - hypochlorous acid - yes it is basically bleach, but there are plant/food grade versions (made from calcium hypochlorite) without all the other additives that bleach has - and it doesn't have any sodium.  Check out UC Roots - it's actually more effective than H2O2 since it won't degrade as quickly... just make sure your sanitizing solution has a pH of about 5.5.

[heidih]

Sorry I misread. You have a "small operation". So unscientifiic but when we sanitize our 3-1/2" plastic pots for seedling transplant we just stick them in a tub of water and add household bleach like you would add salad dressing. A pour over. Seems to work well in the greenhouse. There is always fungus among us

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This evening I turned my attention to the outdoor garden.  I cultivated the balcony, cleared the old tomato plants, harvested moonflower seeds.  Well after dark I planted peas.

 

[dcarch]

My LED lights seem to work very well.

 

dcarch

 

All tomatoes are blossoming, many have fruits

 

Cute little okra

 

Ground cherries are also fruiting

 

Some climbers

 

3 of my 10 artichoke are already 18" tall

[Martin Fisher]

FWIW,

Here's another view of the dirt cheap poor man's grow light set-up.

Turned off and at a different angle.

 

[gfweb]

@dcarch what lights do you use?

[dcarch]

38 minutes ago, gfweb said:

@dcarch what lights do you use?

 

The lights are shown on my post midway on page 50 of this Gardening thread.

 

Not sure how to link to it.

 

dcarch

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

 

The lights are shown on my post midway on page 50 of this Gardening thread.

 

Not sure how to link to it.

 

dcarch

Are these cobs dimmable?