Sweet potato seedlings;update

I love having my hands in the dirt. It is never a science and always an art. There are no rules. And if it comes down to me versus that weed I'm trying to pull out of the ground that doesn't want to come out? I know I'll win. Matthew McConaughey

A month  later and views change.no sweet spud,cantalope lost out,watermelon, other plant is a regular potato plant and a cherry TOMATO  (eventually pulled the potato plant up and enjoyed 2 nice size baking potatoes.)

Yesterday I was pulling weeds.  They never die!  Every season, another set of weeds. I really should know the names of the pests, but not worrying about names as much as how to pull as many as I can while they are small and before they head out in more and more seeds. Which is laughable as I think of it.  The tiny seeds from miles away can end up in my beds!
I use vinegar spray on the youngest in the paths and beds. Sometimes it works well but with arthritic hands, hardly worth the effort.

Last year, I had buried table scraps in my still poor soil.  Some seeds will germinate no matter how deeply I bury scraps.  Given that roaming critters and neighbor's dogs can sniff out food, I bury deeper than necessary.

I have learned that I cannot  put my scrap bowl out on my dry sink as, even with no meat, something sniffs it out and it will end up dumped to the patio floor and make a stinky mess. Cats? Raccoons? Squirrel?  Big dog?  There are some big dogs that roam at night and prowl out food just like critters...

While muttering at the speed with which weeds take over, I found a nice surprise.
There is a watermelon or maybe cantalope seedling peeking out and an expected sweet potato seedling or three.
I will let both grow for the time being and see if my idea of last fall will be the deciding factor of which to let take over the bed.

sweet potato/NOT

melon

Last year, the two or three vines of both melon and potato overwhelmed the bed, pathway and even climbed on pots when it could. The reason being that I bury food scraps all winter and seeds from the very few melons that left seeds when rotting...
The sweet potato sprout is a puzzle.  I thought I yanked everything out...

Amazing giants these vines.  We even had a few bites of a watermelon that kept growing well past time.  Just a few bites.  Not bad.

This time of year, things green up so fast I cannot keep up.   The good thing?  I relish any excuse to be out there fighting again.  When temperatures are below 75°, I will spend hours and hours...and hours outside. Grateful that I can squat, kneel, hoe, dig, see, hear................Life is good.

Bluebonnet Promise

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter
 Carol Bishop Hipps  

I started this blog weeks ago and got caught up in attempting to find past bluebonnet pictures.
Time goes by and nature is in a hurry.  Just have to work with what I have.

Remember to click on a
picture for larger
Several years ago, I wrote a story of grandpa and the bluebonnets. See A Bluebonnet Story, April 2013.

It is time to get a little philosophical about this plant.  If you are fortunate enough to live in an area where they do their magic in Spring and have maybe tried to grow them wild on your property you will understand.

This morning after weeks of no attention and no rain or watering, there are probably hundreds of seedlings at the 2 leaf stage.  Some crowded in tight bunches and some a lone tiny gem.

It is in the 60's this morning and cloudy enough to not fight sun in the eyes. Nearly perfect for me. A little drizzle and 55° would just about do it.

After weeks of heat, no rain and being gone from home and a bit of a reminder that hubby and I are not as young as we used to be, I finally got to play in the garden.  I am working on an area that once held such promise and heat and no rain finally did in the majority of it.  I am not able to work hours and hours redoing year after year.  I will have to enjoy pictures from my blog.  My ideas were good, I am just not able to keep up with 9 separate plots.  The areas I took out have been an eyesore to some, I am sure. I do what I can.

The plan was to remove most of the vegetation and then (what was I thinking?) level out the slope so that when rain did come, probably a heavy down pour...) seeds wouldn't wash away.  Plans changed when I saw how many bluebonnet  seedlings there are.  Sometimes, timing is everything and plans have to be altered. I will pull a bluebonnet when it acts like a weed, but it is hard to scrape them off for aesthetics.

I did not sow one bluebonnet seed. Nature did.

The plan is at this point to leave not solved areas and work on big weeds.  Then get some sort of carrier for the tiny wild flower seeds so they won't fall to earth in a clump... and then water with fingers crossed.

I am also going to check when is the best time to sow the seeds.  Last year, I sowed some at the wrong time, with no carrier particles and wind.  The result was a disaster.

Hail, old October, bright and chill,
First freedman from the summer sun!
Spice high the bowl, and drink your fill!
Thank heaven, at last the summer's done!
~Thomas Constable (1812–1881), "Old October"