Gettin' It Dun

[digitS']

All of The Above! (As I sit here waiting for "just a little more" rain, so that I won't need to go out to the Big Veggie Garden to run sprinklers .... )

The other day I was busy in the garden and thinking how difficult it is for me to walk past a weed, of most any size at all, without stopping to pull it. In no way is my garden weed-free or anywhere close to it . So, I can always be busy pulling some weeds out there.

And yet ... there are often more important tasks to complete. Setting up the sprinklers to water the garden might be an example. The garden is far from parched at the moment so that I can mention this task.

Setting Priorities - it is just as important to gardening as anything else .

Steve
btw - when sprinklers are running, i usually can't do anything other than drive off to a park and sit and wait, napping, eating snacks, perusing social media, maybe doing minor chores until irrigation is finished

 

[flowerbug]

View attachment 49617
All of The Above! (As I sit here waiting for "just a little more" rain, so that I won't need to go out to the Big Veggie Garden to run sprinklers .... )

The other day I was busy in the garden and thinking how difficult it is for me to walk past a weed, of most any size at all, without stopping to pull it. In no way is my garden weed-free or anywhere close to it . So, I can always be busy pulling some weeds out there.

as i am weeding some gardens i can also waste time picking gravel out of the dirt. with this many thousands of pounds of crushed rinsed limestone mulch and pathways there is no shortage of entropy which has happened over the years to move these rocks from the pathways or decorative areas into the surrounding gardens. i even have made up a box with wire mesh and screen in it so i can do larger areas and also clean up an edge i did intentionally. one year i needed to lift a lot of the limestone from an area and there was a lot of sand and dirt in there too so instead of screening it all at that time (i didn't have the box built yet) i just put it along another plastic edge and then planted irises on top of it. that worked well for a few years until the sow thistle and other weeds and grasses started growing in them too much so those have now been removed. i got about half to two thirds of that edge screened, but there's still a lot of gravel that wanders around in that garden. more to do for sure. a good project for a hot summer day is to play with the hose and water and to screen more gravel. i may get that done this next week if i'm lucky and motivated enough... we'll see...

with 27 gardens and many thousands of square feet of decorative areas too there's really no shortage ever of things that need to be done. repairs, trapping and hunting, watering... thank goodness i have books to read... and the internet and TEG and SS and ...

And yet ... there are often more important tasks to complete. Setting up the sprinklers to water the garden might be an example. The garden is far from parched at the moment so that I can mention this task.

Setting Priorities - it is just as important to gardening as anything else .

yes, with hot weather coming making sure everything gets enough water is a priority now because otherwise all that work that went into garden prep, weeding and planting would be wasted. most beans have sprouted now so i can back off a little on watering but no rains in the forecast for the next week means i'll be watering regularly.

i also have plenty of garden tasks to still get done. removing some plants, burying the tulips and daffodil leaves, etc. weeding... always that.

Steve
btw - when sprinklers are running, i usually can't do anything other than drive off to a park and sit and wait, napping, eating snacks, perusing social media, maybe doing minor chores until irrigation is finished

i don't have a sprinkler system here, i mostly water by hand from the hoses just as much is needed to keep things sprouting and going, but only deeply soaking one to three times a week. drip irrigation would be nicer but i change the garden bed layout each season...

 

[Pulsegleaner]

If I have learned one thing in life, it is that, contrary to the popular saying, work does NOT expand to fit the time allotted. Rather, it expands to fit the time conceivable. That is to say, if you say "I will do what I want after I have done what I have to", it is basically the same thing as saying "I will NEVER do what I want", since, if you try and also add all of the things you SHOULD do to what you HAVE TO do, you quickly find that what you SHOULD do takes up absolutely ALL of the time you have left over. You actually have to consciously CHOOSE to prioritize things you enjoy doing from time to time, because if you simply wait until you are not busy, you quickly see that you are ALWAYS busy, and to fall into the trap of saying "All work and no play makes Jack a properly responsible person".

 

[ducks4you]

howEVER, sometimes napping helps ME to finish
e e cummings

 

[Alasgun]

@flowerbug, i shudder to remember how much of my time went to watering before drip! And then there’s the efficiency thing; plane ole sprinklers use between 400 and 1200 gal. Per hour; which wouldn’t work for me. With drip im using 280 gallons a week when it’s not blistering hot; when it is; it would double because i add a 2nd start on the timers.
I too move whats planted in the beds every year BUT with a little planning it’s easy enough to accomplish.

If anyone’s interested in a rudimentary drip set up, please say something. Once you make that transition, you’ll really be pleased. I’m no whiz bang rocket scientist but i do know enough to get by🤓

If you dont do anything but incorporate timers into your set up you’d still be way ahead.

 

[Zeedman]

Between planting over an extended period, plants with different water needs, and hard well water - drip lines or soakers are impractical for me. I wouldn't have time to set them up either, even with the 1800 square feet I'm gardening now (as opposed to the 7500-10,000 square feet in previous years). So are sprinklers, which are imprecise & subject to wind drift. I'm retired & looking for excuses to be outside, so hand watering is not a major issue.

But I am always looking for equipment or techniques that will save time. This year that was a weed burning torch, to clear grass & weeds from 300' of chicken wire fencing. Wow, we should have done that years ago!!! What took DW & me a couple days, took my brother & me about an hour - and it burned the seeds. It might clear the gravel driveway too, without the herbicides I prefer to avoid.

I hope to find a tiller & hiller combo which will run off my tractor. Hilled rows are the only way I see myself ever again using the rural plot, due to its drainage issues (and the fact that I am now working the gardens alone).

But yes, although time is an issue, procrastination & distraction do tend to get in the way of any planned action - especially if there are other things I'd rather be doing, other people are involved, or I just feel like driving around for a day. Sometimes, when faced with an overwhelming "to do" list, you just need to reserve some time for yourself to recharge.

 

[flowerbug]

@flowerbug, i shudder to remember how much of my time went to watering before drip! And then there’s the efficiency thing; plane ole sprinklers use between 400 and 1200 gal. Per hour; which wouldn’t work for me. With drip im using 280 gallons a week when it’s not blistering hot; when it is; it would double because i add a 2nd start on the timers.
I too move whats planted in the beds every year BUT with a little planning it’s easy enough to accomplish.

If anyone’s interested in a rudimentary drip set up, please say something. Once you make that transition, you’ll really be pleased. I’m no whiz bang rocket scientist but i do know enough to get by🤓

If you dont do anything but incorporate timers into your set up you’d still be way ahead.

none of my vegetable gardens are static enough that any sort of drip irrigation makes much sense. we're not short on water from the well and unless there is a drought we do get rains. recent weeks have been exceptionally dry. i'm watering frequently but lightly just to get seeds started. once the plants are up and growing well i can water less frequently. the main time i spend watering is for the tomatoes and some other plants that need deeper watering every few days. just to make sure the mostly clay soils have enough water percolating down deep enough.

when i get out there this morning to water it will probably take me about an hour to an hour and a half for all the gardens. it's not unpleasant to me. i'm done planting now so most of my time is freed up for other things, i have projects i need to work on when the weather cooperates.

 

[ducks4you]

@Zeedman , this may seem like a Small thing, But I have bought 3 of these,
I put one on my city water faucet, one of my cistern faucet and the last is connected to the end that I screw my soaker hose on to the hose supplying the water.
Thyey are really "faucet savers," bc I intend to just leave them on my faucets. I noticed that my brand new soaker hose has a cheapo connector that will probably strip after a lot of use, therefore THAT one stays on the soaker hose. Permanently.
Just fyi...if that helps.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It might clear the gravel driveway too, without the herbicides I prefer to avoid.

Driveway maybe. It won't kill the roots of many plants and grasses but it can turn the green stuff into charcoal. Which is why it did not work on a gravel parking area. When you got out of your car your shoes were coated with that black, which got tracked in the house. Or you tracked it into your car. I tried that once then went back to the herbicides. There are places burning works well but for some it may not be the answer.

 

[flowerbug]

Between planting over an extended period, plants with different water needs, and hard well water - drip lines or soakers are impractical for me. I wouldn't have time to set them up either, even with the 1800 square feet I'm gardening now (as opposed to the 7500-10,000 square feet in previous years). So are sprinklers, which are imprecise & subject to wind drift. I'm retired & looking for excuses to be outside, so hand watering is not a major issue.

But I am always looking for equipment or techniques that will save time. This year that was a weed burning torch, to clear grass & weeds from 300' of chicken wire fencing. Wow, we should have done that years ago!!! What took DW & me a couple days, took my brother & me about an hour - and it burned the seeds. It might clear the gravel driveway too, without the herbicides I prefer to avoid.

I hope to find a tiller & hiller combo which will run off my tractor. Hilled rows are the only way I see myself ever again using the rural plot, due to its drainage issues (and the fact that I am now working the gardens alone).

But yes, although time is an issue, procrastination & distraction do tend to get in the way of any planned action - especially if there are other things I'd rather be doing, other people are involved, or I just feel like driving around for a day. Sometimes, when faced with an overwhelming "to do" list, you just need to reserve some time for yourself to recharge.

yes, and also a good idea to reward yourself for getting something done too so you feel like a celebration and reaching a goal and giving yourself a nice boost.