Weeding, Weeding, Weeding.

A funny thing happens to a 5 acre property with a lot of garden beds and pasture when it has been vacant for over a year. Weeds grow. A lot of weeds. They grow tall and in abundance.

When not working on fencing (ie. mostly before the fencing project started full tilt; before buying a horse), and mostly during outside play time with Junior, I have spent a lot of my time weeding, thinking about weeds, imagining weeds magically gone, imagining weed genocide, and all sorts of odd weed related things.

Professionally, I am a Landscape Architect. Thusly, I HATE WEEDS. They are just not something that I tolerate in my daily life, work or personal. So the weeds all had to go! I would have simply let 100 goats go to town on the property the day we moved in, but alas, our HOA doesn't allow goats (or pigs). So instead I've been breaking my back (literally) and pulling them all by hand. Bonus, I've lost 3 pounds!

I took a million photos of weeds, and almost posted them all. But then realized that NO ONE wants to see that many photos of weeds. So I picked a few of the more pertinent ones.

Vegetable Garden #1. Note weeds also growing around the outside of the garden.

I already weeded about half of this garden bed when I took the photo. It is now fully weed free! I was shocked to discover raspberries and asparagus growing amongst the 5' tall weeds (basically all Canada Thistle).

Vegetable Garden #2: prior to weeding

This garden will actually be converted to lawn, as there is no way that I will ever have time to tend to two gardens worth of vegetables. Right now it is about half way weeded. It is my last remaining weeding project. I am getting there...slowly.

Vegetable Garden #2: prior to weeding

The only treat this garden housed, other than weeds, is a Northstar Pie Cherry Tree. The birds got to all of them this year, but as it is still small, I am hoping that the tree will survive relocation and continue to yield fruit in the years to come.

Between the Gardens - More weeds, but of course!

I am mostly done. One by one, I have been pulling up and stacking the weeds in a giant burn pile. I have weeded all the flower beds around the property and really only have the second vegetable garden left to finish. Once finished, I will share some before and after pics. I would have finished it by now if it weren't for the fencing project. But trust me, it will be done before the snow sticks. Oh yes, it will!

That or I will have to buy 100 sheep costumes for 100 weed eating goats...halloween is just around the corner after all.