Saturday, December 27, 2008

Weeding Carrots ARRRRGGGG

Weedy Carrot Bed
 

Gratuitous picture of Tisha
 

It looks like the Monkeys put too much hay in the bunny hutch
 
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Weeding Carrots is a job, a really bad job. Hen bit, chickweed, and volunteer lettuce have invaded my carrot bed. It is very hard to remove the weeds without pulling up carrot seedlings. This led to a very frustrating afternoon. I hope I didn't pull up to many baby carrots. I even resorted to an Internet search on "how to weed carrots." There was no miracle carrot weeding technique, just as there is no miracle weight loss pill. Still, you can't blame a girl for trying. I did come across this little gem of information, "Soil disturbance caused by cultivation exposes locked up organic material and minerals to oxygen, water, and microorganisms for decomposition." So weeding helps our plants in two ways; removing the competing plants and releasing nutrients. That explains why a newly weeded bed performs so much better. So now I have a different perspective on weeding. Even if the beds are not perfectly cultivated, the work done, however imperfectly, will improve the crop. I no longer feel the pressure from Perfect Weeding Aspiration Syndrome (PWAS). What a relief.

Do you suffer from a syndrome related to an unrealistic gardening goal? If so, please tell.