Does anybody know what this weed is that is taking over my flower beds?

[DirtyCoconuts]

maybe if we all just keep talking at the weeds they will die from the hot air

[JScott]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

It isn't easy. You also know the social stigma which follows standing for your convictions. What does one do when confronted with new knowledge (think Nike.) Our lives are a series of conscious decisions. Many do not want to live life so "intentionally."

To your point, DC: In all honesty, we were sent by the State for training on the use of chemicals. There are precautions to follow when even using products with the mildest warning labels (caution.) We made every effort to follow those.

You will never find us in shorts, flip flops, and a tank top spraying chemicals. Not to say there is no hazard, only to say we are aware of it. Stories of carelessness, and the resulting consequences abound, if one listens.

I believe we have hijacked JScotts thread. My apologies, JScott, I try very hard not to get on my soap box, and I have failed here.

No, not at all, I'm enjoying this discourse. We are all raising some interesting points to talk about, and I'm enjoying the conversation. You and Coconuts are both the kind of people I enjoy talking to. And this thread is still at least tangentially related to the original post hahahaha

---------- Post added at 10:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 AM ----------

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

maybe if we all just keep talking at the weeds they will die from the hot air

Yesssssss that's the best idea we've had yet!

---------- Post added at 10:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

TY, believe me, it wasn't always so. I'm in the helping profession also. My hope is to leave the people I help a little stronger, so they can carry the torch after me.

(Do try the Burn Out too. You'll like it. Good luck.)

And I did order the Burnout. I went to Home Depot, but they're only letting in a certain number of people at a time, and the line stretched all the way down to the end of the building and around the corner, and I thought screw this. I'll just order it online hahahhaa

[DirtyCoconuts]

for what it is worth, i did a pick up order from home depot and it was super fast and kind of hilarious

i ordered a bunch of sprinkler stuff, figuring id fix some broken ones and cap some that are in the wrong places etc...the stuff is all fungible no worries.

I also ordered two 3 gal Clusia (privacy shrub) and one elephant ear...well, these plants are NOT all the same.

the person who was bringing the order had this sheepish look on her face and as we were going over the materials she saw me looking sad faced at the plants and she burst out laughing and just said " i know right!! those plants are SORRY!! i was thinking that too. i don't know who chose those but no...."

she comes back with some BOSS plants and a sassy smile telling me how she told the person that people want Nice healthy plants and not garbage...


i told her i would have hugged her if this shit wasn't going on and she, like a boss, said, "if this wasn't going on you'da picked your own damn plants okay?" and gave me a great smile

so yeah, pick is better but don't get plants

[JScott]

I went to Home Depot yesterday to get some soil and compost and other gardening stuff I still need to get my big flower bed ready for planting. It was raining yesterday, so the line to get in was really short. I was trying to load like 10 bags of compost and 12 bags of garden soil, and the employees just stood there and watched. I think I'll try Lowes today. Home Depot only had compost in 1 cubic foot bags, and I was really wanting 10 2 cubit foot bags (I know i could have just bought 20, but that seemed like so much work loading 20 bags while the employees just watched.)

Home Depot is in a busy shopping district, but it's very close to my house, so I go there more often even though I prefer Lowes. The Lowes is kind of out of the way in the middle of nowhere with no other stores around it, so I'm thinking maybe things will be slower there and I won't have to wait to get in. And also, all the plants at Home Depot were crap, and Lowes usually has better plants.

[Dollythehun]

One learns in the business, to always select the best plants first. Work ethic?

[JScott]

I think i'm going to be going back to Oklahoma for a bit to return to my old job as manager of my little seasonal garden center. I'm a teacher, so school is closed. We're still working and the kids are still learning, but we are doing it all online, so I can do it from anywhere. A lot of the employees at the garden center don't want to work because they are worried about the virus, and the owner would like me to set up an online store where people can order what they want in advance, and then just come in and have us load it in their car, so they don't even have to get out and associate with anybody and risk exposure. I have responsibilities at home, so I"ll still have to come home every few days, but it's only a 2 and a half hour drive, so that's not too bad. I wouldn't want to do it every day, but I'm fine with every three or four days. I'm kind of excited. I loved managing that shop, and I'm sick of being stuck at home with nothing to do. They're hoping to open on the 8th.

And yes Dolly, as you said, when somebody wants help picking out a plant, you always select the best one first. Giving the customers the best plants is the best way to keep them coming back.

[WaterWitchin]

Well, late to the party as usual. Regardless of wild carrot, cow parsley, etc, it is SUPER hard to get rid of. Not as hard as wild garlic or onions, but still.

I'm surely not a Monsanto fan, and despise the GMO altered seeds. A different story. I won't buy "Roundup" because it's made by Monsanto. But I will and have bought a 40-50% glycophosphate not sold by Monsanto, and cautiously use it when necessary.

I'm too impatient to wait as long as it would take to stretch a sheet of black plastic over it. Not a patient person. I use most of my cardboard to start fires on brush piles (clearing back acreage of honeysuckle bush). I've tried using straight vinegar, which works well for some weeds, but not really tough ones like that one. I run around each spring with a small handheld shovel, and dig out wild onion/garlic from my mulched beds. So either dig them out, or bite the bullet and put some glycophosphate on it and be done.

---------- Post added at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ----------

On the subject of plant sales... I used to own a couple of businesses prior to retirement five years back. The watergarden store... always help choose the best of the best available. The one that wasn't best will now be best. If I got to the point where they were pathetic specimens, i.e., hadn't grown up enough, etc., the price then dropped. Kind of like buying a seedling instead of a ready to bloom orchid. I was a terrible salesperson, and spent most of my time planting or doing other things.

[JScott]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Well, late to the party as usual. Regardless of wild carrot, cow parsley, etc, it is SUPER hard to get rid of. Not as hard as wild garlic or onions, but still.

I'm surely not a Monsanto fan, and despise the GMO altered seeds. A different story. I won't buy "Roundup" because it's made by Monsanto. But I will and have bought a 40-50% glycophosphate not sold by Monsanto, and cautiously use it when necessary.

I'm too impatient to wait as long as it would take to stretch a sheet of black plastic over it. Not a patient person. I use most of my cardboard to start fires on brush piles (clearing back acreage of honeysuckle bush). I've tried using straight vinegar, which works well for some weeds, but not really tough ones like that one. I run around each spring with a small handheld shovel, and dig out wild onion/garlic from my mulched beds. So either dig them out, or bite the bullet and put some glycophosphate on it and be done.

---------- Post added at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ----------

On the subject of plant sales... I used to own a couple of businesses prior to retirement five years back. The watergarden store... always help choose the best of the best available. The one that wasn't best will now be best. If I got to the point where they were pathetic specimens, i.e., hadn't grown up enough, etc., the price then dropped. Kind of like buying a seedling instead of a ready to bloom orchid. I was a terrible salesperson, and spent most of my time planting or doing other things.

When I worked at the garden center, a significant portion of my paycheck went right back to the garden center hahaha. And yes, I do the same as you. Once all the best plants are gone, I offer the janky looking ones for a lower price. If I don't do that, nobody will buy them, and they'll eventually get donated or thrown away when we have to pack up at the end of the season, so might as well get what I can for them, because it's better than nothing, and most of those plants are probably going to recover and do just fine once they're planted and cared for appropriately. And that kind of customer service is what keeps them coming back.

---------- Post added at 05:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------

And I did get some glyphosate for those weeds. I couldn't figure out any other way to do it in the time frame I need to get it done. I didn't have to use very much of it. I pulled the ones I could, and only poisoned the ones who were too stubborn to cooperate.

---------- Post added at 05:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:31 PM ----------

And welcome to the party. You're just fashionably late. You're fancy like that.

[WaterWitchin]

Sure, hellsyeah. Just too many places to be. Does that make me fancy? I'll take it.

I still have a quart of Chloridane sp? gifted to me my by beloved Dad. Now, I gotta go fuel up and get ready for another day. We go to bed fairly early by most folk's standards, and get up the same way. At least I started something. Crap.... I was gonna start a new thread. Whatever... Over and out for today. XOXO

[JScott]

Originally Posted by WaterWitchin

Sure, hellsyeah. Just too many places to be. Does that make me fancy? I'll take it.

I still have a quart of Chloridane sp? gifted to me my by beloved Dad. Now, I gotta go fuel up and get ready for another day. We go to bed fairly early by most folk's standards, and get up the same way. At least I started something. Crap.... I was gonna start a new thread. Whatever... Over and out for today. XOXO

You seem plenty fancy to me! Somebody (actually Dolly on this thread) recommended that I try a product called BurnOut which is a less toxic, more environmentally friendly weed killer. She said it works, but it sometimes takes two applications for certain stubborn weeds. I ordered some, so when it gets here I'll give it a try and see how it does, but I trust Dolly, she seems to have it together, so I'm sure if she says it works, it works.