Your most hated gardening task?

[Tweakette]

I figured I'd start a gripe thread about this, might be fun and relieve some stress.

I HATE thinning seedlings more than any other gardening task. I hate the time it takes to pull out every other one, I hate killing the things I've taken time to raise, I just hate it.

I'm not quite there yet with most plants as I just put the majority of seeds in this weekend, but the lettuce needs it bad and I just hate doing it. I've pinched out breaks in the rows every inch, but I really need to get in there and separate individual plants and really do it right. .

Usually I start lettuce in flats and transplant but this year we were on vacation and I didn't do that so I'm starting from seed directly in the ground. I much prefer transplants as it eliminates the whole issue - I don't seed as heavily in the flats and I thin it before it goes in.

Anyone here ever try pelleted seeds for the real small ones like lettuce and carrots? It's more expensive but I've been wondering if it would be worth it.

So what's your No. 1 gardening gripe?

Tweak

 

[Ting]

Mine is planting the seeds. Too hard on the knees and back.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

ANYTHING that requires me to stand out in the broiling sun of a ninety six degree day!

.....Alan (like I did yesterday. )

 

[Susan4]

Weeding rank foxtail. It never failed to overtake our rototilling efforts. I finally decided to veggie garden like I flower garden, in mulched beds! I hate weeding.

Susan4

 

[blueberry]

I agree with Alan - no particular chore, but anything that requires me to stand out in the broiling Texas sun. I try to do most of my gardening in the evening, when my house shades most of my garden.

 

[blueberry]

almost forgot..... Bermuda grass

 

[Sarrah]

My least favoured task in the garden is harvesting. In the beginning it is ok but as production increases I loose the will to continue. Thank heavens DH helps with it.

 

[housemouse]

Tweakette, I have some arthirits in my hands, making it difficult to handle small seeds when planting outside.

Inside, I put the teeny-tinys in a saucer, and use the slightly wetted tip of a pencil to pick them up and transfer them to row flats.

But, for outside seeds, such as carrots and lettuce, I splurge and buy the pelleted seeds. You can also get them for basil, too.

And, I get them from Johnny's. Nice selection of varieties to choose from!

My most hated garden task? Bugs. I hate Japanese beetles the most. Picking them off things gives me the shivers. I have found the traps useless, in that I am convinced they attract even more beetles!

 

[Just Wondering]

Slugs.

Snails.

White cabbage butterflies massacring my brassicas.

Birds getting under the netting and stealing the strawberries.

 

[yellowsprings]

I hate thistles! Ouch!

 

[Gingergirl]

I hate, no... HATE!!! spraying the fruit trees. I have found no alternative for the onslaught of diseases and pests in this area.
All the resistant varieties and pest traps just give me a fighting chance if rains delay the spraying, but I still have to SPRAY.

 

[summerthyme]

Tweak- the pelleted seeds really do make a difference. And they probably aren't that much more expensive (if at all) if you're yanking out and tossing half or more of the plants you get from the regular ones.

But,,,, have you considered growing leaf lettuce and carrots in wide rows? I do, and I use a "sugar shaker" from the dollar store to plant with! Add seeds, shake over the row like you're salting your morning eggs, tamp in gently with your hands or a hoe, and sift a bit of soil over the top.

Yes, you do usually end up thinning- a little- and weeding ONE major weeding, but then the plants fill in and take over, and you're done with maintenance for the year, or until the plants go to seed, in the case of lettuce.

The other trick I've seen suggested often is to mix the carrot seeds with a bit of sand before you plant. It tends to spread them out and cuts down on the thinning.

Summerthyme (who just wishes it would stop raining so I can get out and do ANY of the garden chores- even the ones I hate!)

 

[Lone Wolf]

WEEDS!!!

 

[Taz]

Picking peas and beans. I knew that I had to pick the first picking of pole beans today, but hadn't realized the bush beans were ready too. So there I was out in the 100 degree/99% humidity bending over and picking beans. I had two showers within an hour.

Over all I dislike the harvesting the most. I enjoy hoeing and weeding, yes, even the thinning. Tho' I don't like the harvesting I do like the canning part.

Taz

 

[Libertarian]

I hate weeding the most.

On Japanese beetles and Junebugs: In the late 60's our neighbor found a great way to keep the pests away. He would empty a trap into his spare blender and puree them with water. He'd then spray the garden with the slush. The live bugs fled.

He also used a bag of tobacco soaked in hot water as a spray to kill other pests.

 

[Annmarie]

weeding is the worst for me, by far. Everything is organic in our yard, and that takes a lot of work.

 

[housemouse]

Ick, Libertarian, double Ick!

He collected the jap beetles, and put them in a blender or cuisinart?

Sort of like that "frog blender" thing on Saturday Night Live, right?

Not sure my tummy is up to the task!

But, it does make sense for those of you who have cast iron stomachs, and a spare blender!

 

[Libertarian]

I don't have a spare blender but I do have soap, hot water and a scrubbing pad.

 

[mumsy]

This is my first time posting a reply. I'm new here. I'm also not very good on the computer. My son had to help me. I'm learning as I go. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew how to keep rabbits (or other small animals) from ruining the garden. I don't know much about gardening, this is actually our second year trying. Last year everything got eaten!!

 

[Libertarian]

Hi Mumsy. I have heard that sprinkling mothballs around the plants will keep most mammals away. I do not know how it effects foor plants though

 

[Pogonip]

Thought -I- was the only one who hated harvesting! It just can't be put off to a more convenient time or temperature, and then you've got to process everything -right now-! Nice to have a freezer full of good grub, though....

I also hate cleaning the garden up for planting in spring if the monsoons prevented me from preparing it in fall....

Thinning goes faster with a small pair of sharp scissors.

Got eleven 4x8 raised beds--weeding is done sitting down.....

 

[Sarrah]

I'm glad to see others who dread harvesting. Like meets like.
Re the bunny thing. We are building beds as we go. The two I have right now are totally surrounded with a combo of chicken wire and black netting. Tops and sides are chicken wire front is netting. I lift the netting like a ladies veil to work in there. These beds are built on the side of a hill. This is the second year for one of the beds. First year for the other.
It is necessary to fence down or out for bunnies or they just burrow under.
Here I have deer jumping over the top, they slide in from above. Bunnies work their way from underneath, and that isn't talking about my own darn chickens who just finished off my zucchini plants today when they found a way in to one bed.
DH has a big plan for a garden house. We have one pallet of concrete blocks to start and will get more as we build. Our last place had fabulous production and ease of work with the concrete raised beds. Two high is perfect for sitting on and working in.
I love to see everything growing. Just as big a thrill as looking at the preserved food when processing is finished. The last few years I've been doing a lot more dehydrating. It is fast and cheaper than buying canning lids each year.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Yeah, butter beans and field peas thrive in the heat which means that most of the harvesting has to be done in the hot times. Same thing with okra. The hotter it is the better it likes it.

If I can force myself out of bed I like to get that harvesting done just after dawn. Of course I get soaked with dew, but it's better than being soaked with sweat.

It's the fire ants that get into the field peas and the okra that really annoys me.

.....Alan.

 

[notimetospare]

Hi Tweak,
I read a copy of the book, Square Foot Gardening, and it was wonderful! this approach virtually eliminates having to thin seedlings. I always hated the thoughts of that because I bought the seeds just to yank them out of the ground later, makes NO sense to me!!!! the square foot approach only plants enough seed to fill a square foot, saving seed and utilizing space efficiently, more efficiently than rows to. Plus, you can do way more with a small area. I was impressed with the book, now only if my DH would have shown any interest in it.........
Vickie

 

[ARUBI]

Sarrah,

Thanks so much for the idea of cement blocks to form container/raised bed gardens.

Hate to thin, too. Such a waste.

 

[Tweakette]

I've tried the square-foot and wide row methods, but found it nearly impossible to weed. Took me HOURS to get through one block of carrots last time I did that.

What I do now is plant in short rows within blocks - easier to weed (if there's a plant in between rows it's a weed, no thinking required ) but you still get the benefits and yields of a block.

What I do with my seeds is if I have any left over from last year I pour them into this years packet, year after year. I figure that it will thin them while sowing as some of the old seeds will be spent and won't come up. So I sow a little more thickly than I would with completely fresh seed.
But then sometimes I get really good germination and there's too many plants, then I have to start yanking them .

It's carrots and lettuce that give me the biggest headaches, carrots in particular. I just thinned the lettuce today, took me awhile but it's done, for now. I'll have to do it a few more times as the plants get bigger, but the plants will be big enough then that I can eat the thinnings.

I used seed tape one year and it was great - its a paper tape with the seeds glued to it every inch. You just plant the whole tape, the paper dissolves and they come up perfectly spaced. But it's really expensive and you can't always get the varieties you want.

I may try pelleted seed next year just as an experiment. I also thought about making my own seed tape using toilet paper (heck, I've got enough of it ) and "glue" made of cornstarch and water. Seems pretty dang time consuming, though....

I'll have to try that sand trick with the carrots next year, that sounds very promising. Thanks!
Tweak

 

[Sarrah]

Sarrah,

Thanks so much for the idea of cement blocks to form container/raised bed gardens.

Hate to thin, too. Such a waste.

I'm glad it helped. What we did with some of the beds is use the little rotor tiller in there and add lots of compost manure etc. Rake it flat. Lay a length of garden fabric down the center. The bed is slightly wider than the fabric. We did them two block lengths wide. We cut and plant seedlings in the fabric and plant root crop seeds down the sides eg. carrots and beets. Weeding is nil. We then lay a soaker hose snake style over the fabric and around the plants. To water turn it on. It is so easy to do with barely any upkeep.
In the bed with the cukes, squash etc. We trained all the vines to grow to the East with a building fairly close on the West. We find building the beds north south to be the best, sometimes a person just can't do it. It all depends. I ramble. By training all the vines to grow in one direction you can still work on the bed from the other side. Once those plants get growing it is hard to find the bed.
One pallet of blocks will build one bed 33 feet long. I forget how wide that is maybe 3 foot I think. I'm not great with math.

 

[HoofTrimmer]

I see that others suffer with the same things

The summer heat, FIRE ANTS, spraying fruit trees, pigweed, and miserable insects.

Wonder what Adam and Eve hated...

HoofTrimmer

 

[rb.]

I, too, hate the seeding the most. I don't have to weed much (10 mins. a week?), and I don't thin. I do raised beds, square foot gardening. Building the beds aren't that fun, either, but you only do it once per bed, so what the hey!

We built a 4 x 18 foot bed this year using concrete blocks. One end I planted 3 blueberry bushes. Next to that, chives. The garlic will go adjacent in the fall. The other end I planted strawberries. By the time the kids are too old to play in the yard, it'll all be perrenial, and I can build a new, bigger bed for the annual stuff. Can't wait!

 

[occupant]

We have a 10'x 20' raised garden bed at the back of our lil' acre. Quite a prolific producer for such a small space.WEEDING is the part I Hate the most.Used (aged) horse manure one year and what aload of c*rap that was ! More weeds than I've ever seen. Still pulling out some of (SH) it's grandchildren, I presume! Bunnies were the problem, until I got some of those kiddie windmill thingies on a stick. even the slightest breeze will set them things goin'. Put one on each corner of garden bed , the bunnies HATE them. Haven't had them (or anything alse) chewing since ! Besides, the windmills (and 1 plastic flower spinner), are kinda cute. Our resident few deer have been "Educated" by an old Christmas gift; none other than the famous singing Billy Bass ! Laid it down, smack dab in the middle of garden bed on a stepping stone, and at dusk, the doe and her twins came by for a quick bite of "salad'.One rendition of "Take me to the River" by ol' Billy Bass and deers took off like bat's outta hell. Came by a couple more times later in the week, got another "tune" or two and ain't seen em' since ! After all this rain though, I'm afraid Billy bass, may just take off down the creek ! Good gardening all !

 

[Todd]

Glad I'm not the only one who hates harvesting. Part of it is that you have to do something with the stuff once you're done.

For example, besides storing apples, we make juice from the rest. This means lots of long mornings cutting them up and running them through the apple press to get out the juice then canning the juice.

This year we're also going to be making lots of tomato juice...so pick them, cook them, run them through the Victorio strainer, boil them down a bit and can them.

Although I have to admit it's great to see all those jars!

Todd

A PS on wide beds - they sound great when you're young and have a good back but are killers later. We have a couple of four footers but built the rest 3 feet wide which makes working them sooo much easier.

 

[WalknTrot]

Ha! It has to be weeding. Up here in The Great White North the weeds are like jungle-growth...keep in mind lots of rainfall, high humidity & summer temps PLUS about 17 hrs of daylight! There's enough manure on my garden to feed a lot of pigweed, but the most fun is the danged stinging nettle!

 

[pkchicken]

yup thinning the seedlings!

I had to thin the beets today and I thought of you guys!

Holey cow I should have thinned them sooner! The chickens loved the leftovers however.

pk

 

[Ought Six]

Busting virgin sod with a spading fork. My back hurts just thinking about it. For a single smaller bed, I cannot justify the expense of renting a heavy-duty tiller, and those little ones are not even close to being up to that task, so out comes the fork.

Another joyous task is mucking out a pond. It gives you fantastic organic fertilizer, but the stuff is gooey, stinky, and a bucket of the stuff feels like it weighs a ton. There are a lot of buckets of muck in even a small pond.

And now comes my all-time worst.... hacking out a blackberry thicket. That is not gardening; it is all-out no-quarter warfare. You will definitely earn a couple Purple Hearts doing this. The canes are like steel cables with fishooks welded on. Machetes just bounce off. The 1"+ long thorns will punch right through gloves. As you flail at the base of the canes, the tops whip down at you. When you successfully cut one, nothing happens because it is entangled with the dozen or so other canes around it. These things grow as thick as a lawn here in the northwest. You will find blackberry thickets literally hundreds of feet deep. And after you have cut them all out and you foolishly think you are nearly done, then you get to try to bundle them up for disposal. It is like wrestling with a bag of live snakes made out of razor wire. You even get the satisfaction of knowing that they will just grow back even thicker next year, no matter how much herbicide you nuke them with.

 

[A.T.Hagan]

Ugh. Ought Six, I can sympathize.

I've busted virgin sod several times over the years.

If I needed to do it right away I used a spade to cut the turf in a grid pattern then used the spading fork to turn it with. Mine is still a little bent from the last time I had to really go at it.

If I had the time I smothered the area under a solid foot of mulch for at least a month. By that time the turf would be rotting and much easier to deal with.

I finally threw in the towel with the briars. Had a huge mass of mixed blackberry and smilax with a bit of poison ivy thrown in for flavor. I put on heavy duty long sleeves, tied my pants legs shut, put on the helmet with the face mask then went at it with the twenty inch bar of my Stihl chain saw.

Had to clean the saw well when I was done, but I cut that stuff up like using hedge clippers on a hedge then used a pitch fork to pile it with. Still got clawed up a bit, but it beat the alternative.

.....Alan.

 

[Gingergirl]

Alan


"I finally threw in the towel with the briars. Had a huge mass of mixed blackberry and smilax with a bit of poison ivy thrown in for flavor. I put on heavy duty long sleeves, tied my pants legs shut, put on the helmet with the face mask then went at it with the twenty inch bar of my Stihl chain saw."

Don't you just love doing a bit of genteel gardening?

 

[Para36]

I remember my battle with the briars well. What is now our front yard was about half blackberry briars when we built. I attacked them for about 2 months off and on with long handled pruning shears. I bunched them together and lit them off when I had big enough piles. Some poison ivy too and some boulders. I kept a little John Deere 1010 from my farming days and was able to tow the bigger boulders with it. You can bet that I went over the area immediately with a rider mower so nothing would grow back. The hot sunny days were the worst for this kind of work. Some of the canes were 15 feet long or more. One of those one time jobs that I'll never do again.