I'm back at my desk, with my iMac upgraded to Monterey, and ready to resume blogging. But first I'll revert to my fourth-grade persona in order to report to the class what I did while I was away. (all pix will supersize with a click)
Our house is about 30 years old, with a deck on the north side facing the woods. I'm not a fan of gravel mulch, but the original builder was correct in using gravel to cover an area that never gets direct sunlight. The problem is that after a couple decades, organic dirt starts to build up around and under the gravel (on top of the underlying landscape fabric) as a result of the breakdown of grass clippings and unraked autumn leaf litter. The area is not sunny enough for shrubbery or perennials, but an amazing number of aggressive weeds have been happy to thrive and multiply there.
The standard treatment for weeds is to douse them repeatedly with broad-leaf herbicides, but I have an aversion to the use of Roundup (and pesticides). Removal of the dirt seemed to be the logical alternative. After I scraped off the top layer of semi-clean gravel, there was a larger quantity of muddy gravel embedded in the neo-dirt. I hand-scooped that dirt/gravel mixture into a wheelbarrow, graded the underlying ground to slope away from the house, put down a new layer of lawn fabric, then washed the gravel with a garden hose and replaced it on top of the new lawn fabric. The result looks good...
... and should be weed-free for many years until the process starts up again.
This project lasted for parts of four days; while I was doing that, four members of my extended family headed up to Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Karl, Kirsten, Kaitlyn, and Dean have done this many times and always enjoyed the experience.
... with chicken fajitas...
They had perfect weather, virtually free of mosquitoes and blackflies, for portaging between lakes to canoe in scenery like this...
... and sleeping under a dark sky with a great view of the cosmos.
So there's that. On the other hand, I now have the cleanest gravel mulch in my subdivision. So we'll call it a tie.
Reposted from last year to show the difference in the back patio a year later:
This is viewed from a different angle, but it's obvious how the removal of dirt from the gravel mulch stopped the proliferation of weeds in the area. I subsequently manually pulled the weeds on the right side; the question is whether I have the energy to repeat the repair process in that area. Maybe next summer...
I went to some of my usual camping destinations in the southern Cascades. Fine, but replacing a rotting door (we never used) with a window (and all that entailed) has been satisfying in its own way. I hear you on the clean gravel. Kind of mindless work, but therapeutic, with spectacular, tangible results.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Sir! Your gravel looks marvelous, but I'm sad you didn't get to enjoy the trip ~
ReplyDeleteKnowing how heavy even a small amount of gravel is, my hat is off to you!
ReplyDeleteThat clean gravel may outlive the support posts, well done Sir.
ReplyDeleteMmmm walleye, wipes drool off keyboard.
When they were up at the boundary waters did they get any of the aurora borealis?
xoxoxoBruce
What a wonderful blogcation! You've spent your time well.
ReplyDeleteYou say "virtually free of mosquitoes and blackflies," but what is this witchcraft? In the Boundary Waters-Quetico?????
ReplyDeleteI started reading the Harry Flashman Omnibus; I'll be back here reading when I finish that.
ReplyDeletemmm, walleye is delicious. My wife's uncle brings it to the family campout every year and I look forward to it!
ReplyDeleteAnon, I'll blog this later but give you a preview now -
Deletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/07/29/airbnb-the-most-midwestern-things/
(scroll down...)
As I recall, you are a butterflyphile? Have you considered planting some kind of shade tolerant butterfly food / bee attracting / hummingbird nectario in that gravel? maybe jewel weed?
ReplyDeleteWe have butterfly nectar plants and food plants everywhere in the yard and garden, but for this area I prefer the zen of a sterile gravel patch.
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