Quack Grass
The next step of our greenhouse mega build was to remove the asparagus bed and an iris bed, directly behind the old compost bin.
I honestly thought this would be the easiest part. Boy, was I wrong. Even with the tractor, it was two days of back breaking work.
First the timbers that made up the raised bed had to be removed. It was three timbers high and had sunk deep into the soil. Then we had to painstakingly sift through the dirt for my asparagus roots and iris bulbs.
The only problem was that both beds were surrounded by quack grass. If you've ever dealt with quack grass you know what a scourge it is.
Quack grass is relentless. It spreads by rhizomes that can quickly sprout even if the mother plant is torn out. The longest rhizome I pulled out was over two feet long! And you must get it all. Even a half inch node can sprout.
I don't know why there was quack grass in the asparagus bed. It started three years ago and it's been a battle ever since. That's why I was glad to be rid of the bed. I'm going to enjoy burning those monsters.
From what I've read, the only reliable way to remove quack grass is to dig and till. That's hard to do in beds that shouldn't be disturbed.
The first year, I just pulled the weeds, not realizing what I was dealing with. When I discovered it was quack grass, all I had done was force it to sprout and spread even faster. I had to dig them out.
I did this for two years, doing my best not to dig too deep or risk losing my asparagus roots. You can tell I was making headway because there were fewer quack grass rhizomes in the asparagus bed than there were in the iris bed (where I didn't dig at all).
The other way to battle quack grass is to smother them for a year. Again, not feasible in perennial beds.
The third way is chemical weed killer. That's probably the most effective, but we're completely organic, so that was a no-go.
Deck Update: Greg has smoothed the dirt. I'm very happy with the site we selected. It'll give us way more room to maneuver with lawn tractors and golf carts.
We started laying out the timbers to frame the deck. This is the hard part. There's a lot of lifting, adding or subtracting dirt, and checking it with a level. Over and over, and over again.
Those timbers are really heavy! After only a few hours I was spent. We still have one more side to level and then we can start screwing the timbers to each other into a square. If it needs to be re-leveled at that point, we can attach it to the tractor and lift the entire frame up while we add or subtract dirt.
I'm really not up to working today, but if I can get through this last bit of leveling, my services as mule and lackey won't be as mandatory as they are now.
I'm eternally grateful that Greg knows so much about building. He's been going out of his way to make this greenhouse an oasis for me. It'll have electricity, running water, tables, shelving, and even a ramp so I can wheel in my heavy plants. He's really thought of everything.
He's built me a greenhouse before when we lived in east Texas, but this one is on a much grander scale.
He's a keeper.
The babies are hiding behind the trees.
If you happen to be shopping Amazon, start from this link. Since it's a holiday week here in the states, Amazon is running a few extra specials. I know the brands of cat food I buy are currently on sale.
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