Originally, I planned to include this tale in my previous post, but decided it would be too many topics at once. So here is the rest of the gardening story.
The bindweed war has been ongoing, but I don't think I have written about it this summer. On the advice of a landscaping and gardening expert, I covered the most badly-infested section of our garden with 6 mil black plastic and left it there all summer. When I took it off this fall, I found ghost-bindweed plants beneath it, all pale and washed out like Gollum. Just a couple of days after sunlight reached them, they began to turn green again.
So, on the expert's advice, I dug up as much of it as I could, going for the roots as well. I actually wore myself out completely doing that for three days in a row. Then I sprayed the remaining almost-dead bindweed with agricultural-strength vinegar and my son helped me cover it up with the black plastic again, as advised. I plan to purchase more vinegar to apply to other areas, and perhaps do some more digging in one more messy spot. But that will have to wait until it quits raining. I am very glad for the rain, though; we really need it.
Sometimes I wonder if the garden is worth all this expense and effort. That vinegar costs $30/gallon, and the black plastic was $60, and the landscaping cloth I bought to put all around the edges of the garden was $85. Our water bills for the summer added up to an extra $242. I bought seeds, and some seedlings as well. I probably invested close to $500 in that garden this year. Think of all the produce I could buy at a farmers' market for $500! It's worth considering!
And yet, with all the craziness there is in the world these days, I'm not sure I can count on the farmers' market next summer. And so I forge doggedly ahead with the garden, doing the best I can with the energy I have at my age. Some things won't get done at all, and some things will get done in a less-than-timely fashion, but I do what I can, with whatever help family members are able to contribute.
I can't say I truly enjoy gardening, but I do enjoy seeing all those jars of home canning on the pantry shelves this time of year. That's the reason why I have a big garden.
That bindweed looks like nasty stuff. I've not seen it here in Australia, but then we have our own horrid little plants.
Oh yes, each region seems to have its own collection of weeds to keep us gardeners humble!