In the News - July
2008
Homespun advice from a veteran county agent
Uncle Ray rescues his garden
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - "Hey county agent!" Uncle Ray's voice boomed over the
phone. "You'll be real proud to know what I did." That was the bait and I bit,
"I'm always proud of you, but what did you mess up now?"
His rebuttal came fast, "Looky here! I go to the trouble to keep you up to
speed, and that's the thanks I get?"
Bottom line, after a 10-day ramble around the state to visit other relatives,
he came back home to an overgrown garden. Uncle Ray provided this imagery, "Them
rain showers caused every weed in the world to grow up out there. I never see'd
such a mess!"
It didn't help to ask, "Well, what did you do, just plow it up and start all
over?" His reply suggested an expectation of that question. "Now, see here.
That's the difference between folks like me and you. I make do just by put'n my
thank'n cap on and coming up with an answer." Trying to regain lost ground, I
asked, "Well, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me what you did?"
"I weed et it!" he proudly stated.
Before I could digest that, Uncle Ray continued, "I just went up and down
them rows, trimming the weeds smooth to the ground as straight as a chalk line.
You know, in a pair of skilled hands, a weed eater is a precision tool. Why the
Surgeon General his self could'na did no better."
Due to abundant rainfall in many locations, many gardeners are caught in
similar situations. About the time the weeds get cleaned out, the job has to be
repeated.
In lawns and around many ornamentals, herbicides can be used for pre- and
post-emergence weed control. However, when it comes to herbicide use around
vegetables, gardeners are more hesitant. The other options are: mulching;
hand-weeding; tillering or, in Uncle Ray's case, weed trimming.
Uncle Ray brought me back on track. "Say, do you thank one of them extension
specialists would want to work up a fact sheet? We could take some good pictures
right now." I eased out of the conversation with, "Uncle Ray, I'll get back to
you on that."
The idea of an extension fact sheet on Salvaging the Garden with A Weed Eater
brought a smile as I thought about making the initial contact. Should I call Dr.
John Boyd, our weed specialist, or Dr. Craig Andersen, our vegetable specialist?
The thought of either trying to communicate with Uncle Ray brought a second
smile. Til' Next week!
For more information on gardens and other horticultural matters, contact your
county extension agent or visit www.uaex.edu and select
Home and Garden. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of
Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
July
3, 2008
By: Robert Seay
Benton County Extension Agent Staff Chair
Media Contact: Lamar James
Extension Communications Specialist
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2187 or (501) 753-0207
ljames@uaex.edu
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