In 2020, I reclaimed half of the “Sumac Zone” after we exhaustively dug out the remaining larger stumps on both sides. After 3 years, we have basically managed to get rid of the Sumac in this area of the yard (hah!). Because of the amount of work this was, I only “finished” one side – which was an amazing place to grow pumpkins and squash last year. The other side, well….I didn’t keep on top of it so it basically became a massive weed zone with un-pullable weeds as tall as me. This is a good April project while I let the weather warm up more reliably!
Weekend of April 3
- Blew and raked out leaves
- Hand pulled and/or dug out all tall/dead weeds from 2020
- Reclaimed ~18″ of paved area to find real “edge” (UGH!!!)
- Found hidden treasure – Poison Ivy!
- Eradicated (I hope!) poison ivy
- Hand pulled and/or dug out all newly growing 2021 plants – the weeds are fighting me!
- Begun tilling the soil to amend and cultivate
Here’s a picture of what it looked like after the above list. I still have a lot of work to do, including adding and mixing in a few yards of triple mix, laying some landscape fabric, adding some mulch, and well, adding plants! I will need to create a triangular space in order to allow good paths for the riding lawn mower to drive, but but will be able to add over 100sq ft of planting space which is great news for my 2021 Gourd and Pumpkin plan!
