On and OT:

Have you tried laying down a polypropylene (or some such) weed inhibiting medium all over the ground the railway track is on? It is perfect timing now, if you have it all up, to do so. You can plant through it (cut an X and plant in the centre folding back the corners to the plant base), and it is water permeable. It is only a deterrent to weeds, but it really does work. It is even better if you can put a layer of gravel or other mulch (to keep out even more light). That way, even those that are propagated by root 'suckers' will be deterred to some extent. Seed borne weeds will probably be more or less stopped altogether. . In message , Susan Torrens writes

Might be a kind gesture for the year round folks to get together and weed once in awhile when you folk are north. It sounds like the neighborhood enjoys the train when it is running.

Taria

Patti wrote:

On Tue, 6 Jan 2009 09:25:42 -0600, Patti wrote (in article ):

In my experience, the weed barrier doesn't help much. When we "tried" to make some sort of shade garden in our teeny tiny "backyard" the landscaper put this stuff down. The only thing I'm still able to grow back there is weeds. But then, maybe I just don't have a green thumb.

Maureen

DH did this when he first installed the RR. Unfortunately, the "suckers" are very persistent, and the weeds seem to like to grow in the mulch!

Great idea, but no offers yet! They do have a "gardening group" that looks after the beds around the pool, clubhouse, etc.

Trees are down! DH is on the roof this morning, using the leaf blower to get the sawdust off, and clean out the gutters!. He drilled some holes in the stumps and will put some stump killer in them. This works very slowly, but the one we did a few years ago has turned to a cork-like substance. It will be a couple of years before the roots stop trying to grow!

I'm off to my quilting group this afternoon. I have lots of info sheets printed, and hopefully we can get a few plans firmed up for the rest of the winter.