I hate weeding. I hate most that no matter how much you pull the weeds they always come back, and if you relax your vigilance for even one week they are suddenly out of control. My favorite strategy for weeds is to put down a layer of mulch so you can't see them anymore. I know, it doesn't work forever, but at least it solves to problem for a while.
So last week we got a truckload of mulch. In past years we have left the mulch to sit for a few weeks while we gathered up the time to spread it. This year I resolved to spread it immediately---unfortunately, we had some painting left over from last week to do. I couldn't do the painting (it required being tall and being up on a ladder) so we decided Michael would paint with Eleanor and I spread mulch with Amanda and Luke. Yay.
Fortunately for me, Amanda and Luke are older now and more responsible. What's more, they go to crossfit and are strong. Amanda spread (she was excellent at the detail work around the plants) and Luke spread and loaded. There was one problem where some mulch got spilled on the lawn and Luke was no longer allowed to push full loads of mulch around. Mostly it went smoothly. Every 15 wheelbarrow loads full we took a break with soda and snacks for motivation. And the work got done! It looks really nice.
A truckload of mulch is a lot of mulch. We moved 50 wheelbarrow loads. We spread it in the front yard, moved to the side and continued until we dropped a load on a wasps nest and no one wanted to spread it there anymore. At that point Eleanor wanted to move over to mulching instead of painting, and she got out the tractor so we could spread in the back yard. There was a small problem with the tires in the cart being out of air---Luke had a lesson in getting the air compressor to fill up the jerry can and using that to fill the tires---but after we solved that, 4 more cart loads were done. Although backing up was hard to figure out, the tractor made the work go much faster. But almost 60 wheelbarrow loads were enough for one day.
Even after 60 loads, we had lots of mulch left.
On Sunday or Monday, Michael noticed that we had missed one of the front garden beds. Good thing we had some left. We got out the wheelbarrow and moved some more mulch. The thing is, after moving about 60 loads in one day, moving 5-6 loads is almost nothing---we just got it done, no fuss, no problem.
I figure there are about 20 more loads left to move. Michael is probably right, that we will run out of mulch before we run out of places to put it. But I know that I ran out of the desire to spread mulch long before we run out of mulch. Until next year when the weeds will make me forget the pain of spreading mulch, I guess.
So last week we got a truckload of mulch. In past years we have left the mulch to sit for a few weeks while we gathered up the time to spread it. This year I resolved to spread it immediately---unfortunately, we had some painting left over from last week to do. I couldn't do the painting (it required being tall and being up on a ladder) so we decided Michael would paint with Eleanor and I spread mulch with Amanda and Luke. Yay.
Fortunately for me, Amanda and Luke are older now and more responsible. What's more, they go to crossfit and are strong. Amanda spread (she was excellent at the detail work around the plants) and Luke spread and loaded. There was one problem where some mulch got spilled on the lawn and Luke was no longer allowed to push full loads of mulch around. Mostly it went smoothly. Every 15 wheelbarrow loads full we took a break with soda and snacks for motivation. And the work got done! It looks really nice.
A truckload of mulch is a lot of mulch. We moved 50 wheelbarrow loads. We spread it in the front yard, moved to the side and continued until we dropped a load on a wasps nest and no one wanted to spread it there anymore. At that point Eleanor wanted to move over to mulching instead of painting, and she got out the tractor so we could spread in the back yard. There was a small problem with the tires in the cart being out of air---Luke had a lesson in getting the air compressor to fill up the jerry can and using that to fill the tires---but after we solved that, 4 more cart loads were done. Although backing up was hard to figure out, the tractor made the work go much faster. But almost 60 wheelbarrow loads were enough for one day.
Even after 60 loads, we had lots of mulch left.
On Sunday or Monday, Michael noticed that we had missed one of the front garden beds. Good thing we had some left. We got out the wheelbarrow and moved some more mulch. The thing is, after moving about 60 loads in one day, moving 5-6 loads is almost nothing---we just got it done, no fuss, no problem.
I figure there are about 20 more loads left to move. Michael is probably right, that we will run out of mulch before we run out of places to put it. But I know that I ran out of the desire to spread mulch long before we run out of mulch. Until next year when the weeds will make me forget the pain of spreading mulch, I guess.
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