Weeding

22/12/2007

(See 'Digging', 21/11/2007)

We weed a lot.
It's raining almost daily now, and the damned weeds are spawning everywhere in the FAITH garden - on our eight beddings, between them, all over the path, climbing the fence, into the water pipes... and no measure of plucking appears to eradicate them, they grow right back in a day or two.
It's exasperating. I find myself wondering if we should just forget about defending the kang kong, and find a way to eat the weeds instead.
Genesis 3:17-18 "... Cursed is the ground because of you... It will produce thorns and thistles for you..." No kidding.

Weeding isn't as laborious as digging, but neither does it offer the same anaesthetic monotony. You've got to be selective about what you're uprooting, constantly mindful of collateral damage to the vegetables.
The hell-cabbages (non-scientific name) are particularly devious: they start off as baby sprouts almost indistinguishable from the tomatoes. But then they come of age one night, unfurl their vile tendrils and ravage the beddings!

About a fortnight ago, I had perfected a solution. Pulling together painstakingly studied observations on the shapes and colours of leaves, I worked out a mental diagnosis protocol for distinguishing friend from foe. Unfortunately, the first trial of The Method took about an hour to weed a single bedding.
Amandi then strolled over, shook his head and smugly showed me how real men do it: in ten minutes flat he had stomped through the entire neighbouring bed, Godzilla-like, wreaking havoc on the terrified weedery below.

I have lived with that disgrace for two weeks. But now I've just discovered that he had pulled out half the bed's tomato plants as well.
Vindicated! :)

-raj