Tag Archives: Gretchen Quarterman

Pigweed 2021-06-08

Pulled this out of the corn this morning.

[Palmer amaranth]
Palmer amaranth

We have very little of it. Nearby, where renters grow cotton doused in Roundup (Glysophate), they have a lot of it. Because it has mutated to be resistant to Roundup. So over there, it’s the only weed growing. They’ve resorted to everything from 2,$-D to Paraquat to pulling it up by hand.

In our fields, pigweed has to compete with everything else, and it is not very successful. We have more issues with dog fennel and sandspurs. Nothing a little hoe work and weed pulling can’t fix. Good morning exercise. We do not use any pesticides.

See also Andre Gallant, Modern Farmer, 18 July 2013, Pigweed in the Cotton: A ‘Superweed’ Invades Georgia.

-jsq

Native wild azaleas 2021-04-12

These were many places in the woods, with an acre of them here: native wild azaleas, Rhododendron canescens.

[Nellie, native wild azaleas, Gretchen]
Nellie, native wild azaleas, Gretchen

No, not honeysuckle. That’s a vine. These are a bush. Continue reading →

Planting fruit trees 2021-03-30

Citrus: lemon, satsuma, blood orange, and grapefruit, two of each.

[Gretchen planting fruit trees]
Gretchen planting fruit trees

Better than the invasive chinaberry trees that used to be there. Getting rid of those took a bulldozer and years of mowing and harrowing. Continue reading →

Gretchen relaxing with 50-pound bag of fertilizer 2021-03-22

To relax after her second virus shot, Gretchen hoisted 50-pound bags of fertilizer while we were planting red corn.

[A few hours after second virus shot]
A few hours after second virus shot

Seems like a fair distribution of labor. After all, I drive the tractor.

Today she got five more bags, and loaded them in the truck herself.

-jsq