An Adventure Looking For Galvanized Tubs
Steve and I had quite an adventure looking for galvanized tubs yesterday.
It was meant to be a quick run to an Ace hardware store to buy the ones I saw online there.
Turns out they didn’t have them. Change of plan.
The Continued Beautification Of The Yard:
So many people have stopped when they’re out walking their dog and complimented me on the yard.
It’s such a great way to meet people!
Yesterday morning a man walked by with his dog and stopped to talk about the yard.
I was bending over trying to pluck out the hundreds of weeds that have come up through the white gravel.
You see, I thought the landscaper laid some kind of weed barrier under the gravel so this wouldn’t happen.
But we had a bit of a language problem. So it is what it is.
The man who stopped to chat, whose name was Larry, said he’d just moved here with his wife in February. And that he knows Marie down at the corner.
But then everyone knows Marie.
Marie, who has rheumatoid arthritis, is the person quickly darting around picking up sticks and such on the ground. Always seeking to make this a better place.
I don’t know how Marie does all that she does. I’ll see her walking dogs for other people who can’t get around well.
She keeps Boomer for John when he has to travel. So add pet sitter to her list of accomplishments.
So now you see how everyone knows Marie.
Just Thinking Out Loud:
Anyway, I was thinking out loud about what I was going to do about all those weeds where the settee and potted tree currently are.
I mentioned my thought of getting galvanized containers and placing them into a configuration much like I had at the old apartment.
Right at the intersection of the sidewalks where many people pass by every day.
Still sort of thinking out loud, I said the problem would be getting heavy bags of soil for the containers out there.
Larry said: “I’ll come help with that. Just give Marie a call and she’ll tell me to get down here.”
Larry had been a complete stranger up until the last 15 minutes. But with Larry standing there with his dog on a leash agreeing with me, I figured this would be a good idea.
A Corner Where So Many Pass By:
That corner will become a place where people see pretty flowers and smell aromatic herbs as they pass by.
They won’t just pass by and admire my yard, but they’ll see and smell plants close to the sidewalk.
One thing I’m certain of is that weeds can’t come up through galvanized containers filled with dirt.
Some people deal with weeds with spades. I fight dirty when it comes to weeds that mar my yard.
I swear I pull a dozen out and three dozen weeds replace them before I’m even finished.
Just the idea of a summer of weed pulling drives me crazy. And I cannot just sit back and watch them coming up through the concrete gravel.
A true gardener cannot just ignore such a thing, now can they? Not without putting up a fight first.
I look out across the expanse of my yard and I don’t just see the settee and the Japanese Maple. I see a complete weed invasion.
I see the weeds growing under the wicker settee and I get angry. How dare they even grow under my settee!
So with my plan in mind, I realized that the settee has to be moved and my tree scooted over.
Lisa is moving in mid-July to the apartment on the other side of Steve. She had mentioned wanting some form of seating for her patio. But moving is an expensive endeavor.
So Lisa will get the settee. I have three wicker chairs on my patio and there’s not one bit of room for another seat.
The settee currently out by the sidewalk will be moved.
Weed-fighting galvanized tubs full of plants will take its place.
They will be the soldiers of my yard. Ready to fill their role in my fight against constantly sprouting weeds.
The Crazy Outing With Steve:
So on to what happened on the outing with Steve. He’d just gotten back from church and was planning to go work out when the Y opened at 1 p.m. It was just after noon.
But I told him this wouldn’t take long. I knew just what I wanted and it would only take about 30 minutes. And he’d be back to go work out, shower, and go out on his date.
And it turned into 3 frustrating hours.
But gardeners tend to persevere, don’t they? They don’t give up easily when they have a plan in mind.
Steve drove my car, and it’s a good thing, because I always have close to a full tank of gas. I’m OCD about it. And we sure ended up needing it yesterday afternoon.
We’d pulled off the road to come to some sort of decision moving forward. We knew that Sand Springs, a town just outside of Tulsa, has a Tractor Supply store.
And we were pretty sure if we could find galvanized tubs anywhere it would probably be at the Tractor Supply store. Kendra had bought her big tubs there during her vegetable gardening phase a few years ago.
When Things Go Awry:
The problem was, we couldn’t get out of town. Every street Steve went down ended up being blocked by police for some runner’s event.
We must have crossed the river 10 times trying to get out of Tulsa, and ended up in some sketchy areas too.
It was by then clear that he wasn’t going to make it to the Y to work out.
And by golly we’d gone to so much trouble Steve was adamant about finding the tubs now. It became a challenge.
We drove and turned around and drove some more and turned around many times. Policeman stood at intersections everywhere blocking off traffic for the running event we weren’t even aware of.
But finally we found a road out of town. It had only take a few hours of trying to find our way out.
We saw an Atwoods in Sand Springs and stopped there. They had huge galvanized containers, but not the size I needed.
Finally we found the Tractor Supply store.
They didn’t have galvanized tubs in the round 24 inch size I wanted. And I needed at least 3.
So I had to buy a collection of various sizes, even though they’re smaller than I wanted. After all we’d had to do to get there, I certainly wasn’t going home empty handed.
After that we zipped home without any further problems. Steve drilled holes in the bottoms of my motley crew of galvanized containers and headed home.
Today’s Plan:
Marie is planning to go to Southwood nursery with me today after her physical therapy appointment.
I’m going to put my walking boot on and visit the big nursery I’ve always loved. I haven’t been able to go there in a long time.
I’ve been gaining stamina and balance, so we’re going to give it a try. And there are always benches to sit on here and there at that nursery. With lots of sights to see while seated and resting.
I seem to be past the point (crossed fingers) when it was a struggle to get out of the car and up on the curb. That was taxing and hard to do for so long.
Galvanized Tubs Full Of Plants:
At the intersection of sidewalks, there will be tubs full of plants for the people who pass by. And of course for me!
They will be doing double duty as a sentry against the abomination of weeds that have sprouted. Soldiers in formation doing their part.
I’m determined to find a way to cover much of the ground so I won’t be constantly pulling weeds.
At the old place my gardening space was all concrete. I had many pots of containers and never had to worry about weeds.
And you know, I miss my galvanized tubs I had arranged there full of flowers and herbs. So I’ll have a similar arrangement here.
A Detour Maze:
Steve and I went through a 3 hour detour maze trying to get out of town that we’ll not soon forget. But joked the whole way and sort of had fun doing it.
I told him during the drive that it felt like we were in a Stephen King book.
Think about it:
People in a car who can’t get out of town. A road block at every intersection.
It did kind of feel like we were doomed on our mission. Or there was an unseen force keeping us from getting out of town.
Story From The Tractor Supply Store:
I have a story from the Tractor Supply store that I heard while Steve stood in line with my credit card to pay. When I found some nearby feed bags to sit and rest on.
A man standing nearby looked over at my walking boot and said: “Been there, done that.”
Stories Of War:
He said on his first day on the ground in Iraq, he broke the tip of his fibula. The entire 11 months he was there, he told me, he had to wear a walking boot.
Wow.
Steve’s a veteran. He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. I’ve heard lots of stories about soldiers and war.
I think of all the men and women who don’t come home. Who go to foreign places and have plans for when they get home. And then many never make it out alive.
There are so many stories about conflict and wars.
Steve paid for me and we headed to the car. As I was getting into the passenger seat, I saw the man walking past with his purchases.
I told him I was glad that he made it out of Iraq, and that I was thankful for his service.
Straight up white vinegar with a little dishwashing soap added to the sprayer should kill weeds and grass. The soap helps the liquid penetrate the soil more easily around the roots. The vinegar won’t hurt animals and bees, etc. that will steer clear of the scent of the vinegar, but it will kill the weeds down to the roots. You may have to give a stubborn weed several sprays. I have large grass back and front yards, so I use a professional weed killer that doesn’t damage my flowers, plants and grass. I spot spray for weeds with a professional weed killer, walking my lawn in a pattern. I don’t have many weeds come up because I also have a lawn service to fertilize and lay down crabgrass pre-emergent, etc. It uses slow release tiny solid “beads” that settle down into the dirt and is not a liquid that can blow around. It is safe for pets and wildlife. There are now weed killers that can be applied to gardens that will not harm flowers or wild life but will only kill grasses that grow up around plants. I like both Ortho and Spectracide products.
if you will put cardboard down, spray it with water then cover it with mulch you can pretty easily solve you’re weed problem. I know it sounds crazy but it works wonders. you can recycle your Amazon boxes this way. I’ve included a YouTube link for the basics. her garden is amazing. I’ve used her method on small and large projects and it’s awesome!
https://youtu.be/oURszYpF2WA
First this. When you first moved in and fretted over some quirky and challenging aspects of your yard, I recall commenting that you’d resolve them and others would stop by to admire your work and ask for suggestions. So I kinda smirked with an “I told you so!” attitude when I read this. I said that not only because I knew it would happen, but to give you a boost of confidence in your abilities to create calm out of chaos. Well done!
What a wonderful collection of kind, generous-hearted people you’ve got as neighbors! I’ll bet Marie just relishes being the community good will ambassador! She reminds me of the old fashioned phone system where everything went through the switchboard operator! Letting messages to Larry come through Marie is too cute!
And you do your part in spreading kindness too. The settee will be so much more appreciated coming as a gift from you.
Brenda, most weeds come from airborne seeds, not up through the landscape fabric. there’s no way to stop that from happening. you just have to pull them, or use a ground cover that will block them, like ajuga.
You are so fortunate to live where you do with such nice neighbors that look out for each other and help each other out. We finally met the young man (in his 40’s) that moved in next door 1-1/2 years ago, lol! He’d been kind of shy and evasive up until recently. We ended up having quite the chat with him and he seems very nice. We talked up landscaping ideas since our property joins together. The woman that lived in this house before was the one that didn’t care about her house or property. This is the house with that dreaded mulberry tree.
Weeds are a never-ending battle here. We don’t spray any chemicals, so our lawn has tons of weeds. Creeping Charlie is super invasive and is in all my garden beds. I pull tons of it just about every day that I’m out there. And our newish landscaping in front where they laid down river rock in some carved out spaces, is also sprouting weeds. And yes, they laid landscaping fabric underneath the stones! I agree with the others who said to spray vinegar. It works really well for killing weeds. Just be aware that it will also kill grass and other plants, so make sure you don’t spray it on a windy day.
I’m pretty sure it’s in their dna, Brenda, and they just can’t help it, lol! I LOVED today’s post! It was so much fun to read! You and Steve had quite the adventure, didn’t you, lol?!! You really do have such great neighbors! I’m glad Steve wasn’t upset about missing his work out. I can say with confidence that I definately wouldn’t have minded missing mine! Lol! I love your idea about beautifying the sidewalk intersection. You might have been able to put your settee out there to give people a place to sit, talk, and enjoy it, but giving it to your friend is also a really nice gesture. Hopefully, some of the suggestions about weed control will work out for you. I used to have our lawn guy spray the rock beds every once in a while to kill the weeds, but now that I have a dog, I don’t want to risk her getting sick from the weed spray. Weeds are the worst!
Brenda,
I use a spray bottle with vinegar for weeds growing up in the sidewalks and driveway. I can’t use it on my plants, but it does great for getting rid of them.
Have you tried Preen Weed Preventer? You just sprinkle in your flower beds and it discourages weeds. Doesn’t harm plants. I’ve been using it for years with great results.
https://www.amazon.com/Preen-Garden-Weed-Preventer-Covers/dp/B000WU3SHA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=MVTTNK550UA8&keywords=preen+weed+preventer&qid=1684775829&sprefix=preen%2Caps%2C301&sr=8-1
I’ve actually never tried anything for weeds except pouring scalding water on them or pulling them out. Will look into this.
Preen works very well – I used it extensively in the past in my NJ home because much of the yard had been heavily planted for 50+ years by the previous owner with layers of perennials, bulbs and tubers and weeding around all the ground covers and beds would have been all but impossible. That being said, Preen is a preventative and works on seeds before the weeds come up – it does not kill existing weeds, but it will prevent new ones from coming up where it is applied.
I love the role you have given to your galvanized containers and glad you persevered and found some!
“They will be the soldiers of my yard. Ready to fill their role in my fight against constantly sprouting weeds”.
Heat the vinegar up and it seems to work even better.
This was truly a fun post! I felt bad when you moved and left your galvanized planters there. I actually like the idea of different sizes. Makes it appealing to the eye. Happy Planting ❣️
I’ve just gotten home (ended up going alone) and Ivy is all over me to pet her. Had a strange morning. One of those days when you realize just how grateful you should be to have a roof over your head.
Just a note: we are bombarded by weeds as well and my husband takes plain white vinegar (we buy it by the gallon) and puts it into a sprayer and sprays the weeds and they shrivel up and die in a few days. Keeps our yard looking decent without the “weeding pulling” thing. We’re in Arizona so our yard is covered with various types of gravel stones and the weeds just love popping up through those things.
I shall try this. Also hot water (not sure if it has to be boiling water) will kill them if you pour it on the weeds.
But don’t the weeds come back?
Brenda, your post today, was just so much fun to read. What a day you and Steve had. Love how neither one of you “gave-up” the hunt.
Maybe with the different sizes of tubs you purchased, will be even better, than all being the same. I know you will arrange and plant them beautifully, making for a very interesting view.
Again, Loved this post!!! Happy planting “and no more weeding, hopefully”
It’s just after noon here and I just got home from the nursery. Marie couldn’t go so it was just me. It was a very interesting and humbling morning to say the least. Will write about it tomorrow.
So many adventures. I bet you slept good last night or maybe you are like me when I am excited about a project I’ll be up half the night thinking about it and then I am too tired to give it my all. Weeds find their way everywhere. I paid to have plastic put down in a big island out front. Well mulch makes soil and therefore I have weeds or as I like to think of them as native plants! I loved how you are gifting your settee to a neighbor, other neighbors are helping you out and you had a nice conversation with the veteran. This is how things are supposed to work and I am happy you landed where you should be!
Hadn’t even thought of that. That mulch makes soil. Oh joy.
Sounds like you and Steve had a great day, even if it was hectic it was a fun adventure!
I’m so glad that you’re happy Brenda and even making new friends to go places with! I knew that u would be walking around again, it just takes time! Your garden is beautiful too! I hope u and everyone else is having a great week!
So far so good. The surgeon told me to give it a year, and it will be a year next month.
You and Steve had a very adventurous day. I agree that it was like a Stephen King movie. Did you see zombies at the blocked intersections? LOL
Can’t wait to see the tubs in place and filled with beauties.
Happy Monday!
Oh you wouldn’t believe the big variety of plants sitting in my living room. I got the foldable big red cart out and wheeled it out to my car and brought them in. It was all I could do to get them this far and I’m too tired to plant them. And it’s the wrong time of day to plant anyway. The back of my old SUV has I think 11 or 12 big bags of potting soil in it. I guess they’ll just be in the cart overnight.
Its amazing how much effort it can take to find what one wants these days!! Thankfully, my daughter often picks up things in her town a bit south of here and brings up…yesterday it was 12 gallons of spring water…both times we went out recently there was not a drop of spring water in the stores…I think this small town must be the end of line where the trucks stop and only get whatever happens to be left on the truck for grocery stores!! You would think Covid was still in full swing!! So nice you have such good helpful neighbors!! I cannot imagine living in the midst of such!! Certainly NOT the case here where we are!!
You know I’d have ordered them if I could have found them online somewhere.
Well, that sounds like a real adventure. Happy to hear you are moving forward, both physically and with your garden.
We weren’t prepared for something like yesterday. We’d get lost at times and Steve’s phone would lose where we were (I forgot mine) and I’d say stop and I’ll go in and ask where we are. But you know men. They just can’t stand to ask for help in driving somewhere.