A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 My compost!

I just thought everyone would find this humorous. When I got pregnant with my daughter, the yard got neglected. I'm just now getting back out in the yard & this is what my husband & son have done and let happen to my compost area.



Now, theres all kinds of ivy, poison ivy, elephant ears, virginia creeper & who knows what else in my way! I may never get it right again

They were obviously very busy buying Celery and peanut butter, and ice cream with vinegar sauces for the Mom-to-be...

Quit picking on the male of the species, folks! We mean well ...we're just a little less capable than women. We're very handy, but not that capable, and there IS a difference!

"Capable" is the unsolicited form of "handy", simply put. If you ask us to fix the thingamegig, you can count on it being done, usually. But if you don't actually tell us what you want, we're not going to know...only women were born as mind-readers.

Speaking of thingamegigs, the easy fix for your compost heap would be to sift it through a tight grate, and create a new and improved heap in about 10 minutes. You can buy the grating (sometimes called pig grating)at your local hardware store for relatively cheap. Did the weeds grow THROUGH the heap, or out of it? It's an important question: If it was the former, then you may want to reconsider where you place your compost pile; if it was the latter, you may want to watch what you place into the pile. Grass clippings are a risky proposition, unless you are confident they are completely weed free.

btw, I'm joking about all that war of the sexes thing above! (Weezie13 seems to be the only one who REALLY gets when I'm kidding, and it's got me in trouble often!).

****Sami,
Nice looking elephant ears!!!
They look happy to be there!

I'd pull those out but I am not sure of poison ivy and what to do with it.
I'm thinking someone here may be able to help you how to handle it... Especially if you're alergic!

****Nicholas,
You're funny, my hubby never had any of that!
Well, one food craving, Taco Bell Bean Burrito and mashed potatoes and gravy.....hmmmmmmmm!
But you should have seen the house when I got home from the hospitol with the second one....
He's lucky I have a great sense of humor!!!!!
Actually I DO have a great sense of humor!
Always good for a good laugh!

Weezie

Yeah, the elephant ears have grown out of the heap. The guys were throwing stuff in there instead of the burn pile...and tada! Early spring, I pulled about 30 elephant ears out of there & moved them, but in the process, I got poison ivy So, I've been very leary of getting back out there & now it's just so hot!

All the other stuff has just grown together. I used to keep it away from my compost but no one has been guarding it. I'm planning on trying to do something with all of it this fall. I've been spraying bleach water on all the poison ivy, etc. that's on the fence, to kill it before fall.

I've been trying to get my husband to build me a grate, but, you know that's part of that "they do it...eventually" thing. LOL

Nicholas - I was reading this to my son (he's 14) and he said, "at least someone understands", LOL!

Weezie, those poor elephant ears have gotten so big that they are drooping. Here are some pics of the ones I'm actually taking care of. The first pic is where they started. The second pic is where they have grown under the house & moved to the back yard. The last couple are where I have moved them to the front fence line. I still have about 3 times that length to fill on that side of the yard & then the entire other side of the yard. I gotta a lot of bed making & plant moving to do

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Sami said: Now that is one for Ribley's Believe It Or Not~~!

EDIT Those are nice ears!

I'm not usually this dense but I had to read that 5 or 6 times before I got it! LOL

Thanks, elephant ears & cannas seem to be the only thing I can't kill Even my last little tiny aloe vera is dying

nice elephant ears

about your poison ivy
B4 removeing go buy some tecnu skin cleanser& some multi sheild.The multi shield you apply B4 removeing it& the tecnu skin cleanser is for afterwards& though they recomend you wash clothes seperately.I say wear clothes you can toss away& stick in plastic bag and trash them suckers.you want to remove roots nowand roots go 10-15 ft deep,BUT you can chop root so IT WONT SET seed NOW remove dead vine this winter

Thanks! I have some Tecnu & I swear by it! When I got poison ivy, this past spring, I used it & it helped tremendously. I didn't get it real bad (like I usually do) but ended up with tonsilitis at the same time. So, I had to go to the doctor for that (because salt water gargling was not helping, at all). I got a steroid shot for the poison ivy & within 2 hours my tonsilitis was gone! Weird, wild stuff, LOL!

I have some Avon Ivy Block that says to put it on before possible contact, but I was too darned lazy to go in the house & put it on :rolleyes: . Is that the same kind of stuff? Is multi shield the actual name of what I need to get? Thanks for the advice! I need all I can get

Well multi shield was name of stuff I bought...was at walgreens..Indpls.
I kinda had this grape vine growing between me& my neighors property line...my neices& nephews loved eating them.PROBLEM......was poison ivy growing through out the whole vine also...so when they'd pick a grape....they'd get poison ivy.Hence.I usually got stuck with infected child till all was clear,I'm that person it don't bother,BUT I wash my hands every 10 minutes arms too,toss clotheing in trash.When the guy died...we waited about a week and called his daughter to be sure was A ok to tear out the vine and put a fence in.Her dad made wine with the grapes.were good grapes.I actually ended up with a QT sized bottle of calmine lotion.


here is a good read on poison ivy& gives an address for multi sheild.

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/bookshelf/Books/47/108.cfm

Lots of great information there! Thanks for that!

Since you are so allergic to the poison ivy, why not just spray it? Since it is a compost pile, you do not have to worry about killing good plants as well. After of course you pull out the Elephant ear. Like you need more of them!

Sami,
Thanks for the pictures,
Everyone looks pretty happy in there!

Where'd the Elephant Ears come from???

You know, just get some gloves on, high watered boots and get what you'd like to save *ie; E.E.
and just cover everything with some black plastic of something of the like.
*(I go to a place that builds tresses for house's and they have a plastic like cover they'd cover their wood with. Well after a while, they do get some holes in them, and they are no good to them there, and they put them in a bin and people can come and take what they need.
I love those things..
Sure they got a hole or two, but if I fold them up, maybe 2 or 3 times, eventually there's no holes (you know what I mean) and the things I cover with, either don't get rained on, or weeds can't come thru it... And they were free..

After a full season has passed, go back and reclaim your pile...
I am not firmiliar with the poison oak stuff.
But if you only cover it, and hopefully, that would make it die off in your pile...
And no bad chemicals would be used!

Boy, you could get on the trading part here with those.. I'll bet someone here would love those!!!
I can't get over how many you have!!!

***Njoynit,
Do you know if that stuff is natural based or chemical??? Just curious!!!

Weezie

frustratedattimes - that's my plan, however, I've been out of work for months now & just now really looking for a job (I have an interview at 11:15 in the morning...wish me luck, everyone!). So, I don't have a lot of money to spend on weed killing spray but I have a 2 acre lot that's fenced & about 50% of the fencing is covered in stuff I shouldn't touch. Anyway, that's why I've been using bleach water. Bleach is cheap & I've been mixing it half & half & spraying it. I'm hoping that will do the trick.

Weezie - as simple a plan as that is, I had not even thought of it! You're exactly right about the black plastic. I could use trash bags that I've got here at the house. Somehow, I've gotten poison ivy, again :rolleyes: this year, now, on my elbow. Hopefully, I can dry it up before it spreads without going to the doctor, again. I thought that steroid shot was supposed to last for 3 months & I haven't even been digging in the stuff

I had a friend give me the elephant ears & cannas several years ago. At that time, I had no knowledge of gardening, at all. I planted a row of elephant ears next to the house & planted a row of cannas in front of them! I had no idea that the elephant ears would overrun the cannas. I found that out quickly! The following year, I started moving my cannas. I still find one or 2 occasionally that I have to move. Seems that those are the only plants I've managed not to kill