Turns out my head was the weak spot. Got 3/4 done and my head was aching from the sun beaming down. Gonna get the rest when it gets shady there.
I was making good time too but part of that was because the most dense area of horsenettle(not horse thistle as I’ve been calling it) was first year growth from last year’s seed spread. Probably 20 or so. No thorns and roots about an inch long so I was able to pull them right out since the soil is moist enough.
Some I could tell got mowed once or twice. Tiny plants but with thorns and coming off a 1/4 inch thick root. Chased some 8 inches sideways. A few roots were headed to China and some of those broke off 10 inches down. I’d say in the end, I will have gotten rid of 80-90% and the rest will regrow. I’ll spray those individually with something containing 2,4-D. Probably Weed B-gon.
I will say that aside from importing horsenettle, feeding hay to the goats there definitely improved the soil. Brown instead of brownish yellow. If I had recognized the young horsenettle as soon as they emerged the first time and pulled it instead of mowing, it would have been easy to take care of.
Once I’m done digging horsenettle, I’m going to mow it real short and tarp it to kill off the grass/weeds. Hopefully the push mower will start.
When I got to the lower end of the tunnel where the nestle started, it was impossible to dig them out without leaving roots which will come back, so I bought some 2, 4 D herbicide this morning and will spray what’s left individually, starting with the biggest. More leaf surface area = more poison intake.
Read more than one article that said that the roots are weakest just after flowering. That’s kind of a short window before going to seed.
Sometime this week, I’ll go out and pull more grass/weeds out from around them so I don’t lose track of them. It will also help with spot spraying just the nestle. I’ll put something on the ground surrounding them so that I’m only spraying them. Trying to be organic here.
Got the rest of my greens/lettuce in the ground this afternoon. Will do the peppers/tomatoes tomorrow or the next day whenever it’s not raining when I get home.
Looks like 30-40% chance of rain both days this coming weekend. Should be some breaks to work on the tunnel frame. Gonna be switching to more property clean up soon while I save money for the the rest of the tunnel. Always plenty to do and much of it is nearly all labor.