More rain than I expected

 The rain and clouds continue, there were a few spurts of stronger rain so it got to soak into th e ground as well as rinsing off my car. The plants certainly appreciated the cooler weather and rain but once I pull that last cucumber, the pepper in the bucket is all I'll have left that's growing in the garden.

 Oh, and the other bean that's still struggling. The green thing in the first picture is the bean I pulled the other day. I tried to use the tray from the window box to flatten the soil but it's 28 inches long and didn't quite work the way I wanted. Oh well.

 That jade seems to be doing just fine, compared to the other two that are shriveling up. So another shot of the log pile. Plenty of wood no problem just wish I had an axe to split the bigger pieces. I think the smaller branch pieces should be just fine with enough to leave for the lizards. I know that left side is a main entrance for them as I've seen some dart over there and hop up in between the pieces. Sorry guys, you'll still have a home just not a four story condo. This will also open up that end closest to the north bed for better access to dig and plant.

Why do I suddenly have a picture of grass now? Because I wanted to talk about how an invasion starts. That lighter patch of grass after some picture comparisons is likely Centipede grass. Not very common. There is Bermuda mixed in and around as well as some fescue so you can see the difference. This one is flat, yellower, the stems are thicker and is most definitely not from there. I remember seeing it there much smaller previously but you can see how it's spreading from it's origin point. St. Augustine is much greener than this and denser and has to be grown from stolons or runners. Centipede can spread from seed.

Whenever customers have come in and complained about being invaded like this I blame it on the mow and blow service that they usually have. I can't do that here. The mower that is used stays in a pod trailer at the end of the property and is only taken out when they mow here. So how did it get here? Hard to say but there are several 'vectors' as they are called. Vectors are an animal, insect, person, whatever that carries a plant, seed disease or spores from one place to another. Mosquitos are a vector for malaria and West Nile Virus as an example. 

So if the mower doesn't go anywhere else (I'm assuming) then how does it get here? Shoes and birds are the biggest culprit, wind is another. I don't know if the gardeners that work this property work others but if they do then they can bring in seeds and pieces on their clothes or shoes and transfer them to the next location. If they use the mower elsewhere and didn't clean the blades or under deck that is a prime suspect for transferring weeds and seeds around the neighborhood. 

So the general rule about an invading plant or grass goes back to a former co-worker who asked a customer, 'are you a lover or a fighter?'. If you're a lover, welcome to your new lawn, if you're a fighter, get ready to fight for the rest of your life. That rule applies when 30% or more is the invading weed, anything less is manageable, and much like detecting cancer or other diseases early, easier to control and eradicate.

Anyway, that's the topic for today since there's nothing going on in the garden at the moment.