I had the week off. A full week. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. A gift from the calendar gods to finally clean up the garden.
So naturally, by the end of it, the community garden was still 75% weeds.
Not regular, easygoing weeds either. These were knee-high, street gang weeds. The kind that rattle when you walk by them and whisper things like she’ll never make it to the tomatoes.
Weeding and Snake Watch, 2025 Edition
The central path alone looked like a prime location for a Discovery Channel documentary titled Urban Snake Encounters: Plot 42. So I dropped my wicker basket and just started pulling.
And just to validate my paranoia—while weeding that path, I found a snakeskin. A big one. At least a 72-footer. Possibly longer. Definitely recent.
The good news? The giant weeds were relatively easy to pull. It’s one of gardening’s small mercies: the more menacing the weed, the easier it comes out. Like it knows it’s overplayed its hand.
That’s 40 minutes of panic-yanking in 37C (98F).
I know you want proof of snake. You seem the type.
Tomatoes: Now Accessible Without Emergency Services
Once the main drag was snake-free, I weeded around my two rows of paste tomatoes so I could reach them without needing a tetanus booster.
This required crawling into the tomato jungle, which had become a kind of mosquito-run speakeasy, and removing enough weeds to see the ground again. I then performed what is known in the gardening world as the Florida Weave, which sounds like a hairstyle you’d get on spring break but is actually a system for keeping tomato plants from collapsing like drunk tourists.
To do it properly, you hammer a stake between every single tomato plant, and then you weave string back and forth along the row like you’re lacing up a 20-foot corset for vegetables.
By the end, the tomatoes were upright and supported. I, on the other hand, had lost 40% of my blood to mosquitos and was being circled by what I think was a turkey vulture.
Finally, I Looked Around
It's my rule, that when I go to the garden the very first thing I do is weed. I don't look around, I don't assess, I drop down and and start pulling for at least 15 minutes, or whatever is necessary. This day it was 3 hours before I could take a look around at what was growing and what was hiding.
Kidney Beans – Thriving like they own the place.
Pole Beans & Cucumbers – Finally deciding to be vines instead of freeloading ground cover. I was impressed they all found the pea netting to scramble up on their own without help from me. Obviously.
Corn – Two types: Serendipity (sweet eating corn) and Glass Gem (ridiculously pretty). Both looking solid.
Leeks & Vidalias – Technically there. Possibly in witness protection. Hidden under an enthusiastic lawn of grassy weeds.
Rutabaga – Growing confidently... in the middle of a weed thicket.
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We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
Strawberry Cages – Done for now. I assume because they took one look at the terrifying weed patch outside the cage and opted out.
Broccoli & Cauliflower – Safely under netting, the main broccoli and cauliflower heads have already been harvested and turned into soup. What’s left will now sprout hopeful little side shoots.
Cabbage – Unreasonably large.
Potatoes - To the right of the netted cabbage are the potatoes, which are going strong, but not for long if I don't get the Colorado potato beets all squished and accounted for.
Garlic – Ready to come out. Crispy tops, telltale papery rustle. Will require a shovel, a firm grip, and a lot of trunk space.
This isn't the whole garden, but it's some of the worst areas I thought I'd show you while it was a wreck otherwise you might not see the garden at all this year.
You'll still get your complete look at my vegetable garden with everything I've planted, but I have to get it weeded so you can actually see what's growing.
That's how it works.
Afterwards I went home looking like I’d crawled out of a dust bowl-era barn collapse.
Ten minutes after walking in the door like this, I discovered that my hot water tank was broken.
Which felt right. Somehow. Like the day wouldn’t be complete without a final inconvenience to really tie the whole experience together.
The Hot Water Tank Betrayal
I came home looking like I’d been dragged behind a farm implement so I really needed to get clean. I decided to take a shower even though there was no hot water. I'd overcome greater inconveniences than luke warm water in my lifetime.
I've picked maggots out of a chickens bum - in the very same shower as it happens.
I turned on the water and tested it with my hand. Not freezing. Not glacier-fed. I could do this.
I was as determined as someone covered in bug guts and soil could be. I gave myself a pep talk. I told myself it would be refreshing. It was 100 degrees out. I was dizzy from heat. I stepped one foot into the shower.
Just cold enough to be unacceptable to the human nervous system.
The cold water touched the top of my knee and my body tried to exit the bathroom using only my legs. One leg spun forward, the other one shot backwards, and for a brief moment I was tap dancing like a goat on roller skates. I just kept skidding in place while my brain tried to decide whether to die or yell.
Eventually, I managed to grab the shower curtain for stability, which ripped immediately, because it was from a hardware store that also sells inflatable flamingos.
I got out of the tub. I towelled off the part of my leg that made contact with the water. I stood there for a long time, thinking about how plumbing had once been my friend. Not today.
That day, face cloths, baby wipes and distance were my friends.
The worst part is I’ll do it all again tomorrow. The weeds I pulled are already growing back. The tomatoes need more weaving. The rutabaga are still fighting for their lives. And somewhere, the snake is probably showing off it's shiny new skin. Which required no hot water at all.
Helen Hubert
Hah, I laughed all the way through this post. I had the same issue with weeds - they were so thick I couldn't find the onions. That's what you get when you go away with the girls for a week in June. Keep up the good fight! 🙈
Tatiana
This!! The most relatable thing I’ve seen this gardening season! It’s almost like you took pictures of my garden 😂
Karen
For the past couple of years I've been experimenting with growing in pots. Corn, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage etc. Growing in pots means absolutely no weeding whatsoever. The experiments have been very successful. ~ karen!
Jan in Waterdown
Vidalias? Ain’t that illegal or somethin’? Be careful the Georgia onion police don’t come after y’all. Lol.
May Vandenberg
Karen! Wow, your before and after weedy and weedy garden look so familiar! Where I live in the NY Fingerlakes area has been too wet, too hot & too humid to get things done in a timely fashion!! I totally sympathize. Right now I am taking a weeding, clearing and mulching break to hydrate!! 25 minutes and I’ll be right back out there.
Thanks for all the sharing you do!
May
Karen
If I'm in worker-bee mode I set a timer every half hour so I stop and have something to drink. Otherwise I'd just pull weeds until I fainted in a pumpkin patch. ~ karen!
May Vandenberg
Thanks! This is a great tip! I usually figure out I should be getting a drink when the water is pouring off my forehead!
JC
Thankfully the weather gods smiled on me this year, I have been able to keep my veggie garden relatively weed free. Now the flower beds are a different story. It's always something.
We are under a heat dome and the humidity is something awful so the flower beds will get worked on for only a few minutes at a time.
We too need more rain, I am not mowing very often because I don't want my yard fried like the neighbors.....they mow weekly whether needed or not.
I maybe in the minority but snakes don't bother me at all, I like having them in the gardens because of mice....I am deathly afraid of mice and they will get into a garden.
I hope you get your hot water issues solved quickly.
Karen
Hi JC. I'm not bothered by them. I was once covered from head to toe in them. (There's a picture of it on my blog here somewhere.) But I can definitely be startled by them. ~ karen!
Kim K
I feel sooo much better about the state my garden when I see that other gardeners have the same struggles. In my mind, everyone's garden is a beautiful tapestry of healthy gorgeous plants thriving in a weed free environment. Thank you for the reality check!! I knew I could count on you for it.
Karen
The worst part is the weeds truly have already come back, before I could manage to get the whole thing weeded. ~ karen!
TONI
Awwww .............. that was a tough one. All the parts ! I haven't been by for a while & am currently kicking myself. Good grief woman, you are the funniest being on earth !!! Good to see that "perfection" has it's pits. Makes me put you on an even higher pedestal. Thanks for the revelation .... YOU ROCK !
Karen
Well where the hell have you been? ~ karen!
Cindy
Great post this morning! All gardeners have been there! (maybe minus the shower disaster)
Thanks for the entertaining story and good luck with your weeding
Karen
Today at the garden, my garden neighbour smiled and sincerely congratulated me on my huge weed pile. (my compost pile is about 4' high and 6' wide with weeds now) ~ karen!
Patricia
Okay, this makes feel like less of a loser. Your garden always looked so great and mine always looked choked with weeds. It wasn't but it certainly felt like it at times. I'm also glad that I'm not the only one who is covered in dirt after wrangling my garden into shape. Happy gardening!
Karen
I'm 70% done. Taking the day off tomorrow to smoke some ribs before it becomes blindingly hot again. ~ karen!
Jan in Waterdown
Hah! I thought you were about to say “smoke some weed”…. goodness knows ya got enough!
Christine
Lol I love it that you shared the non-Instagrammable moments as well. It's real life, and beautiful too, in its own way. I hope next time you hit the veg garden it's easier. You and your garden are an inspiration.
Barb
I would have persevered with the cold shower 😏 Sounds like my summer, only presented in an entertaining and very funny way. The high temps and humidity have been horrible this year! Best of luck with the plumbing.
Karen
Thanks Christine. When I looked at my photos I actually thought to myself these photos look better than when the garden is cleaned up. ~ karen!
Kasia
Thanks for the humorous start to my day! Although I’m very sorry to hear about the shower, that really sucks. But you made a fabulous story out of it! ;) We had our A/C go out this week while in the 90’s. Slept in the basement on a couch. Fun times. I had my first encounter with cabbage moth caterpillars yesterday (my first time veggie gardening, a very small raised bed, but so far I love it!) and immediately thought how I must look up your recommendations :). Thanks for all you do!
Karen
Today I discovered that cabbage moths breached my netting! I'll have to cut off some leaves, spray with BTK and renet. ~ karen!
Eileen
We have been having a "more humid than normal" streak. Which shouldn't be possible when it's already swamplandia and you need a machete for the air and full-body anti-perspirant. Or maybe just wear towels. And my point? I finally weeded around my path in the front yard. Took four hours. The next day a neighbor asked if I had laid new path stones. Nope. Just uncovered them.
Now to uncover the rest of the garden. And the raised veg beds. Or not. Maybe I'll just go direct to shower.
Karen
LOL. I love they thought you laid a path.😆 ~ karen!
marcia dubord
I enjoy your posts, most of all pictures. Thank you for educating with humor.
Karen
You're welcome Marcia. And thank you! ~ karen
Cherie
Thank you, Karen. I laughed out loud! We had guests tonight who went out to my very messy, very much in need of many more hours of TLC than I have and who came back exclaiming about my beautiful garden! Are they blind? Nope, not at all They only saw the successes not the many heaps of debris (lawn tractor needs a new engine so the debris keeps piling up instead of being hauled to the bottom of the property), not the weeds that need dealing with, not the so overgrown "holding" bed where the plants that were supposed to have been moved at least 5 years ago have become giants. Nope, none of that. They saw the lilies, the burgeoning vegetable garden, the rugosas, the Gertrude Jekyll gynormous rose, etc. So thanks for your tale. Will I see my garden with different eyes tomorrow morning? Nope. I'll be out there pulling weeds, deadheading, pruning, cursing up a storm, wondering why I do this even as I know why. Have fun with the weeds, the tomatoes, all of it. Oh, and hope you get hot water soon. That was a scary selfie!
Karen
I am back in society with clean hair and skin. ~ karen!
Jennifer
I hope to heck your hot water heater is getting fixed! I spent 5+ hours in the garden today and that was after a run this morning. I was able to cap the day off with a wonderful shower and I’m sorry you didn’t get the same. However, it left you extra time to write a kick ass post. I loved reading it, and it is the perfect way to sign off from today. Thank you. :)
Karen
Thanks Jennifer. :) ~ karen!
Nina
A true gardener's tale. And, of course, the water heater!
Karen
Got all the garlic pulled today! ~ karen
Kathryn Vezerian
You do look like you've been dragged behind something! Hope you had a good week off though. One look at that snake skin, and I'd be out of there. Get a big pot of water on the stove for washing. We're so spoiled aren't we?
Kathy
I discovered an amazing weed control-45% strength vinegar. Kills weeds within 2hrs., no grow back. Very important- spray only when theres no wind, make sure weeds are dry and spray "only" the weed. If using a sprayer only add "a little" pressure to the sprayer to gently release vinegar. I have been amazed by the results. Its important to suit up, cover skin, waterproof gloves and "wear googles". 45% can your burn skin and damage your eyes. It's very strong but extremely effective. Please read about precautions online and please follow them.
Kay
Unfortunately it kills frogs and lizards too.
Kathryn McKee
Thank you, Karen for all of your stories!! They are so inspiring and encouraging! Makes me want to go make a path through the weeds in my garden!! Ten-hut!! Let’s go!!
Karen
They. Do. Not. End. Every night I drive to the garden and weed for at least an hour. Several more paths and garden beds to go. I can finally see my rutabaga though, so that's nice. ~ karen!
KimS
I’m just in awe. So much work….such rewards, though. I hope you called a plumber and didn’t put “replace hot water heater” on your todo list! I’m east of Seattle, just trying my best to keep my dahlias alive-we’re 9” of rainfall short for the year. 🤷♀️ This is my first year planting them.
Kathryn Vezerian
Dahlias are my new favourite flowers. Such a big and varied bang for your buck. We have no rain either, southern Vancouver Island area. In the back of my mind I keep thinking, maybe I should just grow dahlias, cause my vegetables are kind of meh this year. Good luck with yours!
Karen
I've been watering my pots at least once a day and the dahlias in the ground just a deep water once a week. Plus the nightly ritual of clearing the earwig traps. I used to be fun. ~ karen!
Jenna
Hi Karen. I also live in Southern Ontario and I know how unbelievably hot it's been this this week. Oddly enough my hot water tank died this week and the same thing happened to 3 of my friends. So now we're at 5 different homes without a working tank. Maybe, just maybe, we've got some kind of hot water tank conspiracy going on around here?🤔
Thanks for taking the time to post despite your hot water troubles. I ended up having to wait for 3 days to have mine replaced. Hopefully yours won't take that long.
Karen
I am currently filthy rich with hot water. ~ karen!