wrote:

"J.C." wrote:


I would think it would be. By the way, pretty country up there. I'm stuck in
the flat lands of south Texas and with this heat it's like living on a
parking lot. About 25 years ago we went up to Branson and almost bought a
farm there for something like $150.00 an acre. Don't I wish we would have
done that?


I'm in Hannibal abt 5 hrs north of Branson

But I agree....wish Id bought land down there too as
well!!

However....Id LOVE to be in south Texas when its winter
up here!!

Got a travel trailer? South Texas is full of folks that winter over from
the colder states. Most residents call them "Snow Birds" but the
Chambers of Commerce call them "Winter Texans." At any rate they bring
some much needed green (money) into primarily agricultural area.

George, who used to live in South Texas

Since you have no definitive answer, you will have to do "the
experiment". Next time you start plants, leave half of them in the cups
when you plant but take every other one out of the cup. See how the growth
of the two methods turns out. I can't help but wonder if the cup holds the
water around the stems longer that some plants can tolerate.

Steve

We did that this year. Didn't notice that much difference. But, holding the
water longer than can be tolerated is a good point. Might be something to
that.


--
J.C.

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
In article ,
zxcvbob wrote:

I'm about to tear down my raised beds because they dry out too fast. My
garden was more productive just planting in rows than it is with raised
beds.

Best regards,
Bob

Mulch......
And I filled my bases with sand.

I wasted _tons_ more water on an open garden bed. :-(

But it is true that raised beds consume more water. There is more
exposed surface. Sunken beds preserve water best. Raised beds are great
for everything else, and of course the loss is minimized if one uses
drip, which allows the water to soak in.

In article .com,
"simy1" wrote:

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:
In article ,
zxcvbob wrote:

I'm about to tear down my raised beds because they dry out too fast. My
garden was more productive just planting in rows than it is with raised
beds.

Best regards,
Bob

Mulch......
And I filled my bases with sand.

I wasted _tons_ more water on an open garden bed. :-(

But it is true that raised beds consume more water. There is more
exposed surface. Sunken beds preserve water best. Raised beds are great
for everything else, and of course the loss is minimized if one uses
drip, which allows the water to soak in.

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

George Shirley wrote:

Got a travel trailer? South Texas is full of folks that winter over from
the colder states. Most residents call them "Snow Birds" but the
Chambers of Commerce call them "Winter Texans." At any rate they bring
some much needed green (money) into primarily agricultural area.

Could a person get a job down there?

If yes...doing what? What is available?

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

That's why I was wondering if possible to garden year
round using hydroponics

Theoretically... using greenhousing with proper "timed" lighting. :-)

Thought abt that..... a green house attached to main
house?

It could grow food as well as help heat the home?

Is that even possible in north Missouri? Especially the
food growing part?

OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

In article .com,
"simy1" wrote:


OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

In article ,
zxcvbob wrote:

I'm about to tear down my raised beds because they dry out too fast. My
garden was more productive just planting in rows than it is with raised
beds.

Best regards,
Bob

Mulch......
And I filled my bases with sand.

I wasted _tons_ more water on an open garden bed. :-(

But it is true that raised beds consume more water. There is more
exposed surface. Sunken beds preserve water best. Raised beds are great
for everything else, and of course the loss is minimized if one uses
drip, which allows the water to soak in.


Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...


And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Peat-abundant Far East.

wrote in message
...
George Shirley wrote:

Got a travel trailer? South Texas is full of folks that winter over from
the colder states. Most residents call them "Snow Birds" but the
Chambers of Commerce call them "Winter Texans." At any rate they bring
some much needed green (money) into primarily agricultural area.

Could a person get a job down there?

If yes...doing what? What is available?

I'll pay you all the vegetables you can eat if you'll follow me around with
an air conditioner. G

Seriously, they just had some kind of job fair up in Houston because 5000
jobs have gone begging for over a year. But, if a job was all that was
keeping me here (actually it's my bank) I'd be gone in a minute.


--
J.C.

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...

Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.



And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

you could do that in sunken beds as well. The difference is that you
would have to dig up soil and replace it with peat. There is nothing in
raising the soil level that improves water retention. Water flows
downhill.

In article . com,
"simy1" wrote:

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...

Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.



And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

you could do that in sunken beds as well. The difference is that you
would have to dig up soil and replace it with peat. There is nothing in
raising the soil level that improves water retention. Water flows
downhill.

What about container gardens?
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

simy1 wrote:

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...


Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.


I use 2x8s to raise my beds. Our soil is incredibly rocky (they call the
island the Rock for a reason), so to get some decent space to grow
things like turnip, potato and carrots, I have not choice but to raise
the beds. The surface area is not much more. There are no holes or water
escaping through the lumber. No voles or moles either.

I guess that's the whole point. Every location really lends itself to a
certain type of gardening. Loosening the soil six to eight inches down
here is a major chore...so we go up. Water retention is really a
secondary concern...especially since it rarely gets hot enough for
prolonged evaporation to be a concern (average 21 in the summer).

..

Zone 5a in Canada's Cool Rocky Far East.

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
news
In article . com,
"simy1" wrote:

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They
are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...

Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.



And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

you could do that in sunken beds as well. The difference is that you
would have to dig up soil and replace it with peat. There is nothing in
raising the soil level that improves water retention. Water flows
downhill.

What about container gardens?

I have never been able to raise a container.


--
J.C.

In article ,
"J.C." wrote:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
news
In article . com,
"simy1" wrote:

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They
are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...

Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.



And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

you could do that in sunken beds as well. The difference is that you
would have to dig up soil and replace it with peat. There is nothing in
raising the soil level that improves water retention. Water flows
downhill.

What about container gardens?

I have never been able to raise a container.

snork
Very funny...... ;-D

I was talking about big pots! lol
But you knew that.....

I've had good luck using 5 gallon pots for tomatoes with a water tray
underneath. I did very little gardening this year due to the expense of
the water. I need to re-do my greenhouse setup and move everything
inside....

The summers here are just getting to be too hot and dry!

South Central Texas.
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"J.C." wrote:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
news
In article . com,
"simy1" wrote:

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They
are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...

Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased
surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.



And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

you could do that in sunken beds as well. The difference is that you
would have to dig up soil and replace it with peat. There is nothing
in
raising the soil level that improves water retention. Water flows
downhill.

What about container gardens?

I have never been able to raise a container.

snork
Very funny...... ;-D

I was talking about big pots! lol
But you knew that.....

I've had good luck using 5 gallon pots for tomatoes with a water tray
underneath. I did very little gardening this year due to the expense of
the water. I need to re-do my greenhouse setup and move everything
inside....

The summers here are just getting to be too hot and dry!

South Central Texas.
--
Peace!
Om

What town are you close to? We're over around Eagle Lake, East Bernard area.


--
J.C.

In article ,
"J.C." wrote:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
news
In article ,
"J.C." wrote:

"OmManiPadmeOmelet" wrote in message
news In article . com,
"simy1" wrote:

cloud dreamer wrote:

Hm, I wonder if we are talking about two different concepts?

My "raised beds" are built out of Cinder blocks or limestone. They
are
essentially giant planters. :-)
This concentrates the water usage considerably for me...

Yes, we are. By raising, you can only lose water, with respect to the
same setup, at a lower elevation. it is not only the increased
surface,
but the bits of debris creating gaps, the vole/mole tunnels, and
anything that lets water out in between the cinder blocks or under
them.



And I add a generous amount of peat into my raised beds. The water
retention is phenomenal.

you could do that in sunken beds as well. The difference is that you
would have to dig up soil and replace it with peat. There is nothing
in
raising the soil level that improves water retention. Water flows
downhill.

What about container gardens?

I have never been able to raise a container.

snork
Very funny...... ;-D

I was talking about big pots! lol
But you knew that.....

I've had good luck using 5 gallon pots for tomatoes with a water tray
underneath. I did very little gardening this year due to the expense of
the water. I need to re-do my greenhouse setup and move everything
inside....

The summers here are just getting to be too hot and dry!

South Central Texas.
--
Peace!
Om

What town are you close to? We're over around Eagle Lake, East Bernard area.

Between Buda and New Braunfels. :-)
--
Peace!
Om

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch"
-- Jack Nicholson