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Old 12-08-2015, 02:11 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Just about O dark thirty we gratefully received about half an inch of
rain in less than an hour. Weather folk keep saying more is coming but I
haven't seen anymore.

It's amazing how much the plants perked up with just that much rain.
Temperatures dropped rapidly from 104F to the mid-nineties, making it
much better here and the AC isn't running as much as it was.

Naturally there aren't many plants left in the gardens. We still have
the sweet chiles and the eggplant plus the two new yellow squash but all
the others are now mowed and in the composter. We need some cool weather
to get out there and add our amendments to the raised beds and stir them
into the whole bed. I'm putting in a goodly amount of peat moss again in
hopes it will help to hold the water for the plants to use. That and
some really good compost is about all that we need to replenish the beds.

We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just as
the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday exposed some
nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under the planting
medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole property eventually.

Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high heat levels.


George
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Old 12-08-2015, 05:29 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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On 08/11/2015 05:11 PM, George Shirley wrote:
Just about O dark thirty we gratefully received about half an inch of
rain in less than an hour. Weather folk keep saying more is coming but I
haven't seen anymore.

It's amazing how much the plants perked up with just that much rain.
Temperatures dropped rapidly from 104F to the mid-nineties, making it
much better here and the AC isn't running as much as it was.

Naturally there aren't many plants left in the gardens. We still have
the sweet chiles and the eggplant plus the two new yellow squash but all
the others are now mowed and in the composter. We need some cool weather
to get out there and add our amendments to the raised beds and stir them
into the whole bed. I'm putting in a goodly amount of peat moss again in
hopes it will help to hold the water for the plants to use. That and
some really good compost is about all that we need to replenish the beds.

We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just as
the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday exposed some
nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under the planting
medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole property eventually.

Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high heat levels.


George


Hi George,

Where do you hail from?

We got a thunderstorm here on Sunday in Northern Nevada
that was something to behold. Plants loved it. You could
almost see them grow. (They love the nitrogen in the rain
water.) Very loud on the roof! But, no hail fortunately.

-T
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Old 12-08-2015, 06:46 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 851
Default Finally

On 8/11/2015 10:29 PM, T wrote:
On 08/11/2015 05:11 PM, George Shirley wrote:
Just about O dark thirty we gratefully received about half an inch of
rain in less than an hour. Weather folk keep saying more is coming but I
haven't seen anymore.

It's amazing how much the plants perked up with just that much rain.
Temperatures dropped rapidly from 104F to the mid-nineties, making it
much better here and the AC isn't running as much as it was.

Naturally there aren't many plants left in the gardens. We still have
the sweet chiles and the eggplant plus the two new yellow squash but all
the others are now mowed and in the composter. We need some cool weather
to get out there and add our amendments to the raised beds and stir them
into the whole bed. I'm putting in a goodly amount of peat moss again in
hopes it will help to hold the water for the plants to use. That and
some really good compost is about all that we need to replenish the beds.

We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just as
the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday exposed some
nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under the planting
medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole property eventually.

Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high heat levels.


George


Hi George,

Where do you hail from?

We got a thunderstorm here on Sunday in Northern Nevada
that was something to behold. Plants loved it. You could
almost see them grow. (They love the nitrogen in the rain
water.) Very loud on the roof! But, no hail fortunately.

-T

Northern Harris Cty, Texas, think Houston as we are in their
extraterritorial area. Lots of houses and people where there used to be
lots of woods, grasslands, and cows. I hunted on the land our
subdivision is on now back in the early sixties and there used to be
lots of "pick your own" farms with berries and fruit. Only a few of
those remain but there are two large dairies nearby with lots of milk
cows. Makes me feel good driving to the stupor market and see all those
cows grazing. Unfortunately the dairy farmers have rye grass sprayed
from the air every spring and then we have to pull it out of our gardens.

We're living on the smallest plot of land in all the 55 years of or
marriage, 6500 square feet with a 1960 square foot house on it. The only
reason we're here is that all of our children, grandchildren, and great
grandchildren are within a thirty minute drive versus the former 3 hour
drive. Family trumps all.

A little history, I'm retired oil field trash and proud of it, third
generation at that. We've lived in a few states and a few more
countries, some of which were nice and some that we left pretty quick. G

I'm a U. S. Navy veteran, 1957-1963, former scoutmaster, former
gunsmith, you name it, I've tried to make some money from it to feed the
family. Life is still a wonderful thing.
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Old 13-08-2015, 01:26 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 3,072
Default Finally

George Shirley wrote:
....
We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just as
the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday exposed some
nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under the planting
medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole property eventually.


i'm glad they've managed to stick around even
through the heat.


Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high heat levels.


good time for reading and siestas.


songbird
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Old 13-08-2015, 01:56 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 149
Default Finally

Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
Just about O dark thirty we gratefully received about half an inch of
rain in less than an hour. Weather folk keep saying more is coming
but I haven't seen anymore.

It's amazing how much the plants perked up with just that much rain.
Temperatures dropped rapidly from 104F to the mid-nineties, making it
much better here and the AC isn't running as much as it was.

Naturally there aren't many plants left in the gardens. We still have
the sweet chiles and the eggplant plus the two new yellow squash but
all the others are now mowed and in the composter. We need some cool
weather to get out there and add our amendments to the raised beds
and stir them into the whole bed. I'm putting in a goodly amount of
peat moss again in hopes it will help to hold the water for the
plants to use. That and some really good compost is about all that we
need to replenish the beds.
We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just as
the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday exposed some
nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under the planting
medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole property eventually.

Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high heat levels.


Speaking of amendments I have a suggestion that may or may not help. At the
least it's food for thought.

Background; I'm an invalid with spinal problems and I take morphine several
times a day to ease the pain enough so that I can care for myself (and my
garden - somewhat). A nasty side-effect of morphine is constipation and, for
a few years I had a prescription for psyillium husk powder (Metamucil) to
mix with water and glug down several times a day. It helped but didn't
completely fix the problem - it took a total diet change to do that, making
my own extremely high fibre bread etc.

So I didn't cancell my prescription of psyillium until I was sure I had the
problem sorted. Then I found myself with about a dozen 750g packets of the
stuff. I don't know if you've seen or used it but it absorbs many times its
weight in water. When I was wondering what to do with it all I was reminded
of that water retaining gel that was all the rage here a couple decades
ago - 'add some to potting mix and reduce frequency of watering plants' sort
of stuff.

I hate throwing things away so did some Googling and it seems that it's been
used in trials in India as a soil amendment with great success. (Psyillium
grows in India and of course large parts of the country are arid.) I did a
few of my own experiments too. You don't need a lot - a couple teaspoons to
a bucket of soil is plenty. Mix it in well and it really helps the soil to
retain water for quite long periods. I was amazed how well it worked for me,
experimenting on some 'soil' I had in a raised bed that was too free
draining.

I read that, being organic it will break down over time but apparently no
moreso than peat and you need far less psyillium per square foot than you do
peat and it's *much* cheaper per square foot too. I've read where you've
mentioned how poor your soil is and just thought I'd throw this out there.
It may be worth buying a packet or two from the drug store (get the
unflavoured 'natural' stuff) and doing a trial plot? I still have a few
kilos of it here (did I mention that I hate throwing things away?) but it
would cost too much to make it worth sending to you, it's quite cheap to
buy.

Best,
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)




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Old 13-08-2015, 03:48 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 851
Default Finally

On 8/12/2015 6:56 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
Just about O dark thirty we gratefully received about half an inch of
rain in less than an hour. Weather folk keep saying more is coming
but I haven't seen anymore.

It's amazing how much the plants perked up with just that much rain.
Temperatures dropped rapidly from 104F to the mid-nineties, making it
much better here and the AC isn't running as much as it was.

Naturally there aren't many plants left in the gardens. We still have
the sweet chiles and the eggplant plus the two new yellow squash but
all the others are now mowed and in the composter. We need some cool
weather to get out there and add our amendments to the raised beds
and stir them into the whole bed. I'm putting in a goodly amount of
peat moss again in hopes it will help to hold the water for the
plants to use. That and some really good compost is about all that we
need to replenish the beds.
We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just as
the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday exposed some
nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under the planting
medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole property eventually.

Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high heat levels.


Speaking of amendments I have a suggestion that may or may not help. At the
least it's food for thought.

Background; I'm an invalid with spinal problems and I take morphine several
times a day to ease the pain enough so that I can care for myself (and my
garden - somewhat). A nasty side-effect of morphine is constipation and, for
a few years I had a prescription for psyillium husk powder (Metamucil) to
mix with water and glug down several times a day. It helped but didn't
completely fix the problem - it took a total diet change to do that, making
my own extremely high fibre bread etc.

So I didn't cancell my prescription of psyillium until I was sure I had the
problem sorted. Then I found myself with about a dozen 750g packets of the
stuff. I don't know if you've seen or used it but it absorbs many times its
weight in water. When I was wondering what to do with it all I was reminded
of that water retaining gel that was all the rage here a couple decades
ago - 'add some to potting mix and reduce frequency of watering plants' sort
of stuff.

I hate throwing things away so did some Googling and it seems that it's been
used in trials in India as a soil amendment with great success. (Psyillium
grows in India and of course large parts of the country are arid.) I did a
few of my own experiments too. You don't need a lot - a couple teaspoons to
a bucket of soil is plenty. Mix it in well and it really helps the soil to
retain water for quite long periods. I was amazed how well it worked for me,
experimenting on some 'soil' I had in a raised bed that was too free
draining.

I read that, being organic it will break down over time but apparently no
moreso than peat and you need far less psyillium per square foot than you do
peat and it's *much* cheaper per square foot too. I've read where you've
mentioned how poor your soil is and just thought I'd throw this out there.
It may be worth buying a packet or two from the drug store (get the
unflavoured 'natural' stuff) and doing a trial plot? I still have a few
kilos of it here (did I mention that I hate throwing things away?) but it
would cost too much to make it worth sending to you, it's quite cheap to
buy.

Best,

Thanks for the advice, just happened that one of the ladies at our
church lost her husband and then moved in with her brother, also
widowed. She gave us all her stored food and in the batch was a huge
container of psyillium. Will give it a try. We shared most of the food
with other church folk.
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Old 13-08-2015, 09:46 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 149
Default Finally

Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
On 8/12/2015 6:56 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
Just about O dark thirty we gratefully received about half an inch
of rain in less than an hour. Weather folk keep saying more is
coming but I haven't seen anymore.

It's amazing how much the plants perked up with just that much rain.
Temperatures dropped rapidly from 104F to the mid-nineties, making
it much better here and the AC isn't running as much as it was.

Naturally there aren't many plants left in the gardens. We still
have the sweet chiles and the eggplant plus the two new yellow
squash but all the others are now mowed and in the composter. We
need some cool weather to get out there and add our amendments to
the raised beds and stir them into the whole bed. I'm putting in a
goodly amount of peat moss again in hopes it will help to hold the
water for the plants to use. That and some really good compost is
about all that we need to replenish the beds.
We seeded some earth worms from Territorial back in the spring just
as the soil was warming up. Pulling the lima beans yesterday
exposed some nice sized earth worms who immediately dove back under
the planting medium. Hopefully they will colonize the whole
property eventually. Nothing much going on here but hiding from the high
heat levels.


Speaking of amendments I have a suggestion that may or may not help.
At the least it's food for thought.

Background; I'm an invalid with spinal problems and I take morphine
several times a day to ease the pain enough so that I can care for
myself (and my garden - somewhat). A nasty side-effect of morphine
is constipation and, for a few years I had a prescription for
psyillium husk powder (Metamucil) to mix with water and glug down
several times a day. It helped but didn't completely fix the problem
- it took a total diet change to do that, making my own extremely
high fibre bread etc. So I didn't cancell my prescription of psyillium
until I was sure I
had the problem sorted. Then I found myself with about a dozen 750g
packets of the stuff. I don't know if you've seen or used it but it
absorbs many times its weight in water. When I was wondering what to
do with it all I was reminded of that water retaining gel that was
all the rage here a couple decades ago - 'add some to potting mix and
reduce frequency of watering
plants' sort of stuff.

I hate throwing things away so did some Googling and it seems that
it's been used in trials in India as a soil amendment with great
success. (Psyillium grows in India and of course large parts of the
country are arid.) I did a few of my own experiments too. You don't
need a lot - a couple teaspoons to a bucket of soil is plenty. Mix
it in well and it really helps the soil to retain water for quite
long periods. I was amazed how well it worked for me, experimenting
on some 'soil' I had in a raised bed that was too free draining.

I read that, being organic it will break down over time but
apparently no moreso than peat and you need far less psyillium per
square foot than you do peat and it's *much* cheaper per square foot
too. I've read where you've mentioned how poor your soil is and just
thought I'd throw this out there. It may be worth buying a packet or
two from the drug store (get the unflavoured 'natural' stuff) and
doing a trial plot? I still have a few kilos of it here (did I
mention that I hate throwing things away?) but it would cost too
much to make it worth sending to you, it's quite cheap to buy.

Best,

Thanks for the advice, just happened that one of the ladies at our
church lost her husband and then moved in with her brother, also
widowed. She gave us all her stored food and in the batch was a huge
container of psyillium. Will give it a try. We shared most of the food
with other church folk.


Good that you've got some already, it can't hurt to try. One thing - make
sure it's mixed in well before wetting or it'll clump together. Experiment
with some soil in a bucket, that's what I did.

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)


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