I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of rain over
night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over 200mm (8in) at one
place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the outflow of my dam is running
backwards, that is the dam is filling (well over-filling) from the river.
The soil will be rather too wet for a few days at least.

I will not be going anywhere today as the road will be cut. How long that
remains depends on how much more rain falls today.

Breaking news! A bunch of campers were marooned on the roof of buildings at
the showground of a town near here and two were missing for a while but
appear to have been found. Details are dodgy.


--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Corporate propaganda is their
protection against democracy

On 4/20/2015 6:53 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of rain
over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over 200mm (8in) at
one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the outflow of my dam is
running backwards, that is the dam is filling (well over-filling) from the
river. The soil will be rather too wet for a few days at least.

I will not be going anywhere today as the road will be cut. How long that
remains depends on how much more rain falls today.

Breaking news! A bunch of campers were marooned on the roof of buildings at
the showground of a town near here and two were missing for a while but
appear to have been found. Details are dodgy.



Given the usual drought problems it would be wonderful to be able to store
all of that water until it is needed in the dry season. It don't rain but
it pours.

We were hit by a sudden sky-ripping storm last night. Looked quite
innocuous on the radar map, narrow and fast-moving, but my area must have
experienced a micro burst taking down and breaking large trees and the
power went out at 21:05. It came back for me at 02:30 but some folks up the
road didn't get it back until 10:00. Wouldn't normally care much and I'm
used to it after 16 years but now I have my elderly mom living here and
being in pitch darkness combined with disorientation is not a good
combination. Just as the dawn chorus was starting this morning we had an
instant replay of the storm but at least the power didn't go out again. No
campers on the roof -- they would have probably been blown away.

John McGaw wrote:
On 4/20/2015 6:53 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of
rain over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over
200mm (8in) at one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the
outflow of my dam is running backwards, that is the dam is filling
(well over-filling) from the river. The soil will be rather too wet
for a few days at least. I will not be going anywhere today as the road
will be cut. How
long that remains depends on how much more rain falls today.

Breaking news! A bunch of campers were marooned on the roof of
buildings at the showground of a town near here and two were missing
for a while but appear to have been found. Details are dodgy.



Given the usual drought problems it would be wonderful to be able to
store all of that water until it is needed in the dry season. It
don't rain but it pours.


I can store it in a way. When it comes slowly it soaks into the clay
subsoil and lasts for months but not overnight.

We were hit by a sudden sky-ripping storm last night. Looked quite
innocuous on the radar map, narrow and fast-moving, but my area must
have experienced a micro burst taking down and breaking large trees
and the power went out at 21:05. It came back for me at 02:30 but
some folks up the road didn't get it back until 10:00. Wouldn't
normally care much and I'm used to it after 16 years but now I have
my elderly mom living here and being in pitch darkness combined with
disorientation is not a good combination. Just as the dawn chorus was
starting this morning we had an instant replay of the storm but at
least the power didn't go out again. No campers on the roof -- they
would have probably been blown away.

The rain has stopped now but the water has risen another 2 m (6ft), part of
my irrigation that I thought was safe has gone. Mybe i will find it hung on
a fence downstream, maybe not.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Corporate propaganda is their
protection against democracy

David Hare-Scott wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 4/20/2015 6:53 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of
rain over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over
200mm (8in) at one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the
outflow of my dam is running backwards, that is the dam is filling
(well over-filling) from the river. The soil will be rather too wet
for a few days at least. I will not be going anywhere today as the
road will be cut. How
long that remains depends on how much more rain falls today.

Breaking news! A bunch of campers were marooned on the roof of
buildings at the showground of a town near here and two were missing
for a while but appear to have been found. Details are dodgy.

The rain has stopped now but the water has risen another 2 m (6ft),
part of my irrigation that I thought was safe has gone. Mybe i will
find it hung on a fence downstream, maybe not.

The river is nearly back in its bank at my place and I can get out now, it
probably peaked at about 16m (50ft). This sounds dangerous but it is not a
problem here as i didn't build on the flood plain and I don't have big trees
near the house.

It was much worse in some places, up to 400mm (16in) fell. And some old
towns are built on the floof plain. Whole houses went down the street and
people died in a town 40km away. Hundreds of homes were damaged and many
thousands are without power due to falling trees nearby (some people never
learn) and roofs being ripped off by wind.

At the camping ground enough water went through to have people swimming for
their lives and at risk of being taken, apparently they all survived. One
building was moved from one side of the rodeo area to the other.

It isn't over yet on the weather radar I have two storms converging on me,
never seen that before. The cabbages are on hold.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Corporate propaganda is their
protection against democracy

On 4/21/2015 4:38 AM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
snip...

The river is nearly back in its bank at my place and I can get out now, it
probably peaked at about 16m (50ft). This sounds dangerous but it is not a
problem here as i didn't build on the flood plain and I don't have big
trees near the house.

It was much worse in some places, up to 400mm (16in) fell. And some old
towns are built on the floof plain. Whole houses went down the street and
people died in a town 40km away. Hundreds of homes were damaged and many
thousands are without power due to falling trees nearby (some people never
learn) and roofs being ripped off by wind.

At the camping ground enough water went through to have people swimming for
their lives and at risk of being taken, apparently they all survived. One
building was moved from one side of the rodeo area to the other.

It isn't over yet on the weather radar I have two storms converging on me,
never seen that before. The cabbages are on hold.


Was looking at the coverage on ABC. It does indeed look nasty. The lead
video was the house in Dungog being washed away. Best of luck with it.

David Hare-Scott wrote:

I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of rain over
night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over 200mm (8in) at one
place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the outflow of my dam is running
backwards, that is the dam is filling (well over-filling) from the river.
The soil will be rather too wet for a few days at least.

which river is it?

your pastures will be happy.

hope you find your missing irrigation parts!


songbird

songbird wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:

I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of
rain over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over
200mm (8in) at one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the
outflow of my dam is running backwards, that is the dam is filling
(well over-filling) from the river. The soil will be rather too wet
for a few days at least.

which river is it?

a tributary of the Karuah system


your pastures will be happy.

hope you find your missing irrigation parts!


..... as the actress said to the bishop.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Corporate propaganda is their
protection against democracy

David Hare-Scott wrote:
songbird wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:

I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of
rain over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over
200mm (8in) at one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the
outflow of my dam is running backwards, that is the dam is filling
(well over-filling) from the river. The soil will be rather too wet
for a few days at least.

which river is it?

a tributary of the Karuah system

are you far enough upstream that you don't
have to worry too much about pollution in the
river sediments?


your pastures will be happy.

hope you find your missing irrigation parts!

.... as the actress said to the bishop.

ouch!


songbird

songbird wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
songbird wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:

I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of
rain over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over
200mm (8in) at one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the
outflow of my dam is running backwards, that is the dam is filling
(well over-filling) from the river. The soil will be rather too wet
for a few days at least.

which river is it?

a tributary of the Karuah system

are you far enough upstream that you don't
have to worry too much about pollution in the
river sediments?


Yes the silt is quite Ok. We will not be trudging through the contents of
some septic tank nor toxic sprays or any such.


your pastures will be happy.

hope you find your missing irrigation parts!

.... as the actress said to the bishop.

ouch!

The lost pipe turned up after the water receded almost where I had left.

--
David

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Corporate propaganda is their
protection against democracy

David Hare-Scott wrote:
songbird wrote:
....
are you far enough upstream that you don't
have to worry too much about pollution in the
river sediments?


Yes the silt is quite Ok. We will not be trudging through the contents of
some septic tank nor toxic sprays or any such.

that's good to hear!

around here there are ok regulations about septic
systems, i don't worry about them being in the flood-
waters, but the floodwaters here come across sprayed
fields so that does bother me. i've blocked the
most likely flow now (can't do much about wind blown
gunk) and hope that will solve that problem.


your pastures will be happy.

hope you find your missing irrigation parts!

.... as the actress said to the bishop.

ouch!

The lost pipe turned up after the water receded almost where I had left.




songbird

Once upon a time on usenet David Hare-Scott wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
John McGaw wrote:
On 4/20/2015 6:53 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
I am just about to plant my winter seedlings, mostly brassicas.

That will have to wait for a while since we had 90mm (3 1/2 in) of
rain over night. There has been much more nearer the coast, over
200mm (8in) at one place. The river is up about 12m (40ft) and the
outflow of my dam is running backwards, that is the dam is filling
(well over-filling) from the river. The soil will be rather too wet
for a few days at least. I will not be going anywhere today as the
road will be cut. How
long that remains depends on how much more rain falls today.

Breaking news! A bunch of campers were marooned on the roof of
buildings at the showground of a town near here and two were
missing for a while but appear to have been found. Details are
dodgy.

The rain has stopped now but the water has risen another 2 m (6ft),
part of my irrigation that I thought was safe has gone. Mybe i will
find it hung on a fence downstream, maybe not.

The river is nearly back in its bank at my place and I can get out
now, it probably peaked at about 16m (50ft). This sounds dangerous
but it is not a problem here as i didn't build on the flood plain and
I don't have big trees near the house.

It was much worse in some places, up to 400mm (16in) fell. And some
old towns are built on the floof plain. Whole houses went down the
street and people died in a town 40km away. Hundreds of homes were
damaged and many thousands are without power due to falling trees
nearby (some people never learn) and roofs being ripped off by wind.

At the camping ground enough water went through to have people
swimming for their lives and at risk of being taken, apparently they
all survived. One building was moved from one side of the rodeo area
to the other.
It isn't over yet on the weather radar I have two storms converging
on me, never seen that before. The cabbages are on hold.

The tail end of that's been hitting my place for two days now.

My biggest problem when there's lots and lots of rain is all of that water
leeching the goodness out of the containers I grow dwarf fruit trees in. I
try to get out between the worst of it and suck the water out of the
'saucers' and put it into a barrel. I use a 250ml 'syringe' that is branded
'Masport' was sold for removing oil from a lawnmower engine (and is no loger
available new) to do the job. However it's plunger isn't completely
water-tight (designed to work in oil) so would love ideas on what else I
could use - preferably 500ml or more per 'suck' but I'll consider anything.

It gets frustrating when there's a big downpour not long after I've
fertilised the trees. On my budget the fertiliser's expensive so to think of
it getting washed straight through the potting media is like throwing money
away.
--
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)

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 12:25:41 +1200
"~misfit~" wrote:

snip
My biggest problem when there's lots and lots of rain is all of that water
leeching the goodness out of the containers I grow dwarf fruit trees in. I
try to get out between the worst of it and suck the water out of the
'saucers' and put it into a barrel. I use a 250ml 'syringe' that is branded
'Masport' was sold for removing oil from a lawnmower engine (and is no loger
available new) to do the job. However it's plunger isn't completely
water-tight (designed to work in oil) so would love ideas on what else I
could use - preferably 500ml or more per 'suck' but I'll consider anything.

Can you get/find anything like this in your Country?

http://www.harborfreight.com/multi-u...ump-66418.html

I've got a similar version (paid much, much more from a Marine
Supplier) that has worked good to suck the oil from the differentials
on my truck, along with the power steering pump.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:24:26 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 12:25:41 +1200
"~misfit~" wrote:

snip
My biggest problem when there's lots and lots of rain is all of that water
leeching the goodness out of the containers I grow dwarf fruit trees in. I
try to get out between the worst of it and suck the water out of the
'saucers' and put it into a barrel. I use a 250ml 'syringe' that is branded
'Masport' was sold for removing oil from a lawnmower engine (and is no loger
available new) to do the job. However it's plunger isn't completely
water-tight (designed to work in oil) so would love ideas on what else I
could use - preferably 500ml or more per 'suck' but I'll consider anything.

Can you get/find anything like this in your Country?

http://www.harborfreight.com/multi-u...ump-66418.html

I've got a similar version (paid much, much more from a Marine
Supplier) that has worked good to suck the oil from the differentials
on my truck, along with the power steering pump.

Seems to me it would make a lot more sense during rainy periods to
move those potted plants to an area protected from rain... harbor
freight sells tarps too, also heavy duty dollies very inexpensively,
so does Northerntool.com... an ounce of prevention. Also I would
definitely drill a weep hole in those saucers... and if concerned
about nutrients it's not difficult to collect that drained water with
an inexpensive plastic pan, litter pans for kittens are purrfect and
cost about a buck.

Once upon a time on usenet Leon Fisk wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 12:25:41 +1200
"~misfit~" wrote:

snip
My biggest problem when there's lots and lots of rain is all of that
water leeching the goodness out of the containers I grow dwarf fruit
trees in. I try to get out between the worst of it and suck the
water out of the 'saucers' and put it into a barrel. I use a 250ml
'syringe' that is branded 'Masport' was sold for removing oil from a
lawnmower engine (and is no loger available new) to do the job.
However it's plunger isn't completely water-tight (designed to work
in oil) so would love ideas on what else I could use - preferably
500ml or more per 'suck' but I'll consider anything.

Can you get/find anything like this in your Country?

http://www.harborfreight.com/multi-u...ump-66418.html

I've got a similar version (paid much, much more from a Marine
Supplier) that has worked good to suck the oil from the differentials
on my truck, along with the power steering pump.

Thanks for the suggestion Leon. I have something similar which I used to
remove crankcase oil from my mower for oil changes now I've repurposed the
'giant syringe' that I got with it. However it wouldn't work well for me for
removing water from my plant saucers - I have chronic back pain and can't
bend forward for long (and there's not always room to crouch near a potted
tree).

Hence the syringe with a couple feet of hose on it works well, I hardly need
to bend at all - if only it had a one litre barrel instead of the 250ml that
it can suck at a time then life would be easier for me.

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)

Once upon a time on usenet Brooklyn1 wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:24:26 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

On Tue, 28 Apr 2015 12:25:41 +1200
"~misfit~" wrote:

snip
My biggest problem when there's lots and lots of rain is all of
that water leeching the goodness out of the containers I grow dwarf
fruit trees in. I try to get out between the worst of it and suck
the water out of the 'saucers' and put it into a barrel. I use a
250ml 'syringe' that is branded 'Masport' was sold for removing oil
from a lawnmower engine (and is no loger available new) to do the
job. However it's plunger isn't completely water-tight (designed to
work in oil) so would love ideas on what else I could use -
preferably 500ml or more per 'suck' but I'll consider anything.

Can you get/find anything like this in your Country?

http://www.harborfreight.com/multi-u...ump-66418.html

I've got a similar version (paid much, much more from a Marine
Supplier) that has worked good to suck the oil from the differentials
on my truck, along with the power steering pump.

Seems to me it would make a lot more sense during rainy periods to
move those potted plants to an area protected from rain...

The rain is very good for them. It washes the leaves of accumulated dust and
debris and they seem to respond well to it, often getting a new flush of
growth after rain. They're citrus trees, not house plants. ;-)

harbor
freight sells tarps too, also heavy duty dollies very inexpensively,
so does Northerntool.com... an ounce of prevention.

I doubt that they post to New Zealand and as I'm an invalid (with an
invalid's income) buying tarps and putting them up for rain and removing
them for sun seems rather too labour-intensive. I'd need to hire someone to
do it.

Also I would
definitely drill a weep hole in those saucers... and if concerned
about nutrients it's not difficult to collect that drained water with
an inexpensive plastic pan, litter pans for kittens are purrfect and
cost about a buck.

They wouldn't do the job when each tree pot can 'collect' five litres of
water in an hour of heavy rain. I normally leave the water level in the
saucers very low but when it rains I go out between downpours, suck the
excess water from them and store it for drier weather. I have a row or six
60l black plastic rubbish bins that I put the water in until needed again.
Whenever possible I re-purpose mass-produced items that are usually cheap -
these cost me $9 each including a lid and I bought them over a couple of
months - the lids are a must have to keep mosquitos from breeding in the
stored nutrient-filled water.

I try to never let the saucers dry out as I have small aquatic snails in
them which eat the algae that grows there and contribute their own manure to
the system when I suck water out. I use pots that are fairly tall with the
bottom 15% or so (the part that sits in the saucers) filled with pine bark
'nuggets' so the media isn't always soaked. I re-pot about every two years
on average (if they're in the largest pots I root prune and replace ~50% of
the media - if not I go up a size). Usually by that time the bark is just
starting to rot down and become part of the media, which has caused a bit of
subsidence and made room for the composted manure / seaweed top-dressing
that I do whenever the trees have a growth spurt.

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)