Suddenly dry

It was such a nice spring, cool & wet, but we've now moved into a dry, warm (upper 80's!) stretch that has really dried things out. I planted three Hydrangea paniculatas today and couldn't believe how dry the soil was. Like sands through the hour glass... How are the growin' conditions for you?

We have had drought for several years with some relief last year. This year we have had a good bit of rain. Hot and humid one week and relief from humidity the next. All in all can't complain. Clay soil is a challenge. I planted a forest pansy redbud and a witchhazel beginning of summer (not the best time.) Those are the two I am paying attepntion to. Blossom rot on the tomatoes because of inconsistent water but I have added them to the list of "pay attention to " low yield cucumber - I think that miracle grow soil contributed to the vine setting male flowers.

Hi, Missingrosie. It looks like you and I are the only two experiencing weather this start of August 2014. Actually, I could've just as well titled this thread Suddenly Wet. We got 1.5" in about one hour last evening. Our sandy soil mopped it up quite nicely, thank you. There was a little bit of mulch runoff, but no real erosion to speak of. That's the beauty of sand, it takes it in and passes it on through. I have a love-hate relationship with sand, but this much I know, I'll take wet over dry anytime.

Yes me too. Sometimes I look out the upstairs window and see a path around the property that has remained clear ( thru the woods ) When we get the rain like you got yesterday -- from upstairs, it looks like a raging muddy red river......then next day gone! Our clay -- miserable drainage. I have worked on our planting areas for 14 years and so.... Top foot + is rather nice to plant and dig in. Don't know if would like sandy any better.

Good for you for improving your soil like that. I think about doing it, but then the effort involved to make it actually happen dampens my enthusiasm for doing so. If only we could get our soils to meet. Isn't that called loam? And then there's the state soil: Antigo Silt Loam. I'm pretty sure I don't have any of that...

For those of you with entirely too much time on your hands, here's some fascinating reading. Enjoy!

http://www.wisagclassroom.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Antigo-Silt-Loam-State-Soil.pdf

Hi Pseudo!
I guess I have too much time...
I will do you one better-here is a link to a list of ALL the "state soils". Mine is Tokul.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_soils

Anyway, I guess we are in the summer doldrums, so we will start chatting about non-tree issues.. Are you sure you want wet? I got wet. "It rains nine months of the year in Seattle' is a famous phrase from the movie "Sleepless in Seattle". It's not really true, it is only 8 months rain. And I have clay soil. And slugs that are (I kid you not) 6" long. Right now there are men on my roof. the yard now has huge clumps of moss 2 feet long, that they tossed off with the ruined shingles. I had 1 1/2" rain last week, that puddled up and tried to flood the basement. I dream of sand.

You know what they say...the moss is always geener on the other side of the street...😝

My sis lives in S. Fla..she told me she looked up at the ceiling in her dining room and saw "something black" ( she needs glasses ) could not figure what it was......got a ladder....


..it was a TREE ...had somehow started sprouting in the dampness (outdoors) under the roof shingles and right through to her dining room.

OK, I'll keep my sand. That doesn't sound like any fun. I hope the worst of it is over.

Did you note that Antigo Silt Loam has its own logo? How cool is that! I do find it a bit ironic that the gentleman who developed the soil logo has a last name of Hole.

Pediatric psychiatrist at Duke - Dr. Looney.

And I'll raise you several...

My wife has worked with the following veterinarians...

Dr. Skinner
Dr. Slaughter
Dr. Pierce
Dr. Spike

The last two are husband and wife...

You guys crack me up!

When I was a poor student in FL, one year we could not afford to fix the A/C. Ugh. The tan carpet became green. It was mold. But missingrosie's story is much better than mine.

I knew a doctor who changed his name from Dr. Kwac to Dr. Kovac. I thought it was a good idea.

We have no logo in WA, in fact our State Soil is only "proposed" and not official . I better write my State Representative right away. No wait he just got fired because they found out he lives in Ohio!

I wonder if Mr. Hole was related to Lois Hole, the farmer-politician from Alberta? I have a shrub named after her.

Urologist at hospital where I worked....Dr. Wiener


Funny about that state rep paying the wrong state's property tax ..maybe Ohio declared its dirt good and proper

Great Vet names. 😊

My father had a dentist Mr. I. Pulham (pronounced "pull'em")

😊 whatta shingle he got to hang

When we were kids, our dentist was Dr. Yankovich (pronounce "yank'-uh-vich").
Of course we called him Dr. Yankatooth.

OK, another completely non-tree-related post. This one goes back to the comments about soil...

Some of our soil is glacial till. It's heck to dig in because of the little and not so little rocks, but it drains great.

A few years ago, we dug up our septic tank to move it because of putting on an addition to the house. It turns out the previous owners, who built the house in 1946, had made a septic tank out of a piece of concrete culvert that was turned on end-- and it was open on the bottom end. They had covered the top with a metal sheet. Of course, there was no official drain field that we could find. I guess back then, when you lived out in the unincorporated county, you could do what you wanted.

The funny thing was, we had lived in the house for several years before putting on the addition. The septic system worked perfectly. And to cap it off, the local water system has a nearby well for its water supply. The water coming from the well is so pure that it doesn't have to be treated.

It doesn't surprise me. So much of what 'was' works well.

Different but related topic:, bKoehler has a $549 mirrored medicine cabinet....plastic lined doors on the inside mirrors on the outside. Box housing from thin 'rustproof" aluminum ... reviewers have complained that the doors break at the hinge/latch site.... Well, if you surface ( wall ) mount it...the un mirrored sides are visible (the backs of hinges are visible) BUT for $70 they will sell the mirrored end panels to cover those hinges. They also sell a fourth glass shelf...... Compare that to those old warhorse medicine cabinets that closed with a sturdy latch and click ..never broke...nor rusted... and were factory finished at the sides. And had no extras available because they came furnished with what was needed.
Soon combs will be sold with no teeth!

On topic - It is raining again and my pond - which was down to the rock - is now filled . I attached a piece of black tubing to the gutter and ran it to the pond.

The turtle (helmet) is my panic gauge.

This message was edited Aug 9, 2014 3:59 PM

missingrosie - too funny! a $549 medicine cabinet with $70 extra to get the sides and cheesy hinges...and their markup must be, oh, I dunno, $450?
I love the pond. Do you have a bigger pic of the panic turtle?

I think the mark up is closer to $ 548!

Here are the only 2 I have The turtle is a military helmet