Hi Mary!
Great story. I have sometimes thought I would like my nexxt place (yeah right) to be a renovation thing like yours but...hmm. A whole rolled up carpet????
Stockbroker and gardener- you must be very humble and/ or have an iron will.
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Around here we lean towards the provolone, with the other option I think American sliced. Cheez wiz is my new favorite topping for cauliflower. YUM
Mid-Atlantic Roll Call
Hi MAry, nice to meet you. I am so glad that you decided to post and share your gardening plan with us. It makes me feel badly that we have lived here for four years now and I don't believe that we have made as much progress as you have. I bet that things look lovely.
You will never meet a nicer bunch of people at one place.
Ruby
OK, who else is *exhausted* after reading Mary's description? Wow! We brought in 4 ten yard truckloads of compost over the first few years -- and I thought that was a lot! LOL Sounds like you're well on your way to a showplace.
BTW, I used landscape fabric under my rock border and it worked pretty well... I've heard strips of old carpet are also very effective at blocking weeds. I'd save the rubber mulch for putting along the outer edge of the rock border as a mowing strip (I've been thinking of doing that... either that, or digging a 4 inch edge and planting creeping thyme).
Gosh Mary............... Yes, I am exhaused.
I can relate to vines everywhere. Problem was, some of mine ended up being poison oak. I was out of commission for quite awhile. Luckily my neighbor had a chain saw that he let me borrow. And we even rented a samll bob cat one weekend!!!!
Old carpet makes good walkways through the garden also. It will last through a season. I use it between rows of tomato plants.
My favorite shrubs are Brooms - Scottish blooms orange (late spring) and Irish blooms yellow (early spring). The Irish tends to get a bit wild but I just prune it back after it blooms in Spring. The Irish stays green all year in MD.
Hi Mary, Your not all that far from me I'm just south of Hbg. I'd love to see some before and after pics of your place. Love the descriptions. LOL
I use old carpet in my veggie garden also. Makes great walk ways and I also drag pieces of it over larger spots that need weeded and grow some of my vines (pumpkins, melons and such) on it. Helps keep down the weeding. But I have never buried any of it in the ground. LOL
Hey Mary, yes I'm exhausted too from reading all the work you've done. Welcome!!
Thought I'd delete this and help with the loading problem. Mary
This message was edited Jun 9, 2008 3:37 PM
This message was edited Jun 8, 2008 7:50 PM
Greetings Wise Ones!
Qwilter has been having problems opening the Roll Call, and so started a "Part Two."
That really won't work. Part One will get lost and we'll lose the purpose for the thread. It's been a wonderful way to get to know each other and welcome the newbies.
I'm not having a problem, but if Qwilter is having one, it's likely that others will also. She has graciously agreed to redirect rollcall back to here until we get this resolved.
I'm open for suggestions, but a good place to start might be for each of us to do a little editing. I wonder if we pull some of the pictures, if that would help? There doesn't seem to be many, but perhaps it's the length addied to the pics that's causing her grief. I've never tried to delete one, so I don't know if it's even possible. I could add a note to the directions asking for folks to post pics in a new thread.
Does anyone know if this idea will work:
If Dave made this thread a sticky, then we could open up a part two for additions. That way this one would not get lost so folks could check in still to see who is hanging around.
What do you all think?
Blessings on your garden,
Elf
I never saw a problem on any other thread with a part 2. Why do you think people would get lost?
Greetings Flowerjen!
When the Roll Call moves down the board, people don't know that it's there. On these kinds of boards, most people never move past the first page. The part that would get lost is the original because it's not being used, and its purpose is for people to be able to read it to get to know the other people, so it's supposed to be used. That means that it needs to be front page.
I bump it fairly often, either with a bump or by adding members up top. When I do-- a bunch of new folks always show up becasue the thread is near the top and they find it.
A part two would be able to stay active. But the part one slowly disappears down the board, or we have to take up front page space with two of the same thread. And what then happens when it gets to be three or four? So it's the thread that gets lost and the information goes with it.
In any case, if we move to another thread, then it needs posted with the template up front, or we're going to frustrate the newbies who will need to hunting for what is going on.
I realize that the thread has taken on a life of it's own, but at its beginning, I thought of it as a place where we could go to find out something about the folks that we were interacting with. It still does that, but in more ways than just sharing a little about ourselves.
Some boards set up a regular "chit-chat" thread that does some of the things that are happening on the roll call. I think that it's okay for Roll Call to expand in its purpose, but I'd really like to see it maintain it's integrity as a single source "roll call."
Does that help? :)
Blessings on your garden,
Elf
In the past, Dave has said he can't delete pictures, for technical reasons. People with dial-up internet have a hard time loading threads with more than a couple hundred posts, so they tend to have a part II, linked to the original thread. They might make it a sticky for you, though.
I am an active poster/participant in the "Best and Worst and What did I Learn" Post.
We are now on part #46.
There is NO problem moving a Post on to a new part of the Post! Just let people know you are doing it--and provide the new Hyperlink to the new Post---as well as a Hyperlink (on the new Post) to the Post we came from.
This happens ALL the time!
Gita
Lastelf- I get what you're saying. We could take out some text, but I don't know technically if it would help for each of us to edit out some of our chit chat; the post will still be there with 'edited date'
I do remember that when I was just getting onto Daves about two years ago there was an intro thread that didn't last as long as this and has long long since gone by the wayside.
Lastelf... it's not a problem to have a Part 2 (or a Part 12) of any thread, as long as you keep linking the threads together as Gita said. Even if we somehow went back and edited out extraneous photos, chatty posts, etc., I think we'd soon end up with a longer thread than dial-up folks could access. But you're right that it'll help to have an introduction, a template, etc. at the top of each continuation of the thread...
So, how about if you start a new thread for us with the template and roll call list in the top post? If you want to discourage chatty responses, you could make a "one post per person please" rule -- but from experience on another forum thread where such a rule really was needed, I can tell you it's hard to get folks to stick to! It's just a very natural thing to type a response right on the thread you're reading. I think it might be easier to ask people to *try* to keep down the chatter, and just continue to make new threads as needed.
Hi, Elise here in Berkeley Springs WV, which is 5 miles from MD, 20 miles from PA and 10 miles from VA, so we are not really too connected to the rest of WV. I have lived in this area for 7 years. Originally from MI, and have lived in MD (Columbia and Bowie), Boston MA, and Richmond VA.
Family: Divorced long ago, 2 grown children, 3 grandchildren, 1 tuxedo cat
Employment: Retired from various IT jobs and consulting.
Gardening Level: I have been growing vegetables since 1974 and have had gardens in all the places I've lived, except Boston, so I would say I'm at least intermediate on the veggie front. I like growing flowers (mostly perennials) but have not put as much effort into learning about them as I have into growing food.
Gardening Focus: I just bought an old house a year ago on about 1/2 acre of sloping hillside. Nothing is level here in
Berkeley Springs. There wasn't much in the yard except a very overgrown privet hedge on the street side and a couple of spruce trees (I think that's what they are) in one corner of the back and one old lilac bush in the other corner of the back.
My first priority was to get a small vegetable patch going so I could find out what the soil was like. It's sand and shale, but at the bottom of the hill the sand is quite deep. And, there are a lot of worms already present. Last year I managed to get some viburnums and wigelia planted to begin a border with the vacant lot next door (kept nicely mowed but not another thing on it). Also got the hedge somewhat tamed so I could think what to do with it (don't like any plants that are clipped into boxy shapes). And, I planted a few daylillies, hucheras and other perennials.
This spring I planted 2 apple trees, black currants, red raspberries, strawberries, and an elderberry that a friend gave me. I'm experimenting with some swales on the steepest part of the hill, made from part of my brush pile as the base and then covered with all of the sod I dug up when I made new vegetable beds. I can tell already that it is helping to slow the drainage off the hill so the plants will get more of the water. I also planted blueberries but had to add soil sulfur so will see how that turns out. They look pretty good so far.
Then I turned my attention to native plants, which is a new direction for me. I have planted 2 Serviceberry trees, an American Smoke Tree, and 3 Eastern Redbuds on the street side of the dreaded privet hedge. When they get big enough (hopefully by next year), I will have the hedge cut down to the ground and put some old carpet padding over the stumps to try to kill it off. I'm also experimenting with native plants up in the back where the brush pile used to be, planting native grasses, flowering perennials, a pagoda dogwood and a couple of fragrant sumacs. That area will require lots of weeding, since the pokeweed is so enthusiastic here.
Also got the vegetable beds going with a pretty good variety of plants. We'll see how the shock of suddenly going from nights that were too cold (temps in the 40s) to temps in the high 90s affects things. The squash plants seem to like it but the peas are in shock.
Nice to meet you Elise. Everything sounds as though it is coming right along. Thank you for sharing.
Ruby
Lastelf, I deleted that last long post. Will it help? It's hard for new people to know what's appropriate, where.
Elise, keep up the good work!! Mary
Agree with Gita....just continue to another pt II...it's done in many of the forums...Pets - Photos to name a few... I have DSL so it's not an issue "here" but others might struggle trying to get it opened
Welcome, Elise!
Can't these posts be designated as "stickies" if everyone wants to keep them at the top?
Hi Elise and welcome!
My Dh and I owned some property in Berkeley Springs, we sold it about 3 years ago. We loved it there, we had 42 secluded acres on the top of a hill off of Luther Michael Road and were thinking of building our retirement home but poor health forced us to sell. I do miss the town and especially the Springs themselves, I thought it was great tasting water!
Our property had a lot of shale with fossils in it, do you have any? The kids loved to visit there and go fossil hunting, and we had a lot of wildlife and wild fruits and berries. I miss the Apple Butter Festival, we used to make a speical trip down frm PA every year just for that!
Just dropping in to introduce myself - two days before I officially 'belong' here :)
Name: Sunny
Location: Damascus, VA (as of 6/13)
Family: Joseph, three daughters (1 - College, Lynchburg VA, 1- getting married Jan 09 (in FL), 1- Junior in HS in 09 (in FL))
My Jack Russell, and an old blind, deaf, lazy bladder challenged outdoor cat; we are inheriting a rescue draft horse and Vietnamese pot-bellied pig with farm
Employment: Remote worker for the telco industry, Project Management
Gardening Level: 2nd year neophyte and lovin' it!
Gardening Focus: Sustainability - self-sufficiecy - growing our food and our livestock's food
Dreams and aspirations:
Goats, rabbits (for fertilizer), Chickens, Cow/calf pair (hoping for a Galloway)
Projects on the horizon:
Moving
Amending the soil
Grading driveway
Developing the springhead
Fence repair/upgrade
Chicken coop
Summer kitchen
Outdoor bread oven
Root cellar
Wind/Hydro/Solar power composite system
Bringing with us from GA:
Eight blooming blueberries
Red Raspberries
Blackberries
Half of my garden that survived the recent tornado on 5/21
Seedlings from a fellow GA DGer
Forsythia - gift from a fellow KY DGer
Raw Milk
And as many of my other plants as I can stuff in the multiple trips we'll be making!
Our goal is to be a self-sufficient as possible, but we are extreme newbies to this line of thinking. Been dreaming of it since 2005 and only are now beginning to see our way to implementing what I've gleaned from scads of books. Oh, I am a biblioholic - I LOVE books, the older the better. My stronger half is a city boy with great gardening intuition and a very adept handyman.
I am a tad sad to leave the soil where I learned to struggle over slugs and cabbageworms, but ectstatic to be gaining acreage, and I think that is even a mild word for what I feel :) We will be living in a remodeled 1930's farmhouse, saltbox style. We have various sized barns in differing stages of delapidation :) We will first lay eyes on our new home on Friday, as we accepted this position strictly via E-mail and telephone discussions. Can you say ADVENTURE? LOL!
I look forward to gleaning knowledge of the area regarding soil, climate and general 'HELP' topics as we proceed down this exciting and challenging life road.
Nice to meet ya....~Sunny
Welcome Sunny.
Ahhh Sunny - glad you found your way over to this thread!!! Everyone, Sunny will be a welcomed addition here as you can see!!!
Welcome Sunny, we have really good friends that lived in Woodstock that are now in Marietta. My mom owns a house in Cornelia(know anyone looking to buy??).
Sounds like a great adventure!
Name: Gail
Location: Ocean View, DE
Family: Husband & me
Employment: both retired
Gardening Level: beginner
Gardening Focus: Vegetables and flowers for permanent landscaping
Hello Sunny, Your project sounds so exciting as does your enthusiasm! I hope all of your transplants love their new home. Working remotely is a wonderful thing. Nothing like a good Bluetooth so hands are free to weed through those boring conference calls. I had to switch to a sports model, because the others kept getting ruined from sweat! Mary
Technically I'm in your group by area... and many of you know me. I lived in Bawlamor and then Annapolis long before I was a gardener or there was a Dave's Garden. Sigh.
Name: darius
Location: marion, va (southwest in the mountains off I-81)
Family: jes' me, although I'm estranged from a half-sister and niece who live in the same house
Employment: retired in poverty!
Gardening Level: middlin'
Gardening Focus: In the last 2-3 years it has changed to growing foods... annual crops and now getting started on fruits and berries. I want chickens and/or goats but need fencing, and a chicken tractor. However I still love flowers and trying to get some things planted each year, esp. bulbs. (This place had only grass and steep treed hillsides when my sister bought it 2 years ago.)
This message was edited Jun 12, 2008 1:24 PM
Thanks for the warm welcome all...it's nice to feel at 'home' here. (waves to Chantell)
Flowerjen - our neighbors are actually looking to sell and then buy, but not until spring. They want something bigger, so I suggested to our landlords that maybe they should talk to them since we're leaving.
Stormy - I'll need to find out what the sport model is, that sounds GREAT! I have a VPN connection and just forward it to my cell phone with standard Bluetooth right now, so that if I need to do something away from the desktop, I can still be available. I haven't cheated yet and worked in the garden while on it, but I sense that will change here shortly...haha!
Nice to meet you too Gail - ocean views are great! I lived on Madeira Beach in Florida for a year, but oy vey, even though I am a native Floridian, that heat was always a bit much. I far prefer the cool temps, as one can always layer more, but I'm a bit long in the tooth to sport less and less clothing...LOL!
~Sunny
DARIUS...my nearest DG neighbor!! (that I know of) We're gonna fix you up and have a great time lady :) Can't wait to get over and see your place too, and find out what we can do to help out. I think we cross-posted....
If you don't know Darius, you SHOULD! The woman is a walking encyclopedia and fount of helpful information. I consider her my mentor and inspiration :)
See you soon neighbor...only one more day....time is sooooo dragging. Oh yeah, work should keep me out of trouble...since lunch hour is over...hehe!
Darius,
What an honor to have you join us!!!! I have known your name for most of the years I have been on DG! I always know when you post something on the recipes Forum--it will be ALL organic and healthy.
I have also enjoyed all the articles you have written on DG. You are such a wealth of knowledge!
I truly think you will be am immense asset to this Group!
Welcome! Welcome! Gita
Sunny, It's not cheating, it's Multi tasking!!!! The phone records the call, requiring no note taking and I listen to it all and offer imput where required. Motherhood invented Multi tasking centuries ago. She was probably a gardener too! The Bluetooth is manufactured by Bluetrek. It's model X2 Water resistant.
Darius, I'm really looking forward to benefitting from your sage advise.
Gail, How wonderful to retire to a Garden! Mary
Thanks, Gita... and Stormy, don't count on my advice being sage, LOL.
A big "Welcome!!" to Gail and Darius.
Hi I am new to Daves Garden and I have been gardening for about 8 years.
Name: Wisdomskr
Location: Mechanicsville, MD
Occupation: Full time mom, wife, student (almost done for a little while) and gardener
Family: Great husband and two kids a dog who likes to dig in my daughters garden and a cat with a split personality who likes to hide in my sons garden
Garden level: almost intermediate and always learning
Garden focus: perennials and some vegetables.
My favorite plants tend to be daylilies and echinacea but I have recently been very interested in any plant with dark foliage. My most recent purchase was a chocolate joe pye weed. It looks great and is a native plant. Trust me I have not gone native in my garden but I do try to grow plants that can sustain themselves. My husband is in the military so we have moved a few times and I have sadly left beautiful gardens to future owners in base housing.
We bought a home this time and I am loving it. We have lived here for three years and I am beginning to think with the tornados and high heat, I am back at our previous base in OK. Unfortunately I do not have enough time or money to plant as much or as often as I would like but I think we will be here awhile so I have time.
I am a full time student with a major in Biology ( I like ecology classes the best) and before you ask I don't know how I do it. (Two semesters to go!!!!) I will be taking a class about Maryland plants this fall which I think will be very interesting. It is nice to meet all of you.
wisdomskr
This message was edited Jun 13, 2008 7:56 PM
This message was edited Jun 13, 2008 7:58 PM
wisdomskr,
Welcome to this group of busy, caring/sharing people.
We have at least 2 different Plant or Seed swaps a year. Just come to the next one and you will go home with enough plants to spend days planting.....
We just had one at Bec_No_Va's house in VA. Please take a look at all the Swap related Posts on the Mid Atlantic Forum. Might be a bit "deep" on the list, but the Swap was on May 24th. The best Post is the one with all the pictures from the Swap....
Here's the link to it:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/852783/
This was the "HOT" Post--everyone listing their haves and wants. It is long..but check it out!
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/850553/
Gita
Welcome, wisdom!
Name: Diana Wind
Location: Mt. Laurel, NJ zone 6b
Family: married, no children but lots of furry friends if they count as "children" :) My husband is Harry, some of you met us this year at the Longwood Gardens trip. My mom, Junetta, lives with us and also loves to garden.
Employment: well, this is subject to change since I closed my health food store and restaurant. I'm on the writers' team here on DG but have been so busy planting, I'm having a hard time with my schedule and launching my first article!!! Keep an eye out though :)
I've worked in a few diff restaurants, went to culinary school and am currently working at the Center for Advanced Food Technology in North Jersey but very soon I will be back to being a student. I'm near finished, just need to complete a few more semesters. I'm a senior undergrad at Rutgers New Brunswick, NJ studying nutrition.
Gardening Level: well I have no idea!!! I keep learning more and more from all the wonderful people here on DG :)))
Gardening Focus: I wouldn't know how you would describe my focus. I like self-sowing plants and tend not to weed or heavily mulch my garden beds. This drives some people crazy as our gardens look a bit on the wild side!
As someone who had the privilege to walk through Diana's gardens last September, I must tell you that she is not giving herself the credit that is due. I was dumbstruck at the beauty of her gardens. Everything was gorgeous.
Ruby