Doomed gardening

Sally wants it.

Ha ha ha.

Keep the coir. I think a lot of folks have been having good luck with it. One common problem with it (seems to be quality thing) is that some coir is very salty and needs to be rinsed before use... I'm not sure of a good way to test for that... soak & taste? :-%

Gardening Rule #37: Don't run out to buy the newest gardening item just because it's marketed to be green or cost-effective. Wait till your friends prove it. LOL!!

Good point, Foxy. Let's see just how good a gardener Sally really is then ...

LOL!! She has to be better than I---she's trying the coir.

mmm --coir tea !! I'll try to post a coir-a -rama when I hydrate the brick. This might be the only place on the Net where pictures of dirt are a big hit.
I'll do a mini science fair project for us- beans is various dirts. In all my free time.....

No worries about the mini science fair project. It's been done. Look at this appalling study (if you haven't already seen it) -- scroll forward to the photos. http://www.usu.edu/cpl/PDF/CoconutCoirPaper.pdf

oh, great, you're gonna pawn off the ' doomed gardener' title on me LOL. Hey, I'll use it and then blame my dooms on it, not my care.
People have been using coir, I guess I'll proceed with caution. Dilution is MY solution!

I agree! (And no, I hold sole title to "doomed gardener." No worries there.)

This message was edited Jan 27, 2008 7:33 PM

Oh, Happy, you're such a Drama Queen ... you have absolutely GLORIOUS gardens, and that's a fact. So, don't anybody here believe a thing that she's saying about "doomed."

Now Wrightie, I'm going to start calling you Pollyanna. My yard is death and destruction. Pitiful. My role is akin to a serial murderer -- and I've got green on my hands. We do do a nice job with ground ivy, though.

SNORT! You are sooooo full of it, My Sister. Yes, we are too hard on our own gardens, but Ima Tellinya, I covet your landscapes, My Dear.

Ah, I do like my yard -- it has nice slopes (albeit without much sunshine). It is what is growing in it (or not) that I was lamenting. ("If I had world enough, and time. . . ." Andrew Marvell.)

But enough about my troubles. I hope all of your gardens doing well this winter, and that your bulbs are starting to peek through in anticipation of a gorgeous spring.

I have some daffodils just showing along a south facing privacy fence. I consider that a hint about one of my microclimates.
Yes, we all know our faults too well. My yard is totally, boringly flat. I would love to have some kind of slope.

Actually, what I want is 5-10 acres, a 15 minute drive from downtown DC. With a small river running through it that connects to the Potomac. And about an acre of flat sunny ground for vegetables and flower. And rolling hills for the rest, with a nice shady area and then a tree-ey area. And bluebirds.

Heck. Now I gotta fight you for my paradise....
Well, maybe not. Ours has to have room for a grass airstrip. House must be new (boo hoo, talk to hubby) It could Look old, with detailing (that's better !) The stream, will allow beavers in right place, will run through woods, with rocky and sandy bed. Places for casual dam building with found materials.
Stop me. I could go on for hours...............

Please don't stop. What is the grass airstrip for?

Blimp landings.

;-)

Anybody can own a Cessna.

I thought maybe it was for condors.

when this shepard gets up a head of steam, she needs quite a length for braking distance.

Awww, I'm sure she has wings for quick takeoffs. Wouldn't want a crash landing, though. Maybe you could get her one of those parachute brakes -- that would be really cute.

I'm wondering how you'll get the beavers to build only with "found materials." My uncle thought it was so cool to have beavers move in at his end of the lake... until they started felling his beautiful birch trees!

In our shangri-la, the beavers will be environmentalists. They will use recycled woodchips, glued together with beaver spit.

" They will use recycled woodchips, glued together with beaver spit." major snort!!!

Actually, I meant I will do the casual dam building. I could spend all day playing in a stream.

Note to self- Add 20 acres for beaver woodlot.

Nubian goats, potty trained to poop off a little platform over the compost bin.

*wiping cola off screen*

Sallyg--LOL!! You've gotten carried away!!!

you're right. I have gotten carried away. Sorry, happy, this is for Your dream home and dream non-doomed gardens.
What else do ya want?

Oh Sally, I want you and all the other Mid-Atlanticers to come live next door in my garden-utopia. I want your shepherd to have a really long airstrip that traverses everyone's gardens so that all the dogs (and there will be many) can run shoulder to shoulder, instinctively knowing not to dig in the gardens. Of course we'd have a dedicated digging field. And the cats would know not to catch the birds, but would take care of all the moles and voles. And what would the cats and dogs like to feast on? Weeds, of course!

LOL

I can just see the doggies lining up to play tug-a-weed!

Unfortunately you can't "train" beavers :( Our property in Maine had a tiny stream that ran through it and the area surrounding it was a boggy nightmare to try to cross. Although it was possible to walk around this area, it was difficult and I was always trying to get to the other side to explore - unbelievable wildflowers in those woods! One year the beavers moved in, dammed up the area and we soon had a 3 acre pond :) Finally, an easy way to get to the other side - we'd walk across the dam! Unfortunately their food supply dwindled and they started taking down HUGE trees and made quite a mess :( Only good thing about the downed trees was the "bench" they provided for me to sit and watch the beavers at play - it was one of my favorite pastimes at the end of a long day, so relaxing - that is until the mosquitoes got the best of me! LOL Many fond memories of that pond, thanks sally for reminding me :)

happy - I knew you had more excellent ideas!
lovely beaver pond story, rcn

Happy--your utopia sounds like heaven. I wish one day it would come to pass.....

Rcn--I enjoyed your past fond memories--beavers are remarkable animals and I didn't even know you could catch them playing!! Thought they always worked, worked, worked. LOL!!

Sallyg--I was just wondering about the nubian goats. Didn't know where those came into play in your imagery. LOL!!

Fff- In my typical lateral (random?) thinking fashion, I skipped past the big picture of my dream place, and pulled out a random detail. I've always thought goats were cute, esp those little ones I think are Nubians. Probably would find them less cute if I ever lived with them? However, quickly figured out how to take care of cleaning up after them!
Ever looked closely at a goat's eyes? They have rectangular pupils. Kind of creepy LOL Cute and creepy???

LOL!!! ROTFLMAO!!!! Yeah, goats are cute! Never had one but have been to petting zoos of course.....have heard some good goat stories before....

Just wondered if you folks sort of had farm animals out your way.

Wish I could have a farm with chickens and ducks and horses......

"Chicks and Ducks and Geese better scurry! ..."

when~ I take you out ~~in the surrey~~!

when~ I take you out ~~in the surrey~~!

with the fringe on top!

This message was edited Jan 30, 2008 8:30 PM