Guys don't buy flowers
Flower_Phil
18 years ago
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DapperDahlia
18 years agoflowerfarmer
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Can WS grow me enough Flowers so I don't need much mulch?
Comments (23)I agree wholeheartedly with tiffy (and by the way your gardens look wonderful). Mulch serves many purposes in the landscape and one should not overlook its use in this day and age when drought and water restrictions are in the news all the time. If you are lucky enough to live in an area where water is not an issue now or where mother nature is currently supplying you with sufficient moisture so that you don't have to irrigate, that is nice. But with changing weather conditions, you might never know when all that could change. Mulch helps prevent water evaporation and your need to apply it to keep your flowers and plants looking good. It decomposes over time to improve the soil structure to help the soil hold onto the moisture it does get. It is readily available by collecting fallen leaves, community giveaways by those cities that collect fallen leaves and then compost them and either give it away or sell it, and often tree trimming companies will give chipped wood away for free (my local utility company gives it away free when they clear limbs from the power lines). I for one would not consider a garden complete without a nice layer of some type of mulch to conserve moisture, improve the soil, and keep weeds down. Too me it would be like going out into public wearing loads of jewelery without any clothes on! LOL...See Morebuy worms or don't buy worms....?
Comments (12)Ditto everybody else, Karla! Anywhere where you put organic matter, they will come--and if there's enough for them to eat, they will proliferate! If you have room, I recommend you start a compost pile that's built directly on top of the soil. I didn't even realize what I was doing when I started my pile, but I started throwing all my vegetable matter on the ground in a corner (it was on top of hard packed, heavy clay that didn't appear to have ANY worms in it), hoping to make compost---and I wound up with a Worm Factory! It's wonderful! Of course I get the compost to use, but sometimes when I'm getting a pot full of the compost to use when I'm planting something, especially if it's in a spot that seems to be devoid of worms, I make sure I'm getting it from a part of the compost pile with a LOT of worms to "transplant." There are places where I can almost pull them out by the handfuls! This is from a Compost Tome I wrote a few years back! "Another observation! The most worms were in the wetter and more undecomposed parts of the pile. The compost at the very bottom of the pile, which was completely decomposed, had no worms at all in it. That surprised me a little bit since I--and probably we all--think of earthworms as eating earth, but I think I really knew better even before I noticed that. My compost pile is directly on the ground, which, tho I didn't realize it when I started it, is a really, really good thing since worms can migrate up out of the ground, and they absolutely thrive in the pile. I think that's been at least as much of a benefit from my compost pile as the compost itself!" If you have a compost pile or an area of soil with enough organic matter in it, I guess you could buy some and "plant them" to give you a jump-start, but if you plant them in places where there's nothing for them to eat, a/k/a organic matter, I think they'll do very poorly and may even migrate away from where you want them, in search of greener pastures! Work on getting lots of organic matter into your soil, and I think you'll be happily surprised to find that If You Build It, They Will Come! Let us know how your Worm Project is going as it progresses, Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Reflections on Compost - 2008...See MoreWhat about us guys that don't have forced air
Comments (38)agreed, well said. I am in total agreement with snidely's comment: "Understand that in regions where many of us live, ground source heat pump installations are ridiculously expensive to buy and operate compared to available alternatives and the cost differences are huge. Cheaper prices would lead to more popularity, but until and unless that happens, such equipment will remain a small segment of the hvac market." in my 15 years in the efficiency business, I have had many clients who started their building process who wanted ground source heat pumps. By the time they figured out the actual costs & reliability of install, air source heat pump was the upgrade they chose. here in La. in my part of the state, the nearest ground source heat pump hvac company is 75 miles away. as they only do the install of the equipment, other parts are sub'd out locally. one company digging loops or verticals, the installer is over an hour away. cost of gshp is comparable several air source heat pumps. gshp@ $8,000 per ton...puts this install out of range of many homeowners in La. in my 15 years, not one client has chosen this equipment install. not that it isn't good equipment, performance & savings...but install cost is outrageous. I have a friend in Ok who's gshp install was $4000 per ton. for her 2 ton system..it was affordable with a reasonable payback. and installer was local to her, and experienced. just my experience with gshp vs ashp in La....See MoreI don't Know where you guys are, but...!
Comments (12)Hi Neil, nice plants you have. Wish I could make the trek to San Diego, but muchas grande too far- I'm north of Lake Ontario near David and Rina...and to David re. Toronto C & S show- I was there last year, and going again this year. So, some tips and advice---Bring cash- liquidate as many belongings as you can if you have room for many new acquitions, you will need the cash. And speaking of cash there is no plastic transactions, if I recall, so 5's, 10's, 20's, Loonies, Toonies, ( plants are priced at even dollar #'s i.e. 4$, 5$, 6$, 12$ 21$, etc...- there is lots to buy). And it may be too late, but start working out. Begin with lighter weights, then incease to your maximum ability---the crowd is ferocous, so you will need to be fit to compete with the c &s starved crowd. Ovaltine works too. It's a beautiful place with lots of other demonstration gardens inside the greenhouses...and stay out of my way, I've been working out in anticipation :)...See MoreJeanne_in_Idaho
18 years agoflowerfarmer
18 years agoJeanne_in_Idaho
18 years agoflowerfarmer
18 years agoJeanne_in_Idaho
18 years ago
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