Woohoo, I finally got some good rain! At least 1.5 inches of nice slow steady rain thanks to Andrea. We were on the edge and got just the right amount of rain with no wind. :) My dahlias are lovin' it! They are going to grow like crazy this coming week with the fully saturated soil and nice moderate temps in the mid 70s. HighlanderNorth, here's what I did to overwinter one 4x16 foot bed of dahlias last winter. The bed is a raised bed constructed two concrete blocks high, 16 inches. (See the picture.) So the dahlia tubers are all above grade and will not sit in saturated ground over winter no matter how much it rains or snows. I mulched the bed in late November with about 8-10 inches of dry leaves. Lastly I covered the whole bed with a 4x16 foot sheet of clear 4mil sheet plastic and weighted it down with bricks all around the edges so it wouldn't blow away on a windy day. The plastic sheds water which keeps the soil from becoming saturated and keeps the leaves dry which maintains their insulating value. I used clear plastic because that allow some sun to penetrate and helps warm the leaves and soil on sunny winter days. Along about early April I simply removed the plastic and part of the leaves and let the dahlias do their thing. All of the dahlias survived and most of the plants are huge already but a few looked weak and one i replaced. I don't know what was different about those that weren't strong right out of the gate. It worked so well that I'm going to do the same thing with the other 3 raised beds that I planted with dahlias this spring. I will leave the clumps I overwintered this past winter for a 2nd winter. I'm curious to see how much bigger the clumps get in their 3rd season (2014.) I'm hoping they don't get much bigger but instead stabalize at what would be their natural maximum size as a tropical perennial. I think one could accomplish the same thing, keeping the tuber clump above grade, with mounded raised beds. The thing I don't like about mounded raised beds is that they tend to become rounded instead of flat on top and shed much needed water during summer thunderstorms. You could also use a simpler construction method and build simple raised bed walls using treated 2x12s filled with good well draining soil. HighlanderNorth, you should give this a try next winter i think it would work well for you too.

Ditto on runner beans, for cool maritime climates like the Pacific coast. They will tolerate cool temps - and produce prodigiously - where common snap beans would struggle. For common beans, I would recommend the pole varieties "Emerite" and "Fortex". Can't help you with bush varieties, since I grow mainly pole types.

Paula, My DS didn't go to the Palo Pinto/Possum Kingdom area. They sent their crew on a day he wasn't working, but he has stayed in touch with them. He said they finally got to take a shower and sleep after 2 days out fighting fires and they wanted everyone to know how very kind all the local residents, volunteers and folks at the Red Cross shelter had been to the firefighters. Anything the firefighters need is being supplied.....clean undergarments, socks, lip balm, etc. I think DS would dearly love to be out there at the fire. He said the airport sent a brand new $900,000 fire engine that wasn't even officially 'in service' yet. It is a huge truck and should be able to help protect a lot of structures. San Angelo is in such a beautiful, albeit rugged and dry, part of the state. I cannot imagine being a gardener and living there. What you can plant there certainly is highly limited! The Possum Kingdom lake area is so spectacularly rough and rugged as well. Unfortunately, many of the trees around PK where the wildfire has grown to about 200,000 acres, are cedar and mesquite trees and both burn like crazy. Luckily, they often regenerate quickly from their roots in some cases after wildfire, because it takes a certain rugged type of tree to grow out of that limestone rock. Parts of the Possum Kingdom Lake/Graham area got about 1.5" of rain last night, which ought to help in the areas that received it, but most of that area didn't have rain. We had a raging Tstorm last night that dumped a half-inch of rain here, but we had lightning and thunder for hours. The storm-line moved through at 60 to 70 mph so I bet I have more tree limbs and leaves on the ground today, and probably more plums on the ground as well. The wind has brought down so much fruit in the last couple of weeks that I'm beginning to think I won't harvest any fruit as well. (Guess the poor harvest is to balance out last year's amazing fruit harvest.) There's a slight chance of severe weather tonight, so I guess the best we can do is simultaneously hope that rain falls for everyone but that the severe portion of the weather fails to materialize. Dawn

James, Glad to be able to relieve your anxiety. Fig trees are very tough and adaptable. They want to live and grow...a strong drive. Your tree's water needs are not high at this time since active growth has diminished considerably, as all figs everywhere are experiencing now, at summer 's end. Just enough watering to keep the soil from totally drying out is all that's needed. Keep your soil slightly moist, something like birthday cake moisture level (not the icing!). If you take a big handful of soil and squeeze it tightly, there should be no more than a drop of two of water drip off. If no drop(s) come, and when you open your hand the soil just falls apart like sand, the soil is possibly too dry. Let your soil dry out a bit between watering is a good rule of thumb. Fig trees seek out water. Their roots are very aggressive. A young tree needs time to grow out its roots. As your tree matures it will find its own water unless you are desert. Where do you garden in your zone 10? Often, natural rainfall is sufficient for a mature, well rooted tree. In your zone you will not have winter kill with which to contend. That's great! Sorry to be late in my response. Wait until spring to remove the extra basal stems, right at where they emerge from the fig's crown. Do your pruning before the dormant buds begin to swell and break. Yes, you can certainly cut the removed growth into 3-4 node sections and root them...easy to do as pie! They root the quickest and easiest in the springtime. You may want to stake the remaining stems you have chosen to a more upright position for a couple years. This way they will keep that position as they turn to wood, when they will need no further staking. Fig trees like to sprawl, even creep out horizontally. My young Olympia grows more upright on its own than most of my other varieties, which may be peculiar to Olympia fig trees. Nevertheless, it is best to train growth as you desire when it's young and flexible, than try later when wood has built up on it, and will not train easily. I know you will enjoy your fig tree, and your upcoming yearly harvests of delicious, homegrown figs. I certainly do mine! One last word...The quality and size of fig fruits increases as the tree ages, sometimes unbelievably so. Do not be disappointed if your first couple years of fig harvests do not meet your expectations. Your expectations will b exceeded in time, just be patient. Moses