Storm passed us completely by, though there were some beautiful thunderheads to the east. Not even a drop. Yay! I'm on the other side of the same coin, NJ. I can't conceive of it *not* raining in the summer. I frequently read in gardening books and even on GW here about not getting the leaves of certain plants wet. I've scratched my head for years. Doesn't rain get them wet all the time? We just got back from a road trip to Victoria, BC a few days ago. It doesn't really rain in the summer there either. It was extremely strange to see brown grass (where it wasn't irrigated) and occasional falling leaves and I was told this was normal in the summer. That just doesn't happen here except in drought years. We saw farms all over BC baling beautiful hay. They could cut and bale at the optimum nutrition level because they totally controlled the irrigation. Time to cut? Just stop watering. Take as much time as necessary to dry in the swath; heck, take a couple extra days to flip the swath and dry it through. It's amazing. We just can't do that here most years. Usually, when it looks like there's going to be a rash of a few days with no rain, farmers are dropping everything - even 9 to 5 jobs in town - to 'make hay while the sun shines'. Even then, it's unusual to get hay off with no rain at all on it. Most of the prairies here support "dry-land" farms with no irrigation setup at all. In an average year here, I only usually need to water the garden at the beginning, when seeds are close to the surface and yet to germinate. After they've established, I rarely need to pull out the sprinkler. There's at least an inch of rain per week or so and when there's not, the roots dig deep enough that they're good for a few more days until it rains again. This is only my second year doing dry bush beans, but I'm finding it difficult to mature them on the plant because of the short season and because the rain still comes in the fall, though less. Same for the pole beans, though, they're up in the air and do dry off a little faster. No rain in the winter - just snow, cold and more cold. We can go into the -30s Celcius for a couple of weeks at a time and -40 and below is not unheard of. I don't get to do cover crops. Typically, last frost is within the first week of June (or late May in a good year) and first frost is usually early to mid September (but can come as early as August in a bad year). We can extend harvest into early October by covering on nights where there's frost forecast. Crops mature, but don't really grow much by then. I've tried mulches a few times, but have discarded the idea. I know it's a great thing for many gardeners, but I find it cools the soil too much and there's not really a need to conserve moisture. Should we go back to drought years, I'd see about trying it again. Right now, though, I need heat heat heat to reach my soil. :)

There is nothing better for breaking up nasty old clay than chicken poop and sand. As for composting, I set up a ring of hog wire about 4 feet in diameter and 3 feet high. In that goes leaves, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds & the filters, which I tear into pieces, chicken litter (hay, poop, their old feed & scratch that is a mess on the floor, cedar chips, leaves, or whatever). I even clean out the sink drains strainer goop and put in there. Sprinkle on a 1/2 shovel of dirt (to add micro-organisms that help activate things) and then cover that with more leaves or leaf mold. Layer it like that over and over until it is pilled high and deep. The higher the better. Now, water it in until it is good and wet - Spongey. I just set my sprinkler on top and leave it for 20 minutes or so. If you get ample rain, you won't need to water it that much. I also empty my pet water into the compost and the chickens water, when I change it out. Weeds, green grass clippings, annual grass you pull up out of your garden beds, or anything like that provides your green matter. The chicken poop provides the heat and I mean fast! No need to cover it. It is much colder here in Oklahoma and my compost pile heats up and breaks down rapidly, even on the very coldest days. You can see the steam rising out of the compost in the mornings. You can use newspaper (not the color glossy sales pull-outs though). I tear into pieces or cut up into small pieces all of my paper trash, including cereal boxes, papertowels, macaroni & cheese boxes, pizza boxes, prescriptions labels (torn up or cut into pieces), prescription packages, paper grocery bags, or anything paper. I put them into a large bucket, add water, and let that sit over night. By morning, it has softened and can go right into my compost, water and all. Cover it with more hay or leaves. The worms love it and move in really soon. Every once in awhile, add some more leaves and chicken litter to keep it fueled. You will be surprised just how much less trash you will have to throw away each day, especially if you are already recycling bottles and plastics! If it cools down, stir in some more chicken litter/poop or add a little dab of fertilizer or composted manure. Once a weak, I give it a toss and fluff it up a bit. The frequent turning will also keep it from packing down and just rotting and that will prevent it from stinking or drawing flies and critters. I'll shut up now. Hopes this helps. It's how I do things, anyhow. ~Annie

g'day alison, storm water pipes aren't ususaly that deep under ground, so can be very easily traced and for anyone with handyperson skills just too easy to repair, plumbers!! you'll wait an eternity and pay a kings ransom. if the soil is hard/compacted run some wash machine water over it for a few days in advance that will make the digging easier, especially if you put some biscuits of hay/straw or the like over it to keep the moisture soaking in. a crowbar and post hole shovel should do the trick, and no need to glue the pipes if there are no tree roots around most times they push together very tightly, and if they leek a little that will make no difference to the big picture. not 100% necessary but makes it easier to back fill around the pipes get some course sand for bedding around the new pipe if you can, or some very alluvial loose sandy loam will also work. len Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page

I loved the experiment he did with petroleum-contaminated soil. Mixed in sawdust and inoculated with oyster mushrooms, and covered it with a tarp. After a few weeks they lifted the tarp and found the hugest oyster mushrooms he had ever seen. The environmental contractor's equipment operator (who had helped make the pile) wanted to take some home, but since it was a waste treatment experiment, Stamets said he probably shouldn't. :-] In any case the petroleum was reduced to negligible levels in a few weeks. Meanwhile, I see millions of tons of contaminated soil going to landfills, which fills them up and also pollutes that soil with other junk so it is basically unusable for generations or centuries to come. We really need to rethink the way we do some things. He ties mushrooms to his hat when walking in the woods to spread the spores of beneficial and edible mushrooms. His little company also sells chainsaw bar lubricant oil that's inoculated with wood-decomposing mushroom spores. That way as soon as you cut a tree, the fungi will start decomposing the stump and releasing its nutrients back to the soil. The guy's kind of a genius.