Well, my deer ate my lilies AND roses, shasta daisies and callirhoe. She ignored things like echinacea and liatris. Next year, I think I'm going to lay down chicken wire around my beds, as I understand they don't like walking on it, and you can mow right over it. Fencing is not an option. I find that daylilies are extremely tough. Remember the old orange "ditch lilies"? I STILL see them growing along country roads in terrible soil with no water in sight. I don't remember the yellow ones' name. It is really more of a gold double. Also have the dwarf "Stella with Black Eye" and the "Red Stella". No problems with them. They bloom first and longest. Bob Scott's Nursery west of OKC carries lots and lots of lilies. He is a hybridizer and has some very fancy lilies, most of which I can't afford. However, if you go to his website, you can find many pix and get some ideas. When you talk to people in the Hemerocallis club, they don't like Stella, either. Too common, I think. The different flower clubs have shows at Will Rogers' Park in OKC. What fun, and you can purchase some of their plants: Daylilies, Iris, Succulents, etc. Again, you have to get on Will Rogers Park website and check out when these events occur. One year I went, and they were having their Daylily and Koi show at the same time. I had a "ball" looking at all the beautiful flowers and fish! I was absolutely amazed that these people would set up these huge tanks and bring in their fanciest Koi! Some of these fish are worth many hundreds of dollars. Sorry, got off the subject a bit, but it is definitely worth the trip to attend some of these shows, not to mention, the park itself is beautiful. Of course, I lived in OKC for about 45 yrs., so this was easy for me to do. Jeanie

Oh my gosh.. yesterday when I first saw your post I thought you were saying it was -43!!! I thought there was something wrong with the sign. DUH!! now I 'get it'!!!! I know... I'm slow. When's it going to warm up for ya?

Who you callin' old, Gayle? Am I gonna hafta come down there and woop on you? ;-) I'll pick up Glenda along the way. She obviously knows how to handle herself in a rumble. Ron

Mediums Test: The purpose this test is to conclude which mediums work best in the Aqua Camel and how plants perform when nutrients are added to the reservoir. A local hydroponic store was kind enough to give some space for the tests since I had ran out of room in my home testing area. The following mediums were tested: · Happy Frog potting soil · Ocean Forest soil · Roots Organic coco based soil · Botanicare Ready-Grow coco based soil, top fed weekly · Botanicare Ready-Grow coco based soil with nutrients in the reservoir · Royal Gold Tupur · Hydroton (inert clay balls) with nutrients in reservoir · The nutrients were General Hydroponics Flora series, Gro and Micro at regular strength along with GH Calimagic. The tests included the following observations and measurements:· Ambient temperature and humidity· Medium surface temperature· Root zone temperature· Height· Leaf surface area (qualitative)· Moisture readings 3” from surface and in root zone· Overall health of plant and roots at the end of the experiment. Testing environment: Testing area was in grow shop’s plant area under one vegetative spectrum LED and a 400 watt MH HID light. No ventilation or fans. Very controlled environment. Temperatures fluctuated from 75-83 degree Fahrenheit with an average temperature of 78 degrees. Humidity averaged 37.5%. Measurements and results: This test was very conclusive. The following measurements and observations were noted from the tests: · Happy Frog and Ocean Forest were the best performing soils. Moisture readings from the root zone settled in from 3-4, perfect levels.="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · Hydroponically grown plant performed excellent also.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · No issues of root rot or other in the Happy Frog, Ocean Forest, hydroponic or Royal Gold Tupur plants.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · The coco coir medium is not recommended. It wicks too much and some of the roots were showing signs of root rot.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · The plants with nutrients performed better than plants without and there was no residues from the nutrient solutions. Soluable, non-organic nutrients are recommended.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · Vertical growth was from 2 inches on the coco plants to 6-7 inches in the other mediums.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · Leaf surface area was extremely impressive. Very rapid, robust growth. See pictures below.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · Water was added to one reservoir, the others did not receive any water besides what was delivered from the Aqua Camel’s reservoir.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · None of the plants showed any nutrient deficiencies.="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> · There were no signs of insects or molds in inspection of soil after pulling plants.="msolistparagraphcxsplast">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> Conclusions: The Aqua Camel works best with potting soils such as Happy Frog or Ocean Forest. Also, it works great hydroponically and with soluable, non-organic nutrients in the reservoir. All but one of the reservoirs needed additional water by the end of the tests. Coco coir is not a recommended medium for the Aqua Camel. It seems the wicking effect of the coco pulls too much water into the growing area, thus root zone. The growth of the plants, especially in the Happy Frog, Ocean Forest and hydroton was nothing short of exceptional and robust. Below are side by side shots of before at the end of testing. The roots of the Happy Frog, Ocean Forest and hydroponically grown plants were vibrant, white and had no signs of ailments. Personal note: I have been growing for 15 years and have to say this was the easiest growing method I’ve used thus far. The results were consistent and non-problematic. I visited the plants every five days, took measurements and was on my way. I had more time to inspect the plants, do a bit of manicuring and didn’t have to worry when I left town during the experiments. This is the real deal, kudos to the inventor. ="msolistparagraphcxsplast">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle">="msolistparagraphcxspfirst"> For play by play visit my Tumblr and see results below. http://adawgsmultiverse.tumblr.com/