I cannot thank all of you enough. These are excellent suggestions even Batya brought to light my silly A/C water that I can use which currently has buckets beneath and is, literally, for the birds (and whatever can get to it). I think I can make the alterations as suggested and have nice little mini eco systems revolve around the a/c units even though they are not running on a constant basis. In the meantime my husband suggested burying the compost right into the garden to be planted for fall. The trench composting suggested confirmed that! I think we'll be doing that as well. Luckily, I began vermicomposting a couple years ago. Boy, now those little buggers are hard to keep moist nowadays even though they are inside. I've had wonderful friends dig up their yard worms and mail them to me! We have such extreme stupid temps and weather I just keep them indoors. My silly visitors do not even realize they're socializing near by a tub of worms and assume the blue plastic tub is a toy box for the kiddos. The oddity of a blue 35 gallon rubbermaid tub with wire mesh screens on each side never hits them. ROFL I love my wormies and so do the kids! But they're so delicate in this enviro I'm very picky how I utilize their dirt. It usually goes into seedlings. I haven't enough supply yet to put it directly in the garden. I can hardly tolerate the idea of throwing it in teh garden to have it, essentially, baked in the sun destroying those wonderful nutrients. I use it, mostly, for worm tea putting the used worm casting right back in. My worms even have a lean diet because I don't want too many bugs in the house and the reprocessed worm castings from making tea turn out to be a much finer grain very highly useful for seed-starting. They're not caky like all the others. So, now, I have like three different bins for different purposes! I think my initial thoughts of a larger compost pile would indicate a higher moisture content in the center as suggested above. At this time I just don't have the energy to turn a larger pile. My back is pretty much rotting away with degenerative disc disease. Looks like burying it might be best. That brings to mind a method I have begun utilizing in one area of the garden successfully. HUGELKULTURE It is working... still working despite absolutely NEGLECT. I wanted to see how it really did in drought conditions and BY GOLLY it actually works! Only now... right into August after so very long without rain am I considering watering it and the initial test phase section is NOT very deep suggesting that a 3' or deeper pit of Hugelkulture would actually finish the job and do the trick. Only problem: I don't have a back hoe and digging out by hand will only be possible during winter months. Yet, it is so effective that considering to dig it out by hand with a broken back is going to be absolutely worth it in the long run. How else are we to survive? I need a large plot to survive to feed my family of four PERPETUALLY and Hugelkulture stands to be THE one way to "get er done". The extreme climate: There is no more fall tree foliage!! Unbelievable. The trees are defoliating in early august to conserve their own water moisture eliminating this highly essential garden amendment. I must rake them up in the heat of July and August before they, literally, disintegrate. And, to be expected, we are losing certain varieties of trees. THANK GOD FOR PECANS TREES that love extreme heat and hate moisture on their leaves. Even they are defoliating to a degree and I might lose some if the winter precipitation of any form is diminished in any way. Anyone else with H-kulture? The Oklahoma Garden Forum welcomes visitors askign questions about plants/gardening. We're not an all inclusive sort of type and okiedawn's gardening suggestions are often the top of the google search engine. I've only recently started gardening but have learned if anyone can garden in Oklahoma they can garden anywhere (I do not fall into that category yet) but if it's a climate issue to either extreme, the experts in Oklahoma have dealt with it and always will. I don't know if Oklahoma is the ONLY Place on earth that experiences both extremes of weather temperatures, but it sure seems like it. Texas panhandle, of course, is a near example. With exception to monsoons or hurricanes, we have it all. The perpetual triple digit weather is, yet again, another matter we need deal with and we're all simply learning to deal with it. Most advanced gardeners have already switched varieties of plants to suit the new climate. Even as I type my head is spinning to the sheer insanity of it all in Oklahoma - as if Tornadoes and hail storms weren't sufficient excitement. SHEESH Ever tried to protect your 'maters from hail damage? Buy a hard hat and expect to be labeled a redneck gardener from all the makeshift coverings in your garden during inclement weather. LOL Thanks again to all. bon

I caught most of it (after being in the ER with DD from 1pm to 8pm last night). I didn't realize the technique of terracing utilized to minimize soil erosion, that was employed during the Dust Bowl era. Also, the dust storms, particularly the one that dumped 3 feet of dust - can you imagine? The lady that told the "joke" about a fella finding the farmer's hat on top of the dust, picking it up and finding the farmer underneath buried in the dust, and the buried farmer then commenting that it wasn't as bad for him as the horse he was atop! She said humor was one way they dealt with the issues. The migrant farmers from Oklahoma - Okies, then a derrogatory term - well, that's another story about the conditions they lived thru. Not much better than the Dust Bowl they left behind to forge a new life. Okies were certainly relegated to a minimum societal status in those times in that region, too. Living conditions, if you can call them "living" conditions in which they had to survive, were pitiful, meager, and extremely hostile. I was painfully close to tears watching the program, and yet, drawn to it at the same time. Can you relate? Maybe it takes getting older to really be able to sympathize and struggle psychologically with these times that our relatives endured. But, endure they did, and were much stronger for it. I cannot question the heart of an Okie after seeing this documentary, the photos, hearing the stories from people who actually lived it. It leaves me feeling humbled by the people of Oklahoma, who I don't think I really, truly appreciated until I saw it in the eyes, frail frames, quivering voices, and the indisbutable, hard-boiled narrative of the images of the thrashing storms they suffered. We had a few dust storms back in the 80s when I lived in Norman. Dust storms are not like thunder storms. Rain doesn't get inside and coat your nose and throat with grit. The severity of the storms astounded me and shook me like I was a dirty old rag being manhandled by a hound. I just cannot convey how profound an experience it was to sit and watch this documentary that just seemed to literally jump out of the tv at me. I don't know how any of you felt about it, but I will always carry those pictures and words in my mind. Susan, who'll be watching Part II tonight

Posted by skybird . . .how the change in the type of plow they used--to a cheaper one that could plow more, more quickly, left the soil far more vulnerable to the ensuing catastrophe. . . I'm really glad you didn't succumb to that, Kenny, and that you're here with us all on RMG! We are all glad about that, Skybird. But, I think they could have used a farmer's help when showing plowing scenes while talking about the types used. Captioning is sometimes off by quite a bit but I didn't see a "Lister plow" when they were talking about it being a better & earlier choice than a mouldboard plow that only throws the soil in 1 direction. I hope I'm not just talking thru my hat here but I don't think that you can plow grassland with a Lister plow unless all you were doing is cutting irrigation ditches. It is used for row crops on ground that has been already cultivated. For protection from wind erosion, I suppose it must be preferable to plows that throw soil only 1 way. Still, it would have to be unsuitable for growing grain. Then, they were showing a disc harrow when talking about moldboard plows and when a chisel plow came on the screen, it would have been nice if they'd said something about its importance in limiting erosion instead of saying nothing at all. Maybe it takes an Einstein to clearly point out that it was insane to continue doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result - but, what was the alternative? I hope that the next part gets us to what was done besides the wholesale flight that was necessary for so many. Steve

Jeanne, not sure how I missed this post but it all looks great. The angel is an adorable cp with the mercury glass candle holders. Your getting alot of neat settings with those. Santa pictures are a wonderful addtion to your snowman decor. Looks like they used insulators on for the hooks? We made some of these with old wooden spools and door knobs that turned out pretty cute. So many neat things on the hooks and on the shelf. I swear girlfriend, you make everything look wonderful! Karen, so what color of legs have you decided on?LOL I would love it if your Christmas wish would could come true for you. I have gotten to the point I have issues with my legs when I'm on them to long. My knees have cracked for years and since I quit running they seem to be alot better. Now my waist and butt have a problem.haha Candy, we have replaced all of our closet rods and holders so I hear ya, girlfriend. I don't have a problem getting rid of clothes. I love giving them to friends and coworkers. Now I have to srart getting rid of dishes and decor tho.ouch! Punk