# So I'm thinking I should build a really, really BIG boat.....



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Here in the Northeast coastal area, its been raining since Wednesday.... its been 5 days and 5 nights of nearly continual rain, and the deluge continues well into this coming week. Downpour after downpour has swept through. From an unseasonably dry spring, we've bounced 180º into Flash Flood Warnings, mud slides, road washouts and all the low lying areas becoming Insta-Ponds. Some areas could receive 4-7" just today! 

Its pretty dark and dismal, too, although it DID facillitate my sleeping in until 12 noon yesterday - something I haven't done in years! My first assumption when I got up was that the clock must be broken. 

I REALLY wish I could fax some of this stuff to the folks suffering brush fires.

I even felt bad for a neighbor's cat, even though he DID give me the snarkiest of looks from his damp porch. *sheesh! Its not MY doing, LOL!*

So...... should I start ordering lumber? 35 more days and 35 more nights? Anyone care to join me..... all critters welcome, even wet cats in snarky moods!

-Jane

:rain:


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Well Jane, if there were anything similar to an Aquarium or Zoo in Albany, NY or the Berkshires - I would recommend that for a visit. The polar bears and seals seem to swim away their worries, all of them. Wouldn't that be nice? It is fun to watch them swim underwater and just roll with it. 
You wouldn't happen to have a zoo or aquarium somewhere close to you, would you? Jimbo205


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Tell me about it Jane All of my classes are horribly far apart so I have basically been wet for the past week. Fortunately it let up long enough yesterday I could bring home some awesome antique dining chairs for our new pad. Started pooring the minute we got home though so maybe that was a sign of something.....just wish I knew of it was a good or bad sign

Have fun, stay dry and sleep well. The only good thing about this weather (except that I actually love to walk in the rain) is that it makes for a good excuse to laze around and rent movies.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I noticed that you guys out east are under the same system that has been soaking us for the past week. We needed it so bad, but that low sat over us for a long time and is finally moving off your direction.
Today is the first day it hasn't rained, so the Mr. is out trying to get that fast growing grass back in control.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

We here in NC have been getting some nasty weather today: sever thunderstorms along with hail (pea size)...


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

eeeek!~ Well, at least we don't have hail, eh Dennis?

Hail always seems a little freaky to me...... 

Hmmm, if I were a polar bear, perhaps I could enjoy it more.

And Dennis, I'm glad you got those chairs in before the rain started in again. I remember drudging to class, up and down Commonwealth Ave...... it seemed like a cosmic conspiracy that I had classes alternating between opposite sides of the campus. Fortunately, a hot shower can do wonders to alleviate that. I remember discovering that.... it seemed counter-intuitive at the time (huh? MORE water?), but AAAHHHHH, what a relief!

I was really hoping to get my tomatoes planted this weekend, but I've been lazing around, instead. 

-Jane


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

I hear you Jane, Worcester is just as bad. I just saw two giraffes and two cheetas go down the lane.

I kind of like the rainy weather though, for my own selfish reasons. My life as a resident is entirely driven by what walks, drives, or flies into the emergency room. Nasty, rainy weather keeps people inside and out of trouble. I've never had such good call nights as during a big storm. A few days of this in a row means I can go home at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, once our OR day is over.

When it really warms up and people start riding motorcycles, rock climbing, parachuting, and all other forms of idiotic behavior the trauma bay fills up quick and I'm spending all those nice days and evenings inside, putting people back together. Bummer. Two more months, two more months........ 

Hey Jane, did you ever get that soilmaster select we were talking about? If you're going to the NEAPS meeting this month, I'd be happy to get you some.


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

I don't mean to take the wind out of your sails, or hijack your thread. But here in Vancouver, rain is just part of living here. Only a month or so ago it rained for 28 days in a row. Thats alot of rain! But I do feel your pain. It sure is nice when the sun does come out though  You would think that people would drive more carefully in the rain here, since it rains so much, not so.


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## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

What sort of rain fall did you get for those 28 days? Gosh, I think I would have to poke myself in the eye with a stick if it did that here!


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Planting tomatoes. That sounds nice. In Upstate New York we have to count down to Memorial Day before we can put anything in the ground. Unless you set up a nice 'Cold Frame' or something similar. 

So do any of you transfer some of what you learn about your aquarium plants to gardening outdoors? I mean, I discovered APC through Seachem's website, and I try to do the organic gardening thing outdoors. I learn about this Daily Dosage thing which seems to work, then I read Diana's book where I learn I should throw some dirt in my tank, put it by my window and let the sunlight help the aquarium plants grow. 
I would love to try some experiments with small Betta Bowls by in my boys' bedroom by their window for sunlight. But throwing dirt into a tank.... 
Does it REALLY work? 

I am starting to really HATE that stupid Barron's Book I have had for ages on Aquarium Plants. 

NOW I know how my father the high school biology teacher was able to make it work! He never spoke to a local fish store ever! Biologists and Chemists really have an big advantage in this hobby!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Jimbo205 said:


> Planting tomatoes. That sounds nice. In Upstate New York we have to count down to Memorial Day before we can put anything in the ground. Unless you set up a nice 'Cold Frame' or something similar.
> 
> So do any of you transfer some of what you learn about your aquarium plants to gardening outdoors?


Yeah, I'm ready to roll on some of the cool weather garden crops this week. I plan my veggie garden so that I get the cool weather stuff in now, and work my way to the tomatoes and vine crops that are more delicate.

For me, I transferred some of the stuff I've learned from outdoor gardening to the aquatic side of things.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

*Tomatoes & Aquariums*

So, what is a CEC and how can it be used in both an outdoor garden and in an aquarium?

I understand that it is very good, and has a lot to do with the substrate and the soil.

Can you explain a little more?

(I found the lesco store on the web nearby Albany.)

Thank you.

:tea:


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

This agricultural site has a nice glossary - just scroll down to CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity):

http://ohioline.osu.edu/b898/b898_11.html

With Pro's Choice 'Soilmaster Select' product's HUGE porosity and surface area, it also has a great CEC. (Yes, I actually read through the entire presentation about WHY it is so special). I picked up an extra bag which I'm going to use as a soil amendment on the "horrible hill". This hill is very poor quality fill - mostly pebbles, sand and dust, with 15+ years worth of mulching every spring. I've added composted manure around all the bulbs I've planted but water retention is an issue as well - its just TOO well draining. So, I'm hoping this stuff, mixed in, will help retain moisture, AND help the nutrients become more available for the plants. The accumulated mulch is a problem in several ways - it is difficult to get wet (on a hill, water runs off), and even after watering ones plants, the soil underneath is mostly sand and gravel, so there is NO moisture retaining ability there. Between that and the accumulated tannins, the plants I've put into place there (Daffodils, Lilys, Iris and Phlox in the sun, Hostas and variegated Solomon's Seal in the shade) seem to do well for a year or two, then stop growing or spreading. I'm thinking that while their root ball is expanding in the "amended" area I've created at the time of planting (adding composted manure and vermiculite to retain moisture) they do well, but when they reach the edge, they can't expand into the poor quality areas. I'm going to add this Soilmaster Select product because the moisture-absorbing and retaining ability will help GET the moisture in, and KEEP it there so the plants don't go through such drastic wet-dry cycles as I struggle to keep them watered. Also, I'm hoping the high CEC will get more biological and chemical activity happening in the soil. Once established, it could expand. All those good "fertile" activities that most soils have going on seem to be absent with this horrible hill "soil".

In my aquarium, I'm expecting it to help make iron and other minerals more available, and provide lots of surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize.

I hope this answers some of your questions, Jimbo!
-Jane


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

dennis said:


> What sort of rain fall did you get for those 28 days? Gosh, I think I would have to poke myself in the eye with a stick if it did that here!


It was mixed; light, scattered, heavy. With some minor flooding. Not In my area though. (I live on the middle of a hill) Sure was depressing for a while then we (vancouverites) started getting exited about beating the record for most days with straight rain since 1976 i think it was. You jst have to take your victories where you can :lol:

Allthough I do remember when I fist moved to Vancouver, about 2 years ago. I had been there a month or so. It had rained really, really hard, for days non stop. I remeber going home after work and driving my dodge ram off the onramp and into a puddle that was letting water through the door seams. I also remember pushing a stuck toyota through, with my truck. (boy I miss that truck) :crybaby: I got rid of it because it was a gas guzzler, but man it was indestructable.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

WOW!!!!!! What a link!!!!!!

Jane, great stuff!!

:thumbsup:

Oh, and for the hill and such I very, highly recommend the new & old books by Mel Bartholomew - Square Foot Gardening. To cheat you can also go to www.squarefootgardening.com but if you love outdoor gardening as I think you do (by your description alone of the hill); you will want to read the books. He is an Engineer by training. The first book reads like it was written by an Engineer; the second - BLESS THE MAN - reads like it was written for his mechanic, Aunt Martha, Uncle Johnny and Jimbo205 - nice and VERY down to earth and easy to read.

If and when you have the time to read and devour them. I would very much look forward to your thoughts, feelings and opinions on his books. And if it was helpful with the hill.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Great! Thanks for the book references - I'll go look those up!

Actually, I don't mind if its a bit of Engineerese...... I can muddle through.

Yes, I've gotten more into outdoor gardening, but still way at the bottom of the learning curve! I finally had an apartment where I could plant a few outdoor tomatoes and lettuce. Learned the hard way why you DON'T want to make a salad out of lettuce that's bolting - yeauch! Now I'm in a townhouse condo. I've put some lovely iris on the hill, and a mix of other things. Technically, we're not supposed to have any vegetables, but I have tomatoes in big pots on my deck, and I'm way in the back, so only two other people even see them, and I make sure to share the bounty, so its not an issue. 

Its a whole other world, coming from some houseplant and terrarium experience, into the great outdoors, LOL! But, I'm game to learn!

Off to check out Square Foot Gardening! Thanks!
-Jane


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

That's an interesting site. I especially think the raised beds idea for handicapped folks is useful. There is an extension school around here that has a program like that. 

Technically the "horrible hill" is not mine, so I can't go doing much with it. I actually lift the layer of mulch very carefully and put it aside, before amending the grit underneath it, trying to make it into a nicer soil. Then I replace the mulch, so you can barely tell anything happened. But presto! Iris and daffodils come up in the spring!

The author raises some very good points about trying to change large swaths of yard/lawn/garden. His approach seems very purpose-oriented. I like that. Sort of like a variation on container gardening. I grow my tomatoes in containers - all good soil, and I got a very good harvest last summer.

Aesthetically, I like putting a smattering of one bulb type here, and a clump of something there. The original landscaping included some creeping phlox, and when I look out the 2nd floor window, they're perfectly lined up in a row - two in front of each residence - all the way down the line. Like ducks in a row. Its a little too regimented, so I've moved them around, and added above and below the "line". 

-Jane


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

Jane, I warn you his books are a pleasure to read, and you don't need to be an expert in the sciences (always a plus anywhere though I guess). 
If you know how to read and follow directions and like writers that are down to earth - he is fantastic. 
I have even asked him if he would be willing to write a book for this hobby. 
He is interested in hydroponic plants and mentioned an aquarium in his house in one post. I am hoping that he would be willing to consider writing a book on this. He is purpose oriented and straight forward and likes to simplify things. The more I read his other books, the more I appreciate the foundation (theory) that he builds upon. 
There are times he does get a little overboard with squares. But when you read his - Cash from Square Foot Gardening book you appreciate it more.

www.gardeners.com has great self-watering containers for tomatoes. They might be pricy but the theory is that respiration and a constant water supply without drowning the roots increases the harvest. All from a container!

Enjoy.


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