Re: [gardeners] Hiatus

penny x stamm (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 22 May 1998 20:50:19 -0400 

Yes, Pat, I'm still here ...  

We've been battling the opposite weather problem -- giant
thunderstorms, sudden pelting rain, fungus infections, and
from what I've heard, big hailstones raining down on 
New York City, a mere 25 miles away! Today's winds were
almost too much to work in -- at 10:00am we decided to quit, 
but then we did just one more thing, and of course, with
heavy sweaters on (incredible!) we worked on till 5:00pm. 
There was so much wind all night that the flats of flowers
which I had watered yesterday at 6:00 and 9:00pm were
bone dry and knocked asunder....  

I had expected to plant my 24 pelargoniums (geraniums)
yesterday, but one look at the huge holly bushes and 
bedraggled Blue Hill junipers in back of the bed sent me flying for 
the electric hedge clippers. The junipers are in the way so my
footing was insecure, and I had to balance like a tight rope walker
with the cutters high overhead -- it took precious time, I'll tell
you!  Next I tackled the low junipers, and discovered that the
reason they looked so weird was because 6 branches had been
severed and just lay there! No explanation....  Today's job was 
for Jimmie to rototill the bed while I added extra peat moss and
vermiculite. That done we began the redesigning of the Netafim
underground watering system in that bed -- extremely efficient, 
minimum evaporation, minimum water, and run by a clock. The
"piping" is connected with a blow torch, so it's not a speedy
process. I had enlarged the bed by 1/3rd, and so it had disrupted
the watering layout. Well, yes, we got it all apart; well no, we did
not get it all together again. Suddenly Jim asked me, "Say, is this
a union shop..?" and I answered, "Sure!" "OK", he said, "then
it's quitting time!" and another day had gone by with no flowers
planted.....    We've got 5 more beds to go -- it may be September
before we can catch up.

I think it was summer of 1985 when we had no rain of any kind
until August 25th, so I know what it means to be in your shoes. 
I'm hoping that your weather improvement is just around the
corner.

Penny, NY zone 6

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