Re: [gardeners] Fourth of July

George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 05 Jul 2002 07:26:30 -0500 

Wish we could send you some of the water that's been falling on us and I'm sure the folks in Texas
who are flooding out wish the same. Weather is definitely weird this year. We're not watering at all
and that is strange because we just came out of 3 plus years of drought conditions and the weather
folk say we're still in drought conditions.

You and Miz Anne must be related. We were out putting a primer coat on the garage yesterday
afternoon late and I burned out when we finished one wall of two. There was still about a pint of
paint left in the can so she stayed out there until it was gone and then started doing some stuff in
the garden. When I called her for supper she was beet red and dripping and I really think she was
overdoing it. <VBG>

We'll pray for rain for you.

George

penny x stamm wrote:
> 
> And a Happy Fourth back to your house, George!  But I didn't spend
> the day the way you did...
> 
> We're under water rationing in a drought, and the temps have
> stuck at 94* with 79% humidity, making it a virtual temp of 114*.
> It's quite enuf to boil anybody's brain. When we drive across the
> Tappan Zee Bridge to New Jersey, we can barely see the other
> shore of the Hudson River, the haze is so thick!
> 
> My current problem is one of logistics. We have 6 zones on our
> lawn watering system, 6 zones on our shrubbery system, and
> 3 zones on another clock for the 9 flower beds and veggie garden.
>  [We installed everything except the lawn part...]  We are allowed
> to water from 5: to 9: am and 7: to 9:pm, on odd dates.  That adds
> up to 6 hours every other day.  In this heat, I pass by well
> established rhodies alonside the driveway amd see that they are
> collapsing. I look outside the front door and find some other
> rhodies wilted. Have never seen such a condition here before!
> Because we had to make 2 trips to St.Louis and 1 to Rochester,
> we've put NO flowers in all those beds yet, as of July 4th!  The
> strange thing to see, however, is my big annual flower bed by
> the back door -- it is a riot of bloom!  There are 5 clumps of
> black eyed susan (which I never planted..), about 3 dozen
> gladioli up high and opening their blooms, 4 beautiful deep
> purple salvia, 7 giant dahlias in bloom, and hundred of cleome
> everywhere already in flower!  Oh yes, and a gailardia. It all
> wintered over without any help from me... And what's even
> funnier:  each year I have been planting blue ageratum
> around the entire bed, making the outline of a grand piano
> which is an eye catcher. What on earth do I see out there
> now...? There are 1/2 inch tall ageratum seedlings lining the
> border, spaced 8 inches apart without weed competition.
> If YOU were an ageratum and dropped a hundred seeds in
> a season, would you leave behind just ONE plant where you
> once stood...? It defies me.
> 
> Back to the underground soaker system. Zones 1 & 12 have
> too many running feet of hose to be efficient. Not enough water
> gets delivered. So last year Jimmie installed in-line on-and-off
> valves on these 2 zones so that we can water either half on
> demand. But someone who is insane has to get herself out
> there and change 2 valves for each of those sections to jibe
> with the water restrictions and the collapsing plants!  Guess
> who...?   And the Virtual flower bed by the back door cannot
> stand the 8 hours of full blazing sun, and so I have to hop
> down to the garage to push a button against the law several
> times a day, to save its life.
> 
> We came back from St.Louis to discover that the old black
> rubber soaker in the veggie garden had burst and was flooding
> the lawn but starving the tomatoes! And the ornamental plum
> had completely fallen over. And some animal had bitten into the
> Netafim drip line and created an Old Faithful. Rush, rush, rush
> the repairs. We came back from Rochester to discover that
> the same kind of black hose had burst in the raspberry patch,
> so now of course we know that we must discard those soakers
> altogether -- I put a real hose and sprinkler on that outlet, and
> so now whenever the tomatoes get watered, so does some portion
> of the shrubbery!  Only problem is that I am required to move that
> sprinkler by hand.
> 
> Only way to handle all of this, plus the regular skeleton maintenance,
> is to pour a bucket of water over my head about 4 times a day.
> And to drink quarts of iced tea. I come inside beet red and dripping,
> and Jimmie innocently says, very wide-eyed, "Don't you think
> perhaps you're overdoing it...?"
> 
> Penny, NY
> 
> .
> 
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