Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention XI
tapla
12 years ago
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tapla
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Pavers vs Stained Concrete or something else?
Comments (98)That area is phase I of our landscaping, which Triple Sixteen also designed and installed. In the curve of the arch will be bubbling basalt columns. Beyond is currently a base of 5/8th crushed gravel which will be Montana slate leading to the sunniest part of the back yard and will have a couple of steamer chairs for sunning and low curved stacked stone wall behind. We needed them to bring in the topsoil and rock and get the landscape design past the review board. We (husband and I) will plant (mostly native) this spring and fall. I am a landscape designer with my own small business since 1996, but because I am not an "architect" I could not design our own yard (per the restrictions of the Design Review Board). It's all good, now we get to do the fun part!...See MoreDo I Have a High Water Table Under my NewJersey Basement?
Comments (0)A HIGH WATER TABLE AND YOUR BASEMENT Okay, here comes some geology. It is important to understand how the water rises around your basement and can cause basement flooding. High water tables are a nuisance that many homeowners must face. The water table lies underground and is the level at which the soil and gravel are completely saturated with water. There is often some seasonal change in the water table, due to rain or drought. A high water table is especially common in areas where the soil is not well drained due to high levels of clay. The word table provides an image of a flat surface, like the surface of a tabletop. It may be visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials (sediment, gravel and clay) that are saturated with groundwater in a given geographical area. There is also a general understanding that in times of drought, water table levels may drop. Understanding sub-surface water can help explain why water tables may rise and fall. Ground water is sub-surface water, but not all sub-surface water is ground water. The upper surface of ground water is the water table. Below this surface, all the spaces and cracks (pore spaces) in clay and rocks are completely filled (saturated) with water. In the top layers of soil pore spaces may not be completely filled with water. These layers may contain water, some air, and some may only be partly filled with water. This is known as the unsaturated zone or the zone of aeration. After heavy rainfall this zone becomes saturated, while during a long dry spell or drought, it becomes almost dry. Rainwater infiltrates downwards through the unsaturated zone. This infiltrating water is known as soil water when it is still shallow enough to be used by plants. With further infiltration however, excess water will eventually reach the water table. As the rainfall continues, the water table rises. Water tables can become elevated when they receive more water than they drain off. This can be from unusually high amounts of rain, or excess water from higher elevations. High water tables are often above the level of basement floors or crawlspaces. This almost always causes flooding in these areas. The level of the water table varies greatly due to amount of rainfall, time of the year and type of soil that surface water drains through. The water table is generally higher in areas with high density soil.The denser the soil is, the slower the movement of the water (percolation) of the water through the soil occurs. The rate at which the high water table descends is related to the percolation rate, which is related to soil density. This high density soil follows the grade of the terrain. Therefore the water table can be just as high at the top of the hill as it is at the bottom of the same hill. The flow of surface water is based on the slope of the land but not the water table. The water table conforms to the contour of the land above....See MoreFoolproof Houseplants?
Comments (88)The little gnatties like to feast on dead and decaying plant matter, and love it moist. Yep that 'covermoss' is prone to sheltering and keeping a colony of the little buggers. I clean up my plants and keep them 'clean' all the time (old leaves removed and no debris left in the top of the pot) and that helps some on not ever seeing them. I housesit for someone and she always comments when she comes back that I have cleaned up and cleaned out every one of her plants... she always has problems with various disease issues and if she would just CLEAN UP she'd have a lot less problems. Also, remove the trash immediately... she would have this big rolling garbage cans and wouldn't empty them for months on end. I remove my greenhouse trash when I'm through and ready to go back to the house. If I run into something like mealy bugs, that gets carried out immediately! (a local nursery has issues with it, anything you bring home from there has to be isolated and cleaned up) Between that friend and myself we have fought this war for fourth winter. I am now 'clean' and she is still having issues (I have also tossed a few plants to stop the infestation and she won't... so she keeps breeding more). If you get mealy bugs in your house and your houseplants; second worse is spider mites; you will have a long and hard one to get that one cleaned up. First picture, if you remove the few leaves you find and remove them from the area then wash up, you will probably get it right there. Missing one fleck, you will find first or second picture in 1-4 weeks. I don't spray because a lot of sprays they seemed to ignore; I killed the plant along with the bugs; and in my greenhouse I am doing semi-aquaculture and sprays/chemicals are not a good thing around the fish. I can tell you insecticidal soap has never seemed to work even if I pretty much drowned the plant in it and it usually has killed the plant at that level. I do 'clean up plants' and 'toss badly infected plants pot and all' ... at times I can find a part of the plant that is almost clean, hand clean a few small flecks off, and put it into an isolation cutting cup-and toss the main plant. In a few weeks either it has gone rampantly infected in which case I toss the whole cup, or it's clean yet and rooted so I can pot it up. I've cried over some plants I've tossed, but. Upper Left, Usually you will see just one or two flecks, underside of leaves, near a leaf to stem join, by the time you see this much you'll be well into the battle. Size of very small salt grains if that big. Upper Right, Well engaged, this is trim this off and remove it; or if the whole plant looks like this it's going to be tossed. Lower Left, if you see these, about the size of two to three salt grains glued together in a string, you have major problems Lower RightMature mealys, about 1/8 inch long, (3mm), and I usually see the matures as a light gray like this. The smaller is white, the mature is this grey, and they are highly detailed. Start checking all the plants around this one and be very serious about check EVERY bit. All it takes is one tiny white cottony looking fleck.......See MoreGarden of weeds!
Comments (87)I am a farmer and my husband and I regularly uses all manner of chemicals on our paddocks as do most non organic farmers so that we can get the most out of the crops. I fully understand your concerns but it is unfortunately, the nature of the beast that people want hay and crops without weeds. My husband has done a chemical users course and has been trained in the correct use of the chemicals he both uses and doesn't use and I believe is very well informed. Have either of you done a course??...just read internet information? If you were a broadacre farmer, you might as well sell up as not use chemicals unfortunately!! I haven't told anyone that they must use glyphosate, my response came from questions asked....See Morejojosplants
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