Does anyone know where there are fireworks around the Mt Pleasant,Scottdale area (in pa.)

Boy what a nice day, just stopping in to see if anything of importance is posted, guess not. I Know I know the crimes committed against the children of the school "distracts" are horrible, yeah yeah yeah we get it. I mean important things as o this week. Are we afraid to talk about the Economy or the weather? Are we afraid to say something nice on here? Does anyone have more then inter net links to back up far fetched opinions or views. Does anyone spend time with their children; you know the ones you defend so harshly in this room. Its scary I stop by every so many days or even twice a day, and see people, the same people complaining about their children. How about you go outside with them and enjoy this great summer? I can't see you’re much good to them waking up at 10 am after a heated night at the Computer. I may be wrong and your prescribed meds enable you to sleep but a few minutes each day.... How about telling us what you did today with your children or how you helped out a stranger or how your garden is doing...What you don't have a garden ?! ----boy your going to be in a Pickle this winter ..Anyway Just stopped by to read something inspiring...I seen but one thing and I hope you find that one eared dog's Owner..

Can you feel the love? I was just thinking how fun this "room" is. We can spout angry & loudly, we can give and take tips. We can call each other out of name, but more them likely we see one and another(s) everyday correct and friendly. That is what a small town is about, sheitie as it may be I will die here happy knowing its the best place on earth. So good night you bunch of Red necks(used in its true meaning.) Give'm hell even if your talking to yourselves.

Cheers, hiccup!

In response to jack's message:

RE: first planting closing
its all in the way you cook it but the sausage you would never know its the best . also healthy virtually no cholesterol .

Nope... I've eaten it prepared in a variety of ways. Marinated was the least offensive, but I can taste it no matter how it's been cooked. I don't eat sausage, either, except sausage gravy, and I pick the sausage out of that.

In response to Tammie Gearhart's message:

RE: first planting closing
Good one, Jack, except that I grew up a poor farmer's daughter, and I've eaten more than my fair share of venison. I hated it then and hate it to this day! I'd have to be near starvation to even consider it.

its all in the way you cook it but the sausage you would never know its the best . also healthy virtually no cholesterol .

In response to jack's message:

RE: first planting closing
you forgot to teach him to kill the deer and bring it in for butchering and making summer sausage and burgers

Good one, Jack, except that I grew up a poor farmer's daughter, and I've eaten more than my fair share of venison. I hated it then and hate it to this day! I'd have to be near starvation to even consider it.

In response to I like this name today.'s message:

RE: first planting closing


Soil conservation is not a good way to think about it. The plant still uses the food that it needs to grow. Your a soil is in need of constant organic compost to feed its self. Most plants take away without giving it all back.

One way of taking them (mint runners)out is with black plastic. Nothing I mean nothing above ground lives through it. Water the ground put plastic down, it will burn in a week. You will have rooted plants that go into hiding like Dandy-lions, but other then deep rooters plastic will take them out. You can also boil them out with a nice cold bath on the hottest days.....

I just started reading a interesting book on micro organisms , it gives you a different prospective into soil. If I can phrase its idea I would say this " life is supported by and depends on the soil. " If you treat your soil -humbly it will allow you to grow your garden will joy.

We did put down black plastic and believe it or not, that mint grew underneath it and on top of it, under the mulch we used to cover the plastic! It's like uber mint. As for the poster who mentioned Weed B Gone, we tried that, too - the mint got bigger! And then we were afraid to use it in our iced tea! If you can suggest a systemic weed killer, I could probably get a needle to inject it. I know I'm not helping my soil by letting the mint live back along the garage wall, I guess it's more soil retention. I just left it there so that I'd have some dirt back there.

In response to Sprayer's message:

RE: first planting closing
Why not just use Weed B Gone which kills hundreds of weeds but does not distrub nor kill nor harm grass. Has been on the market for about 50 years and I can attest for it. All this stuff about clay, organic, loomis, looms etc can be halted by adding some commercial weed free manure and peat moss and tilling it in. Good grief this is not 1108 this is 2008 and we know I hope how to grow a garden. As far a deer invading and eating I find that a electronic dog fence and a well feed and maintained Doberman will keep out deer, cats, dogs, people, skunks etc. Just make sure the dog is well taken care of, good insulated dog house, auto water dispenser and plenty of love.

you forgot to teach him to kill the deer and bring it in for butchering and making summer sausage and burgers

In response to Sprayer's message:

RE: first planting closing
Why not just use Weed B Gone which kills hundreds of weeds but does not distrub nor kill nor harm grass. Has been on the market for about 50 years and I can attest for it. All this stuff about clay, organic, loomis, looms etc can be halted by adding some commercial weed free manure and peat moss and tilling it in. Good grief this is not 1108 this is 2008 and we know I hope how to grow a garden. As far a deer invading and eating I find that a electronic dog fence and a well feed and maintained Doberman will keep out deer, cats, dogs, people, skunks etc. Just make sure the dog is well taken care of, good insulated dog house, auto water dispenser and plenty of love.

yes that should also work

In response to jack's message:

RE: first planting closing
get a systemic weed killer if you can get a needle form drugstore and try to inject some into the base of the main plants if you have other plants nearby that could get misted from spraying

Why not just use Weed B Gone which kills hundreds of weeds but does not distrub nor kill nor harm grass. Has been on the market for about 50 years and I can attest for it. All this stuff about clay, organic, loomis, looms etc can be halted by adding some commercial weed free manure and peat moss and tilling it in. Good grief this is not 1108 this is 2008 and we know I hope how to grow a garden. As far a deer invading and eating I find that a electronic dog fence and a well feed and maintained Doberman will keep out deer, cats, dogs, people, skunks etc. Just make sure the dog is well taken care of, good insulated dog house, auto water dispenser and plenty of love.

In response to Tammie Gearhart's message:

RE: first planting closing
You are SO RIGHT about the mint runners!! I have been trying to kill it for 10 years! The runners grow everywhere and I am constantly pulling them out because mine are growing very shallow in the ground. I pulled out a runner a couple of weeks ago that must have been 10 feet long and had about 20 "babies" on it. It seems, though, once my runners reach the back wall of my garage, they grow "up" and get to a height of 18 to 24 inches. I decided to leave the ones near the wall there, to hopefully provide some soil conservation. I know I'm not doing myself a favor in regard to the running of the roots, but I've been pulling up to the taller ones and then cutting the runners off at that point.

Soil conservation is not a good way to think about it. The plant still uses the food that it needs to grow. Your a soil is in need of constant organic compost to feed its self. Most plants take away without giving it all back.

One way of taking them (mint runners)out is with black plastic. Nothing I mean nothing above ground lives through it. Water the ground put plastic down, it will burn in a week. You will have rooted plants that go into hiding like Dandy-lions, but other then deep rooters plastic will take them out. You can also boil them out with a nice cold bath on the hottest days.....

I just started reading a interesting book on micro organisms , it gives you a different prospective into soil. If I can phrase its idea I would say this " life is supported by and depends on the soil. " If you treat your soil -humbly it will allow you to grow your garden will joy.

In response to Tammie Gearhart's message:

RE: first planting closing
You are SO RIGHT about the mint runners!! I have been trying to kill it for 10 years! The runners grow everywhere and I am constantly pulling them out because mine are growing very shallow in the ground. I pulled out a runner a couple of weeks ago that must have been 10 feet long and had about 20 "babies" on it. It seems, though, once my runners reach the back wall of my garage, they grow "up" and get to a height of 18 to 24 inches. I decided to leave the ones near the wall there, to hopefully provide some soil conservation. I know I'm not doing myself a favor in regard to the running of the roots, but I've been pulling up to the taller ones and then cutting the runners off at that point.

get a systemic weed killer if you can get a needle form drugstore and try to inject some into the base of the main plants if you have other plants nearby that could get misted from spraying

In response to plant plants planters's message:

first planting closing
Mint is a runner plant(like show cap- wild butter cups-strawberry.) they grow running branchs under the top soil that re root . they can be aggressive but are so short that they will not interfer with taller plants. I'll get back to you on the mints matter, it may be like cabage, were you need to rotate its crops.

You are SO RIGHT about the mint runners!! I have been trying to kill it for 10 years! The runners grow everywhere and I am constantly pulling them out because mine are growing very shallow in the ground. I pulled out a runner a couple of weeks ago that must have been 10 feet long and had about 20 "babies" on it. It seems, though, once my runners reach the back wall of my garage, they grow "up" and get to a height of 18 to 24 inches. I decided to leave the ones near the wall there, to hopefully provide some soil conservation. I know I'm not doing myself a favor in regard to the running of the roots, but I've been pulling up to the taller ones and then cutting the runners off at that point.

Mint is a runner plant(like show cap- wild butter cups-strawberry.) they grow running branchs under the top soil that re root . they can be aggressive but are so short that they will not interfer with taller plants. I'll get back to you on the mints matter, it may be like cabage, were you need to rotate its crops.

In response to Tammie Gearhart's message:

RE: first planting window closing fast
Thanks. After what you said about the paint, chemicals, etc., from the garage roof, I got to wondering about the rubber mulch. Then my cousin called me this morning and I was sharing your advice with her. She said that her grandmother used to remove a shallow layer of soil from the entire planting beds that were around her house, and kind of small. Then she would plant her plants and then place newspaper around and between the plants, and put the dirt back on top. Her gram only used regular newsprint, not anything with color, or "slick" paper. Gram said that the newspaper helped to keep moisture in the ground, and acted as a weed barrier. My cousin also said that the paper sort of composted itself over the winter, too. Since most newspapers these days say they are printed on recycled paper and use soy ink, what are you thoughts?

News paper is a brown matter, but you dont have to bury it. you can "slur it" mix it with water turn it paste or just place it around plants older then a few weeks... .Rubber "mulch" is a ok idea, but once you add it its there until it breaks down. Poly is plastic which is a oil extract. To keep your soils plastisity keep with natural compost.

The idea with mulch is to keep water in the soil, and to add compost for the next season. If you used "empty" material then your wasting your time. kind-a drinking energy drinks all fill not help.
Keeping a dairy will keep you ahead of the curve

Keep trucking.

In response to Rubber Mulch's message:

RE: first planting window closing fast
Its good stuff, expensive, will not hurt your plants,and breaks down into dust from UV rays after around 10 years. It is made from recycled tires.

Thanks. After what you said about the paint, chemicals, etc., from the garage roof, I got to wondering about the rubber mulch. Then my cousin called me this morning and I was sharing your advice with her. She said that her grandmother used to remove a shallow layer of soil from the entire planting beds that were around her house, and kind of small. Then she would plant her plants and then place newspaper around and between the plants, and put the dirt back on top. Her gram only used regular newsprint, not anything with color, or "slick" paper. Gram said that the newspaper helped to keep moisture in the ground, and acted as a weed barrier. My cousin also said that the paper sort of composted itself over the winter, too. Since most newspapers these days say they are printed on recycled paper and use soy ink, what are you thoughts?

In response to Tammie Gearhart's message:

RE: first planting window closing fast
What do you think about the mulch that looks like wood but is actually rubber. According the package, it provides drainage, but helps to block weeds. The overflow from the garage has created its own drainage ditch, but I don't believe the shingles have ever been sealed with chemicals, and given the age of the roof, is this still applicable? Any excess water doesn't seem to affect the other plants that are between the "ditch" and my planting area, but they are acid loving plants themselves. One crazy thing is that about 10 years ago I made the mistake of planting mint and it seems to thrive in this environment. Does that make any sense at all?

Its good stuff, expensive, will not hurt your plants,and breaks down into dust from UV rays after around 10 years. It is made from recycled tires.

In response to muddy feet tonight.'s message:

RE: first planting window closing fast
Well why didn't you say something before, your getting wash away, not a Pro's term but any way you’re washing your soil out and leaving the heavy minerals behind. If the garage is up hill from your garden you can dig a shallow drain diverting water around garden (don’t worry dig it a few inches down the mower will never notice) this will keep away the flash floods on the bare soil but leave proper down hill seepage .

Wood is used in your garden (“Brown matter" additive in compost) so unless you use a sealer on the wood its ok, but your building may be also draining chemicals (oil paints gas) into your soil. THAT’S NOT GOOD AT ALL! Try the ditch idea, and maybe get a top coat of mulch (dry grass -hay) it keeps the top spongy and helps to protect the soil in rains and heat. Check the garage and look for spills.

What do you think about the mulch that looks like wood but is actually rubber. According the package, it provides drainage, but helps to block weeds. The overflow from the garage has created its own drainage ditch, but I don't believe the shingles have ever been sealed with chemicals, and given the age of the roof, is this still applicable? Any excess water doesn't seem to affect the other plants that are between the "ditch" and my planting area, but they are acid loving plants themselves. One crazy thing is that about 10 years ago I made the mistake of planting mint and it seems to thrive in this environment. Does that make any sense at all?

In response to Tammie Gearhart's message:

RE: first planting window closing fast
One other thing, one of the areas that I use for planting cooking herbs, rosemary, basil, thyme, marjoram, and oregano, are located behind my garage. If the rain gutters get clogged, the water runs out over the edges, and the roof is cedar shake shingle. Would this contribute, not to the clayish part, but perhaps cause some other chemical reaction that would stunt or in other ways affect the plants' growth? The roof is about 25 years old and is somewhat mossy, if that helps with your ability to guide me. I appreciate any help that you can give. This particular garden also has southern exposure and gets direct sunlight for most of the day.

Well why didn't you say something before, your getting wash away, not a Pro's term but any way you’re washing your soil out and leaving the heavy minerals behind. If the garage is up hill from your garden you can dig a shallow drain diverting water around garden (don’t worry dig it a few inches down the mower will never notice) this will keep away the flash floods on the bare soil but leave proper down hill seepage .

Wood is used in your garden (“Brown matter" additive in compost) so unless you use a sealer on the wood its ok, but your building may be also draining chemicals (oil paints gas) into your soil. THAT’S NOT GOOD AT ALL! Try the ditch idea, and maybe get a top coat of mulch (dry grass -hay) it keeps the top spongy and helps to protect the soil in rains and heat. Check the garage and look for spills.

In response to Feet really muddy tonight.'s message:

RE: first planting window closing fast
As I read more in depth I see that your soil (with last years additives) should be correcting its self. bagged potting soil is balanced for wide range growing(Heavy organic). So with that and the manufactured additives, you may be in the right direction. Cracking is not a bad thing for the garden unless the depth reaches the root ball, then it damages the system. Your healthily soil as with some human cells are build with the same function in mind, by this they have plasticity a natural design to hold its form. So as your soil grows with water absorption it will also shrink. If your plants become affected you will again have to balance you soil. Like I said its not a magical plant and roll if you want large impressive yields you‘ll need to get educated . Sure you can throw a few plants in the ground, it will kind-a grow, but then you waste money and time.

So should I add regular top soil, or the Miracle Grow stuff? Should I work it into the more open areas, or try to place it around the plants to prevent the problems with the root ball exposure, if that becomes part of the problem? My tomatoes are in cages, and this may be difficult to do unless I add it by hand. What do you suggest?