~ The Gardener ~

In this Issue:


Publishers Notes
Diversion
Timber!
Computer Tip


~ Publisher's Notes ~

 
Spring is the best time to plant bare root perennials and woodland flowers. Most stock is still dormant. Several folks have been asking about planting ferns in tropical climates. Yes, you can. If they get too dry at any time, even once established, they might look "burned". Just clip them, and they will re-grow. Ferns always go dormant in the winter. Even evergreen ferns. If you don't have winter, they just keep on keeping on! This is not true of woodland flowers. Most need some climate change. Check out our ferns for sale this spring.  Its a great time to plant them. Visit our Plant Center HERE!

Your water garden should be all cleaned out and running smooth now! Fish need very little food. Fight algae growth by feeding as little as possible. If your fish don't quickly eat all the food you give, you are feeding them too much. How important are fish to your pond? Very! They feed the bacteria that are cleaning your water. You can "power grow" your fish by changing about a 1/4 of your water every few weeks. They will think they are in a larger pond then you really have. Koi growers often change out water weekly. Just don't get more pounds of fish then what your pond can handle!

Irrigation should be started now too, except for the far north. Start your irrigation early, so any repairs can be done well before the hot weather hits. After you have irrigated a few times, carefully check each sprinkler and make sure it is turning properly. Often they work right at first, but then fail. If they are turning well after a few times of irrigating,
then chances are they will work all summer.

If you have planters around your yard and deck, you may notice that they tend to only last a few years then they are too cracked and beat up looking! This fall remove the soil from them and lean them over so they don't hold water and snow all winter, or bring them into the garage, empty. The frozen soil and water left in them expands
and contracts all winter, and tears apart even the best made wooden and cement planters, not to mention plastic. Planters should last indefinitely, if cared for properly. Add the soil from your planters to your compost pile, and the bacteria and nitrogen in the soil will speed up the compost process tremendously over the winter and spring.

                                ~ Diversion ~

Small Town Justice

A police officer in a small town stopped a motorist who was speeding down Main Street. ''But officer,'' the man said, ''I can explain.''

''Just be quiet!!!'' snapped the officer. ''Or I'm going to let you cool off in jail until the chief gets back.''

''But officer, I just wanted to say...''

''And I said KEEP QUIET! Now you're going to jail!''

A few hours later, the officer checked up on his prisoner and said, ''Lucky for you the chief is at his daughter's wedding. He'll be in a great mood when he gets here.''

''Don't count on it,'' said the prisoner. ''I'm the groom.''


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~ Timber Retaining Walls ~

Timber retaining walls have lots of advantages over other materials. First is ease of installation. Sure, they are heavy, but once the first tier is laid, the upper tiers go in quickly. Also, rock walls, and cement
block retaining walls are getting pretty "over used". Rocks and cement tend to clash with a wood house, and can look out of place, especially after a few years. Whereas they might look great at first, you notice
them being too over-bearing in subsequent years. They tend to pull your eye "from" the house, where a well built timber wall will push your eye "to" he house. We like to use womanized "rough-cut" 6"x8"x8' timbers, that are about the size of a rail road tie.

Pack the base below the first tier with a compactor, or tamp. Use a 2x4 as a straight edge to make sure your base is flat. Run a string and a string level along your prepared base, and make the whole
wall flat to the world! This is critical with ANY type of wall. A wall flat to the world won't become over bearing and eye pulling. A wall that slopes with the ground will forever "stick out". If the ground is
sloping in spots, you can bury a bottom tier, and pick up an extra tier on top to compensate. Or vice-verse. Where tiers are lost or picked up, you can get creative and make "boxes" by running timbers
back into the slope you are retaining. These make great shrub and flower areas, further blending your timbers into your living space.

Make sure you are not putting seams on top of one another. Cut one in half so your seams are not lining up. Walls more then 2 timbers high need extra support. Run some "dead heads" from the upper tiers
back into the soil you are retaining and bury them in. They will hold your wall square. Set each tier back about a half inch so it seems to lean a little into the slope, other wise it will want to lean forward. The
soil behind a wall is exerting a lot of force on a wall, especially during times of saturating rain. Use lots of 8" nails! At least 6 or 8 per timber, nailing only in the BACK of the wall, where they will never be seen. At
each end of your wall, run dead heads into the soil behind the wall, so there are no bare ends just setting there. Again, create planting areas with the ends, to aid in anchoring your wall. A good timber wall will
ast virtually forever, so have fun with it, and get creative!


~ Cool Printer Tips ~

Did you know that you don't have to open a document to print it? If you right click on a document's icon, and select "print" it will print with out having to wait for your document soft ware to open, with your default printer. But there's an even quicker way!!!

We've several forms that we are always printing. Withholding forms, questionnaires, all kinds of things. We keep them sorted into folders. You can create a short-cut to any printer in any folder, and just drag the documents over the short cut and release them, and they will print. Here's how:

Go to your "printers" folder. It's in your start menu (and your control panel). Right click on the desired printer and select "create short-cut". Your computer will tell you, that it can not create a short-cut in the printer folder, but would you like one placed on your desktop instead? (A handy place, too.) Select "yes". Go to your desktop, and right click and "copy" the short-cut icon. You can now paste it into any and all folders that you wish. Now any documents can be dragged and dropped very quickly onto the short-cut. Your printer will queue them up as fast as you can
drag them!



Thanks for reading,
Spike