Rocks by the Yard

A trip to the rock yard is a very interesting experience. I had never been to a rock yard until I moved to the desert and I have been to a number of them since moving. The process is quite interesting and this is based on my visit to MDI Rock in Phoenix. Your experience may differ so check the protocol in the business office.

If it is the first time visit, pick a cooler day to walk around, perhaps one with clouds. If you are going to buy a small quantity of small-sized rocks (one-inch, gravel, sand, etc.) that day, bring a shovel. There are shovels at the rock yard, but they are sometimes difficult to find. You will also need buckets. We use five-gallon buckets the kind that can be bought at Home Depot, Lowes or other hardware stores.

Stop by the office and get a price list. The names of the various offerings should be on the list. As you walk around, take notes about the names of the types of rocks that appeal to you and check them on the list. Many rock yards have displays that show off the different types, sizes and colors of rocks. They make them look very appealing because this is what sells. Yes, even rocks need marketing.

Delivery Room and Other Considerations

Keep in mind that there is generally a delivery charge unless a minimum order is reached and then perhaps the delivery will be free. When we visited MDI rock, we needed eleven tons of rip rap at about $60 a ton. Delivery was $60, but it was free if we bought a minimum of twelve tons so for the same amount of money, we took the extra ton of rip rap which we used for a later project. Read all the terms of the agreement to get a complete understanding about what the company requires for delivery. At the delivery site, you will need to prepare a place for the material to be dumped. If you use a driveway, you might have to take a car out of the garage and park it somewhere else.

On most lists, the company will provide a formula to determine how much material is needed to cover a certain amount of surface area so it is advisable to get a good idea of approximately how much square footage is going to be covered. Do the best estimation that you can to avoid having so much material left over that it becomes a burden to store. We found the people in the office to be helpful when discussing how much material might be needed. Most gardeners could probably use a little extra, but that would depend on your situation. We live in the desert on a relatively large piece of land so we store the excess in piles out of the way and use them for projects that arise. I am planning on building a raised garden bed this fall made out of left over rip rap from a dry river bed project.

One thing that may or may not be abundantly clear when visiting the rock yard is that when ordering rip rap, a large percentage of the tonnage is considered waste (not rip rap). Some if it is very small pieces of stone and some of it is dust-like material. Now don’t get discouraged because for the desert gardener these all have good uses which I will cover in a future post.

The Purchasing Process

We sometimes stop by to get a couple of buckets of rocks or a few boulders for a variety of projects. At this point we know our way around the yard. The first thing we do is have the car weighed. Once weighed, we head to the type of rock that we want and fill several buckets with the same material. The rocks are stored in numbered bins and there is generally a map indicating which type of rock is in which numbered bin.

In the past, we made a mistake in purchasing the wrong type of rock either because we didn’t read the map correctly. If you are trying to match a color, bring samples with you. Try to go to the rock yard when the light is not at its brightest. Between 10:30 am and 3:00 pm in the summer desert, the light can be very bright making it difficult to see accurately the actual color of the rock. Moving to a shaded area could also be helpful.

Once the rocks are in the buckets and loaded into the car, we return to the scale and have the car weighed again. When the math is done, it is easy to figure out how many pounds/tons of rock we have. When we are picking up the rock, we often don’t have enough poundage so we pay the minimum price which is generally between five and six dollars for a couple of five-gallon buckets of rock. When compared to bags of similar rocks sold at the box stores, this is a bargain. Of course when you are picking up rocks this way, you can only get one type at a time because of the procedure used to determine the weight.

I think that once you visit the rock yards you will find more and more uses for these landscaping materials. The two rock companies we have dealt with are MDI and Pioneer at their north-Phoenix locations and we have found them to be very professional and reliable.

Happy Hardscaping!

Desert Gardener’s Best Friend- Part I - http://www.gardeningonthemoon.com/2008/10/22/hardscape-desert-gardeners-best-friend/

Article references:

MDI rock – www.mdirock.com
Pioneer rock - http://www.pioneersand.com/

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

The struggle for water

Gardening in the desert southwest is unforgiving. In a more moderate climate you may be able to miss watering a potted plant by a day or two depending on the weather, but in the heat of the Sonoran desert, that window is small indeed.

Each plant that grows in the landscape is involved in a struggle to get enough water to keep itself alive and hopefully thriving. Each plant also needs a minimum amount of fertilizer and care. Thriving plants provide the most blooms. The intensity of this struggle and the demands on the desert gardener encourages a judicious use of plant material in a landscape package and an increase in the amount of rocks, ornaments, driftwood, etc. As a class, these non-plant items are referred to as hardscape.

Joining the rock group

When done correctly, hardscape is wonderful. It doesn’t need water (a prime consideration in the desert) it needs no fertilizer, it doesn’t generate debris and it is reliable. When we lived in Hunterdon County, NJ, our yard had thousands and thousands of rocks. No matter what size rock we needed, we could forage in the woods and pick several that met our criteria. In the desert, we have to buy rocks. To date (and only one year in our home) we have spent thousands of dollars on rocks.

A term I never knew on the east coast was rip rap. To the best of my understand, rip rap are pieces of rock ranging from small to eight inches in diameter. Some of the time they are larger, but not often. These rocks are used to spread on the ground to form a ground cover and highlight certain areas. Rip rap is also helpful in preventing erosion in particular situations. The largest rocks in a ton of rip rap are to be cherished because they then can become accent pieces.

Rip rap is sold by the ton and depending on which type of rip rap ordered, the price varies. These rocks come in a number of colors ranging from dark to light. Most have various hues spread through the pieces of rock. Matching the rock to the rest of the landscape is a challenge so the best thing to do is to take a ride around nicely landscaped neighborhoods to see what other people have done in similar circumstances. In the age of digital photography, it is easy to gather these ideas for future reference.

As a matter of courtesy, if you see an owner outside who looks puzzled about why you are taking snapshots of their landscape, it might be a good idea to stop and explain what you are doing making sure to incorporate copious compliments about their yard. You wouldn’t want anyone to get nervous about having their home cased.

NOTE: When visiting the rock yards, get their handouts explaining how much area particular sizes and tonnage of rocks will cover.

Rocks of Ages

Boulders are another story. It is very rare to find a natural boulder in the desert. There are some, but not many. For my purposes, a boulder is any rock that is more than 24-inches in diameter. Of course many boulders are a lot larger. At ten cents a pound, a ton of boulders would cost $200 and a one-ton boulder doesn’t necessarily look that large. We didn’t think the pricing structure was too bad except in NJ we were able to get them for free by hauling them out of the woods ourselves. Watching the automated delivery process was quite something as the driver maneuvered the mechanical claw to place each boulder with a good degree of precision.

Continued at the following link:

Hardscape:Desert Gardener’s Best Friend - Part II

Article references:

MDI rock – www.mdirock.com

Pioneer rock - http://www.pioneersand.com/

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

PL8 A TUDES

We continue our series of personalized (vanity) license plates in Arizona. To maintain individual privacy, we try to show as little information about particular cars as possible as long as we can reveal the license plate.

We hope you enjoy these PL8 A TUDES!

We finish our exploration of the P. Allen Smith Garden Home website. Part I of the web tour can be seen here:
http://www.gardeningonthemoon.com/2008/10/08/p-allen-smith-garden-home-website-part-i/

All pictures courtesy of P. Allen Smith

Weekend Projects
A variety of relatively easy projects are presented for the home gardener. Some are very easy while others are more involved. I have made several rustic rose trellises highlighted in this section (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=900). The first one will take a little bit of time and others will be finished in much shorter time after the procedure is understood. After I made my second trellis, I began to vary the design to suit my needs. Only a few tools and materials are needed. Instead of roses, I grew moon flowers on a number of my rustic trellises.

Kitchen Garden
Those who like to grow herbs and vegetables will find inspiration among these articles. Just perusing the topics will provide new ideas to try. For those who don’t want to devote a major amount of space to vegetable and herb gardening, they can try growing several plants in containers. There is advice to be found in Vegetable Gardening In Containers ( http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=42 ), but don’t stop reading there.

Plant Library
This is a bit of a misnomer since it isn’t actually a library where one might expect to find books about plants, gardening and related subjects. It is, however, still a very valuable resource for gardeners. It serves as a compendium providing information about a large variety of plants. Clicking on the “p” button at the bottom of the page and then clicking on Penstemon brings up a page about the culture of this plant which happens to do very well in the desert area with enough water.

What makes this a very good starting point for finding information about plants is the variety of information: Zone, Height, Soil requirements, Light requirements, Good bedfellows (partner plants), etc. Generally after reading this page, I can decide whether this is a plant I wish to try in my garden.

In The Home

This tab provides articles about doing things in and around the home. The topics are quite varied. Do you want to know how to grow a pineapple? Well the information is presented at this link http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=30. If you want to try the unusual, you can have rye grass containers in your home (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1036) I find this section a little thin, but new articles are added over time so there is always more to anticipate.

Food and Recipes

Recipes are a regular feature in P. Allen Smith’s newsletter, but this section of the website discusses the background and use of herbs and vegetables. The section discusses the vast array of chili peppers (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=16240) as well as the virtues of blueberries (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=16236). I don’t find many recipes listed here, but perhaps they will be archived at a later date.

Lifestyle

Among the variety of topics covered here are how-to articles such as Plant a Seed which provides a project to involve youngsters in the thrill of gardening (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1111), short book reviews such as an illustrated panorama of the song America the Beautiful in a book with the same title (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=929) and an article teaching how to make Pinecone birdfeeders (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=99), another project children will enjoy!

Source Guide

This page provides links to the manufacturers of a variety of items used and discussed by P. Allen Smith in print, video or television.

Videos

Many of us are visual learners and these videos will guide us through the steps necessary to complete some projects or develop better planting choices. The variety of topics is large and readers are encouraged to explore.

NOTES: Many of the video topics are similar to those offered in the other sections of the site. When exploring the videos, don’t forget to click on the arrows at the bottom of the window to see more. In some sections the vertical scroll bar is also active to reveal more choices.

If you sign up for P. Allen Smith’s Newsletter, you can find inspiration in your electronic mailbox every week. Find the link and sign up form here http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1611

Other site areas of potential interest on the P. Allen Smith website:

Allen’s Journal – articles and videos (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1613)
Newsletter Archive (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1612)

Recipes (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1623)

Television (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1631) Where to watch P. Allen Smith on TV.

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

P. Allen Smith Garden Home Website - Part I
http://www.gardeningonthemoon.com/2008/10/08/p-allen-smith-garden-home-website-part-i/

We hope you enjoy these PL8 A TUDES!

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

All pictures (and quote below) courtesy of P. Allen Smith

“’For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.’ – Edwin Way Teale (1899 – 1980)”

The Internet is a wonderful resource, especially for gardeners. One of my favorite places to visit is P. Allen Smith’s Gardening Home web site. Well, if the truth be told, I don’t actually “visit.” I typically stay connected via the weekly newsletter that is freely sent upon subscription.

Before I continue, I need to make a disclaimer here. Admittedly living in the Sonoran Desert places me in the category of niche gardening. That is to say we have situations that are not representative of most of the country so most of the major resources will not be geared toward our conditions. Instead, we need to make use of these resources in a very special way. After all, most gardening businesses are going to target the major markets, hoping to hit some of the niche markets as they go along.

P. Allen Smith’s website is no different, but there is still a lot to learn from it. Once I read what Mr. Smith and his team have to say, I can often modify the information to suit our area. The newsletter usually has a feature article about gardening whether it is highlighting a specific plant or an aspect of container gardening. There is a recipe included in almost every newsletter as well; often showcasing fruits or vegetables that are in season. A question sent to the Gardening Home team might also be answered for the benefit of the readers.

Keep in mind that this is a commercial website and thus there is obviously some advertising and self-promotion. Even with this said, there are numerous resources for all gardeners. If you go to the website, http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1, the feature stories, monthly hints and recent recipes can be seen on display there. This is a place to explore for the latest news.

On the left top banner, there is a graphic display offering features. On a day that I visited the site recently there were articles about planting raised beds [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=892 ], a plant profile of Mexican Sage [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1645&plantid=433&plant=MexicanSage ] the Fall vegetable garen [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=68 ] the butterfly garden [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1505 ] and a media presentation about the Garden Home retreat [http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=8&video=1598&cat=Garden%20Home%20Retreat&title=Garden%20Home%20Retreat%20Tour ]. These are worthy of exploration. If these stories do not appeal, then try a few of the other areas of the site.

The tabs across the top of the site:

There are seven tabs across the top of the website, Community, Garden, In The Home, Food & Recipes, Lifestyle, Source Guide and Videos. Let’s take a look at the Garden tab.

Garden

Click on the Garden tab and notice the subcategories on the left (Questions and Answers, Garden Basics, Garden Design, Container Gardens, Weekend Projects, Kitchen Garden, Plant Library).

Questions and Answers – Enter the word hibiscus in the search box and several questions and answers about the care of this desert-hardy perennial are presented. For some information about general care and treating insect pests, see the article under Hibiscus care: http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1646&questionid=792

Garden Basics – Under the Garden Basics tab, the articles are listed alphabetically by topic. Reviewing all of the articles can be quite a treat and will certainly provide hours of gardening fun. One very informative article discusses Gardening Zones and Frost Dates ( http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=895 ). Understanding these concepts can be a significant benefit to the gardening enthusiast, but don’t stop there…explore many of the other interesting articles as well.

Garden Design – This area is for those who want to learn about landscaping and generating style in a garden. There are so many interesting articles such as outstanding plant picks for the various years. The plant picks will be a good source for new plant ideas and is a good place to start the spring search for planting. Other articles describe how to install hardscape and features. The how-to explanation of building a dry-stack wall will be helpful to gardeners who need to deal with hills. http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=16126

Container Gardens – These are always interesting to me because I view them as gardens in a pot. Each container can have its own color theme and style allowing the gardener to easily highlight various places in and around the home and garden. One container garden of particular interest to the desert dwellers is the Succulent Dish Garden (http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1309)

A further exploration of the Garden Home website will continue with Part II

Read Part II of the P. Allen Smith Garden Home website tour here - http://www.gardeningonthemoon.com/2008/10/15/p-allen-smith-garden-home-website-part-ii/

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

How to Play the Game

Here is how the game might work. All you need is a computer with a browser and an Internet connection:

Divide the group into teams of two, three or four people depending on how many people are to be included and the composition of the guest list.

• Navigate to The Ethicist website - http://topics.nytimes.com/top/features/magazine/columns/the_ethicist/index.html
• Note the different episodes/problems presented in date order.
• Click on the title of the first problem.
• Scroll down until you see the podcast box on the left-hand side of the page.
• Click the link for “listen to the Podcast” (mp3)
• The podcast should begin to play in whatever application you have established as your podcast player, i.e. iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc.

Once the problem is completely explained, and before the answer is given (right after the name of the person and location are given), stop the podcast from playing.

Every team should record the following information on a sheet of paper:*

• Is it ethical to do what the query suggests (Yes or No)? Alternatively, what is the ethical action that should have been taken?
• Upon what basis is the above answer given?
• Are there any other considerations?
• Update (this is not always provided, but if it is, can be included) – What do you think the person submitting the query did?

Then play the end of the podcast and score the above answers as follows:

1 point – If the yes or no answer is correct/if the action offered is what is suggested
2 points – if the basis is the same as the Ethicist
1 point – for every consideration mentioned or substantially mentioned in the podcast*
1 point – for guessing the update; if given

* If you know ahead of time that this exercise will take place, printing forms would make this easier, but it is not necessary
** In the event of a dispute, the entire group shall decide if an answer is point-worthy

Each podcast has several quandaries. The game is over after four podcasts and the team that is ahead on points wins. If the game goes over well, play another round of four podcasts. If two teams are tied, continue playing until the tie is broken; “sudden death!” Of course you could also declare the game over when the first team reaches 15; there are no set rules. See what works for you and your guests. We have played games similar to this with groups of adults and have enjoyed them.

Podcast site:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/features/magazine/columns/the_ethicist/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=the%20ethicist&st=cse

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

PL8 A TUDES

We continue our series of personalized (vanity) license plates in Arizona. To maintain individual privacy, we try to show as little information about particular cars as possible as long as we can reveal the license plate.

We hope you enjoy these PL8 A TUDES!

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

Why are talk shows so popular? Phil Donahue had quite a run. Oprah and Dr. Phil have likely amassed an even greater audience. One of the draws of this type of show involves the audience in the “what if” scenario. Would I share my lottery millions with ne’er do well siblings? What if I found a large diamond ring on the pavement? Would I tell my best friend if I learned that her spouse was having an affair?

That is why I like to listen to Randy Cohen, the Ethicist. Mr. Cohen writes a column for the New York Times in which he discusses the ethics behind various situations readers send to him. Some of the time they are large issues and often they are less than earth shattering, but interesting nevertheless. These columns are also presented as podcasts for the listening public. There are generally two or three ethics problems posed on each of the podcasts.

To give you an idea, here is an example of a problem that was sent to the Ethicist and highlighted on his show or in his column August 3, 2008. I quote and paraphrase as follows:

“A student is taking a course at a major business program and the professor has assigned a group project that will account for a major part of the grade. One member of the group has taken an ‘egregious free ride’ and hasn’t pulled his own weight. The work has already been submitted so there wouldn’t be any direct benefit for the members of the group by telling the professor about this situation. Should the freeloader be ratted out?”

And the answer by Mr. Cohen - “Rat away, right away.” (in other words, tell the professor)

The reasoning behind the answer as explained on the podcast and once again I have taken the liberties of paraphrasing:

• This shouldn’t be done to punish the student, but rather to give the professor all the details about how the project was completed.
• The professor can respond to such problems only if he/she knows about them.
• The professor should have been apprised of this when the problem was first recognized and perhaps there were contingency plans for dealing with such an occurrence.

Update: The student’s behavior was not disclosed to the professor.

As you will note from the paraphrased transcript above, there are several parts to each podcast:

• The problem statement
• The Answer
• The reason for the answer
• Other considerations

When I was commuting two hours to and from work each day, I would save several episodes and listen to them in the car during part of the ride. This was my form of entertainment. These are often very interesting and challenging problems and I enjoyed listening to them to consider what my advice would be and how it would differ from that of Mr. Cohen. Of course, I am not an ethicist and I think that is the point. How do common folks like us differ from Mr. Cohen in their reasoning?

NOTE: Mr. Cohen is often quite humorous and clever with his retorts. I find his philosophizing (if that is a word) quite entertaining and I think you will too.

Even more intriguing than determining the correct answer is to determine the reasoning that Mr. Cohen will use to validate his answer. I often agree with the answer to the ethics question, but not necessarily to the reason behind the answer and some of the time, I don’t agree with the response at all. I always thought this had the potential to make an interesting intellectual parlor game if you have a group of friends who would enjoy such entertainment.

Part II will include directions for “playing” the game and enjoying these discussions with your friends.

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

Unfortunately, it became difficult to locate the original product. I became frustrated by my ever increasing search for this commodity so I searched the Internet and found several recipes. Once I had the general idea of how to create such a spread with the appropriate flavor and texture, I ad-libbed to produce an excellent sandwich spread and condiment.

I wanted to tweak the recipe to reduce the caloric intake and limit the amount of fat. The important thing was that it still had to retain that good taste I enjoyed. It took several attempts, but I finally formulated a recipe that was very similar in taste and texture to the product I once purchased with the added bonus of being healthier. I am providing the recipe below:

NOTE: Chipotle peppers are dried jalapeno peppers that are generally medium-hot. My wife and I enjoy spicy foods so heat isn’t usually a problem.

The Ingredients:

• 1 - 7 oz Can chipoltle peppers in adobo sauce*
• 1/2 cup - Low-fat mayonnaise spread
• 1 tsp – Chili powder
• 1/8 tsp – Black pepper
• 1/8 tsp – Table salt

* I use Embasa brand, but there are a number of different labels in the ethnic sections of the supermarkets.

NOTE: Adobe sauce is a thick, reddish sauce made with herbs, onions and other ingredients. It does tend to stain so be careful when using it and/or wear baggies on your hands. I have never had a problem getting it off of my skin, but fabrics and light countertops can be another story altogether.

Directions:

1. Open the can and place all of the peppers and sauce into a food processor. The peppers will probably be whole and pressed tightly into the can. If some sauce remains in the can, that’s fine. Leave it there until later.
2. Chop the peppers until they are fairly small, no larger than diced onion pieces.
3. Place the mayonnaise into a small storage bowl
4. Place 1/3 of the peppers (approximately 3 Tbs) on top of the mayonnaise
5. Add chili powder, pepper and salt (to taste)
6. Mix well with a fork, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl while stirring to assure all is mixed well

Use as a spread or condiment. Refrigerate the unused portion of spread.

Adjustments can be made after the first mixture is sampled. To make the spread thicker, include less of the adobo sauce. To make it hotter, add more chopped chipotle peppers or chili powder.

Take the remaining chopped peppers and divide them into two or three portions depending on taste. I generally place 2 ½-3 Tbs in a baggie and freeze it. Then I take the smaller baggies and place them inside a larger bag after they are frozen.

To use the peppers after they are frozen, remove them from the freezer, let them thaw slightly and place them inside a mixing bowl to defrost completely. In this case place the other ingredients on top of the peppers and mix well.

NOTE: I generally chop two cans of chipotle peppers at once. If I am going to mess up the food processor and have to clean up anyway, I might as well make it worth my while and chop more than one can.

I hope you like this spread. If you try it, please let me know how you like it. If you “tweak” it by adding other ingredients, please let me know that as well.

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

We hope you enjoy these PL8 A TUDES!

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post