Edited by Cathy Tylka, for Let’s Talk Plants! January 2025.
Current question -
…What would you like to ask? Do you have a burning question, or do you just want to know what’s going on in our fellow members’ gardens?
I’ll start. Did you add a new item, structure, or even receive something from another, something new which you are excited about, and why?
Julie Erickson shares…
…Very excited that we’ve got most of the back yard and upper deck fitted with automatic drip waterers on a timer. And here are the rain barrels’ contents in use.
We even have a corner of our “natural pool” where we grow water loving plants that help filter the pool water. Inspired by the water talk I heard a few weeks ago, we also added an edge to our metal roof and two rain barrels to collect water. They are already full! I’m surprised at how much water we’ve been letting drip off the roof onto the deck over the years!
We got one rain barrel from Tractor Supply, the other from Costco. They are on our upper deck where we also have raised beds (for tomatoes and veggies) and roses in containers. So, I imagine we will use the water to irrigate both.
Here are the two rain barrels we added. They filled just by adding a lip and a downspout to our metal roof!
From Cathy – “And, then I asked her about her wonderful metal roof, as I noticed it in the picture.”
And she replied,
“100% best choice!!!”
From Julie, “The metal roof alone can reduce temperatures in the house up to 20%, there is condensation on it so you collect water every night even when it’s not raining and because contaminants don’t stick to it the water is not as contaminated as water off any other kind of roof! You must ask for the “gutter” that goes with it! It is not like other gutters! It’s more like a lip off the end. The guy who installed ours didn’t know what he was doing and shoved it up to touch the standing seams which prevented the water from flowing and we recently had to pay someone else to do what was necessary to get the water to flow to the down spouts. So be sure whoever you get to install it knows how to correctly set it up to collect water. Our new handyman knows how to do it if you want his number.”
From Cathy, “Good for you! We love our metal roof!”
Debbie Albe simply replied…
…We gave our driveway a fun makeover.
Karen England 92084 admits…
…to not having added anything new to the garden in the past year. Maybe this next year! I am planning (and have been for a while now) on adding a shed at the top of my property on the spectacular view spot that I have that I lovingly call “Uppermost”. Right now, and for the last year, there is a camping tent up top where the shed will go. The tent has managed to survive two ferocious windstorms with their sixty plus mile an hour winds. I was sure the tent would blow down both times but it’s still there! (In anticipation of getting a shed, two years ago I had a wood burning fireplace installed up there in order to get rid of the fire pit that was in a central spot where the shed will go and where the tent is now. Also, at that same time, a concrete slab was poured for under the future shed.)
Cathy Tylka of 92026 replies…
…My back porch project, from a few months ago, is progressing. The wooden structures have been replaced, and it has been shored up to accommodate a slant, so the rain will fall gently off at an angle. That is, when it has been added.
But I’m excited to have this much completed and painted with both primer and semi-gloss. The rest will occur in 2025!
Question for next month…
...It’s citrus time in the San Diego area. Tell all! Do you have a favorite to share? Do you have a less than favorite? And remember, any pictures you can share are appreciated.
How did you plant it, how old is it, do you like or love your fruit?
Have you had any citrus failures?
Do you help pollinate them, and/or fertilize?
How about water? Are they on sprinklers or do you just use a hose?
Have you revived any or even Bonsaied any?
Share, share, share!
Cathy Tylka, RN, retired Emergency Nurse, found her love of plants and the SDHS merge many years ago. Cathy acted as Treasurer for the organization and volunteers for many activities. Now, she is more than happy to assist in gathering questions to ask you in the Sharing Secrets area of the Newsletter.
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