Central Midwest Gardening: August 2012, very hot and very dry., 2 by billyporter

billyporter wrote:
63°/93°/64°
Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing this afternoon. Hot. High 93F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%

Bernie,
Thanks!! Fruitland, off of Muscatine, is a sandy island and they grow supurb melons! Conesville, south of me, same story. Just a mile and a half east of town was my Dad's home. They also grew melons when he was a kid. They strapped them on the car and drove to the next town to sell them :o) Sadly, most of the original growers are dying and their kids aren't carrying on. It's really sad. I hope the Amish will pick up the pace.
I think he was lying a lot!! It's too cold to even plant seed except in a greenhouse. Aren't there laws against selling ''shipped in?''

Ju,
I'm talking roots that break the surface and are a hump in the yard, like the silver maple I have.
I've looked at both and disreguarded them already. Some are short lived, some have honeydew problems, some are weak, etc. I have yet to find the ''perfect tree, LOL! I grew up with a red bud. I pulled many seedlings from Mom's flower beds.

Shortleaf,
Yes, the tulip poplar and yes, I bumped it :o) I even found the Shortleaf Pine in my Audubon book.
That may be your best bet for a job. DD could have done that, but she didn't really want to fix them. You will be busy when you start!

Pepper,
I think that was zone 6. Yep I considered it too!

Will,
Yep, saw all those too. I'm looking for medium now. Deciduous and I want a width of about 25' tpo shade the beds and garage. Height 25' to 30'.

Happ, I hve looked thru three or four books of my own. I'm leaning towards a bird friendly tree now. Service berry was a thought, but it's short lived. I can't have something DH has to take down in his old age. I have a new list to research.
I can believe that about the raccoons! I agree. The chickens need to be locked up at night. Leaving a light on in the chickenhouse all night cuts down on the pecking order that goes on too. YIKES on the snake! Poor chicken!
I know coyotes have to eat too, but there are plenty of rodent and rabbits for them!
Melons!!

Yesterday after a bit of weeding and filling birdbaths, I sat outside and read. I actually came back in later to put on pants and a sweatshirt. The cool air gave me goosebumps, LOL! Today we will be hotter, but may get rain. May...

I am standing on the property line. The garage and bed in the yard are what I want to shade. The maple is farther back. It's limbs are longer at the bottom, so I'm looking for a top heavy tree. I don't have a lot of room to work a tree in, LOL!