From The Desk Of Bill Varga
Sphagnum Moss, Peat Moss, which is the moss? Good question. Actually Sphagnum is a horticultural name given to over 300 different but related mosses. I could tell a childhood joke here, but that’s Debbie’s arena so I will hold the competitive thought…. Sphagnum moss is collected as a live organism and dried for use ornamentally or in our case horticulturally to line hanging baskets. Before drip systems, this was vital to successfully maintaining these baskets. Sphagnum holds water and allows busy humans saving grace if we miss a water turn. Peat moss, unlike the living Sphagnum found on or around ponds and wetlands, is at the bottom of these moist areas and may be as old as a thousand years! It isn’t only decaying Sphagnum, but is the remanent detritus of the composite wetland environment. Peat moss is old to ancient bug parts, leaves, etc. (too much information here may upset your lunch or dinner plans). So peat moss is the better of the two as soil amendment, or is it? Actually in Utah, the Soil Pep products with more coarse particles help loosen and better aerate our often dense clay loam soils. The addition, peat moss in some instances may set up such soils to bake into adobe like bricks! Not good! Both Sphagnum moss and peat moss can be horticultural helpfuls. Choose wisely. Enjoy the journey.
An old farmer had a blue-ribbon cow. He pastured this valuable animal in the best meadow, where there was plenty of grass and water. There were railroad tracks at the back of the meadow, and one day the train’s whistle spooked the cow into running away. The farmer looked and looked but couldn’t find her.
A couple days later, the farmer contacted the railroad company and said he wanted to be reimbursed for his prize cow. An insurance adjuster arrived the next day and asked the farmer if he would settle for half of what he was asking. The farmer said yes, so the adjuster quickly wrote out a check. “Whew! That’s a load off my mind,” the adjuster said. “I was authorized to give you the full amount.” “I’m happy,” the farmer replied. “The cow came back yesterday.”
Marriage Counseling, Southern Style:
Earl and Bubba, two good ole boys from Dixie, are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, chewing and drinking beer, when suddenly Bubba says, “I think I’m going to divorce my wife. She hasn’t spoke to me in over 2 months.” Earl spits, sips his beer and says, “You better think it over, women like that are hard to find.”
0 Comments