Press-Republican

Cornell Cooperative Extension

Related Photos

  • Jolene Wallace is the horticulture program assistant for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Clinton County. Contact her at 561-7450 or jmw442@cornell.edu.

    Wallace_Jolene_mug.jpg

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
January 23, 2012

Experience is the best teacher

JOLENE WALLACE, Cornell Cooperative Extension Press-Republican

I was shoveling snow from the walkway leading from our driveway to our front door the other day when a couple of things occurred to me.

First, shoveling snow is a lot like shoveling soil, except for the outside temperature, of course. The guidelines are the same.

You should warm up your muscles before beginning. You need a proper shovel, and you need to shovel properly. Gloves are advisable. Try to make your movements fluid rather than jerky, and don't feel compelled to do the entire job at one time.

Whether snow or soil, if you have a large area that needs your attention, or a small one that feels large while you're shoveling, break it into more manageable pieces. Take a break, warm up or cool down as the case may be, and return to it when you safely can. The snow will wait till you get back, I assure you, and your back with thank you.

The other thing I realized while I was shoveling snow is that the expression "Experience is the best teacher" is right on. This Nordic quotation is actually, "Experience is the best teacher, but the tuition is high."

I thought of it because as I shoveled the walkway, I was noticing that some of the spreading junipers that line the walk are not looking their best, and not just because it's winter.

Last summer, they started looking a tad ratty, and I tried to ignore it. Silly me. I can see now that I will have to do something in the spring to help them get back on track.

I suspect that when we originally planted them we did not have the experience to know that landscape fabric was not appropriate for the situation.

Little did we know, when we dug out trenches along the walkway, filled the trenches with expensive soil trucked in for the occasion, lay down landscape fabric and then covered it with more expensive soil, that when we planted, we would have to break through the landscape fabric to make adequate room for the juniper roots.

This was not an easy task, and I may not have given it the effort it required. I know I didn't give it the thought I should have. I recall that by the end of the day, I just wanted it to be done so I could get cleaned up, put my feet up, and give myself a few pats on the back.

Now, a couple of years later, the experience has taught me that I should have taken more time, done more research, thought it through more carefully and done it the way it should have been done.

Instead of pats on the back, I should have given myself kicks to the backside. This lesson comes at a price, of course, and I haven't finished paying for it yet. But like they say, the cost of a good education can by high.

The good news is that we don't have to learn just from our own experiences. You can learn from mine, and I can learn from yours.

If you have had a gardening experience that you learned something from, positive or negative, please share it with me. It may save me the cost of learning it for myself.

Jolene Wallace is the horticulture program assistant for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Clinton County. Contact her at 561-7450 or jmw442@cornell.edu.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Cornell Cooperative Extension