July, 2014 Update from Family Garden Trains^TM

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In this Issue

That said, the world of garden railroading seems to be picking up again. I am still very sorry that AristoCraft closed their doors last year, but a few of their most important and unique products (including track and remote control technology) seem to be going forward, as our links further down show.

We still have some great "how-to" articles in the works, but being away from home this much has put a dent in opportunities to "get my hands dirty." Instead, I've dedicated some of those long hours away from home with nothing but internet access to creating the single biggest addition to our garden trains site ever - a discussion forum. Many of you have participated in these before and know their value. For those who haven't, one big advantage is the ability to get lots of folks' feedback to any question, rather than just mine.

One thing I've discovered is that the auto-signup feature allows hundreds of spammers a day to join unless I spend hours a day monitoring the inbox and manually following up on every "new member." I also learned that there is great value in knowing exactly who is signing up, so I can keep things on a positive, family-friendly note. I've seen too many web sites - even in related hobbies - where a simple question results in a dozen snarky answers and no help at all for the hobbyist. For that reason, and to lock spam out of the forums, I am requiring a manual signup - you fill out a form and it gets e-mailed to me. Sometimes this means you won't get signed up right away, because I get behind. But it also means that if anyone gets nasty, I can pull the plug quickly, and that's worth a lot to me and to the folks I hope will keep active here.

Finally, I want to welcome a new contributor to this site - plant expert, garden railroader, and Little River Rail Road fan Tom Knight. I'm hoping that the article we are linking to in this page is just a taste of things to come.

Topics discussed in this update include:

• Garden Railroading Discussion Forums - Family Garden Trains(tm) is becoming WAY more interactive.

• You Say You Want a Revolution? - The Revolution series of train remote controls continues to grow.

• Plant Selection Basics for Outdoor Layouts: Plant Names Plants with the same "Latin names" can be very different - which is why understanding plant names is critical.

• Polk's GeneratioNext Expands - if you want great track, parts for AristoCraft trains, or to shop the remaining train stock from Polk's, check out Scott Polk's expanded web page.

• Garden Railroading in Late Summer

Garden Railroading Discussion Forums

This is not an attempt to divert contributors from other discussion forums like Large Scale Central, which is owned by a fellow hobbyist and friend. It's mostly a way for folks who are already our readers, contributors, and correspondents to communicate directly with each other, instead of having to go through Paul for everything. It also gives everybody who participates a chance to see many, many more project ideas, tips, and tricks than they would otherwise.

Because the forum is brand-new, most of the forums are just about empty. Our experience is that new forums (like long coal trains) take a while to gain real momentum. But once things get going, we think you'll be glad you got onboard early.

If you want to sign up for our discussion forums so you can share projects, float ideas, answer other people's questions, etc., please use our Family Garden Trains^TM Discussion Forum Signup Sheet. You can also sign up for our newsletter and ask questions using that form.

To read the forum without signing in you may click here. That said, once you've signed up, we recommend that click the "Log me on automatically each visit" box when you sign in, because from then on the little lights will show you automatically if anything's been posted since your last visit. Again, the content is pretty thin at the moment, but hopefully won't stay that way long.

To sign up for the discussion forums, please click the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/fgt_forum_signup.htm

To check the forums out without signing up, please click the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/forums/index.php

Plant Selection Basics for Outdoor Layouts: Plant Names

To see the Plant Names article, please click the following link

http://familygardentrains.com/primer/plants/knight/plant_selection.htm

You Say You Want a Revolution?

To see the new Crest web page, please click the following link

http://crest-electronics.net

Polk's GeneratioNext Expands

To see the GeneratioNext page, please click the following link

http://polksgenerationext.com/

Garden Railroading in Late Summer

• Plant Maintenance - It will soon be time to "deadhead" any plants that bloom in June and early July, including yarrow, larger sedums, and other plants.

  If you have "normal" thyme, you might want to "harvest" some by cutting it while it is still in flower, then tying it in bunches and hanging it upside down until it dries. Watch for bees; thyme attracts some very tiny species you almost never see otherwise. Try not to cut back beyond the last green part of the plants. It's also time to pull the crabgrass, nutgrass, and goldenrod that somehow gets seeded into your railroad every year.

  As you work your way around your railroad, be sure to take a dandelion puller/knife with you so you're not tempted to break off any dandelions or thistles at the ground - they WILL return.

  This is not a good time to trim evergreens; wait until cooler weather if you can. However if you have other plants that are growing up against your Dwarf Alberta Spruce, cut them back now - they will kill the branches they are lying against, and make the conifer more prone to destructive pests.

• Irrigation - In western Ohio, by early August of every year, the "experts" are telling us that the grass isn't dying - it's just gone dormant. I contend that when it crumbles to dust and blows away, it's beyond dormant. However, I have two acres, so watering the lawn is a luxury I can't always afford. That said, I do try to keep an eye on the plants on my garden railroad. Fortunately most of them, like my ubiquitous sedums, are pretty drought-resistant. And having weed growth and insect migrations slow down in the dry summer months is a benefit, not a curse. But sometimes, you have to get the hose out. One way to tell when is when evergreen groundcovers start looking as gray as they do in the winter. Another way to tell is that certain deciduous plants, trees, and shrubs will be pointing their leaves almost straight up, as though they're conserving moisture and hoping to trap any rainfall at all. Here are a few caveats:
  • Watering your entire garden railroad indiscriminately (say with a lawn sprinkler) will increase weed growth, so it should be done sparingly or only during "emergencies."
  • Watering most evergreen trees with hard water may keep them alive in the short term, but too much hard water can harm them in the long run. In true droughts, there are always cases of folks "killing with kindness" when it comes to conifers and hard water.
  • Watering in the late evening will make the moisture last longer. However you should avoid evening waterings during the "wetter" months of the year, as it can compound mold or similar problems.
  • Make certain you don't leave any open containers that can collect your irrigation water and give mosquitoes a place to breed.
  • Even if you don't water your garden railroad much during the summer, consider giving it a soaking the morning of any day in which you plan to have company. It will "perk up" and green up your plants and make the whole garden look that much more attractive.

• Planning an Open House - If you're thinking about a late summer or early autumn open house for your garden railroad, now is the time to start planning. Most clubs have open railroads in late summer or early fall.

  Early fall is a great time for open railroads, by the way. Once you've deadheaded the plants that need it and pulled all the weeds, growth of both desirable and undesirable plants slows, so you have more time to spend on realigning your track or fixing your building lighting. But if you can schedule it before the big leaf-fall in your region, that will keep you from de-leafing your railroad at the last minute as I frequently have to do with my early November open railroads.

  By the way, I'm still planning an open railroad for the second Saturday in November, but probably won't have one sooner. If you're interested in seeing some great garden railroads "live," this month, please check out garden train clubs in your area.

• Landscaping Opportunities - Although you're not supposed to plant trees in August, many stores start reducing prices on landscaping trees about this time. Generally, if I get anything like that at the sales, I leave it in the pot in a shaded area and make sure it stays moist until I have time to trim it up and get it into the ground in the fall.

• Water Feature Care - Make certain that the "waterfalls" that aerate your pond are running properly. This includes cleaning out the filter as often as necessary to maintain a strong flow. If you're going to be gone for a time during hot weather, consider putting your pond pump on a timer so it only runs during the afternoon, when the fish need it most, but it doesn't run so much that it clogs up and stops running period.

  If you need to treat the pond to get rid of that stringy dark algae, be careful to read the label - some brands kill water hyacinth and other plants (Pond Care Algae-Fix's present formula works without killing my plants). If you do treat your pond for algae, be doubly careful to make certain your pond is getting aerated - otherwise the dying algae creates an unhealthy environment for your fish.

• When It's Too Hot to Play Outside - If it's too hot to run trains, you might think about planning an indoor "test-track" somewhere that you can use in the "dog days" of summer as well as the cold days of winter. It probably is time to start prioritizing your list of what you plan to get accomplished before the leaves fall. Unless you live where the leaves don't fall, then you may need that indoor "test track" right now.

Please let us know if you have some warm-weather tip that you would like to share with your fellow readers.

Keep in Touch

Finally, please let us know about your ongoing projects. Ask questions, send corrections, suggest article ideas, send photos, whatever you think will help you or your fellow railroaders. In the meantime, enjoy your trains, and especially enjoy any time you have with your family in the coming weeks,

Paul Race

FamilyGardenTrains.com

To view the newsletter for February, 2014, click on the following link:

http://familygardentrains.com/fgt_newsletter/14_02_newsletter_gr.htm

To read more, or to look at recommended Garden Railroading and Big Indoor Train products, please click on the index pages below.