Have to start or pot close to 100 lilies the next couple of days. Trying a new soil blend this season, one part clay/snad canal bottom, 1 part old beaver pond black bottom, well rotted. Touch of fish emulsion 5-1-1. Beavers look to be gone after being there my entire life. They made this weird diversion, cistern looking thing upstream and there was a fire. But the last den within several miles of creek is abandoned. Went to scout it out, pick some wild blackberries and grab the black bottom mud.
Water is at all time low, lots of turtles stuck in puddle in middle of parrotfeather surface. I'm getting them out sooner than later. Even bullfrogs are lost, stuck high and dry, dead polliwogs in dried out cracked depressions.
Got 14 5 gal buckets full, rolled a dolly down with two milk crates. Filled them up and back for more. In 100 degree heat midafternoon there was more water in my t shirt and skivvies than in the creek. In the 4 inch cracks between the chunks there is fresh soft muck. I leave that and took only slices of the black bottom.
Blend that wet with red clay sand mix, stinky fish emulsion. Going with 3 whites, 3 reds, 3 peaches. Going for 7th 300 gal stock tank. Should have over 200 plants at home, nearly double that at ponds I manage. Trying to expand droughtbuster series with more colors. Might also start some pond smartweed with pink flowers. Have a new customer with a lot of it. Looks like great fish cover, and pond entry plant to go with lilies. Almost maxed out on tub space, 7 300's, 3 100's. My goal is 10 300's, but they might not fit, and wife is having a fit. But I need to get a head start for Fall planting at low water. If I have 2-3 months of growth in pots my overwinter success rate vastly improves.
New customer where I planted 10 doubles and triangles of 11 species doing great. The only dud was weak stock with little leaves. Also did 10 different marginals, they all survived. Mixed in some bulbs, daylilies and dahlias. Have to replant a few of those and drop off some baby bullfrogs I grew from polliwogs in the lily tanks along with gambusia. Each tank produces lilies, either gambusia of FHM and bullfrog polliwogs. Taking photos of course.
