Mike Blake

The yellowing is on my plants in the garden. The alders transplant no problem. The ones in the garden are young,  I'd probably chop them when they're 10' or so. There's no real plan though, if everything around it dies, I'll cut it. If they thrive, I'll leave it. I like to experiment.

Ben, exactly what I'm thinking.  I cut them back every couple of years, they won't take over. We get alot of sun in the summer , sunrise to set is 16 hrs right now, much of the garden gets too much afternoon sun in the summer. If they're causing a problem I get rid of it. I've had issues of plants going yellow and not growing so I'm thinking nitrogen is an issue. Comfrey tea helps but doesn't solve the problem

Thanks,  I guess there's better ways to add nitrogen and provide shade.

I've been transplanting these guys around my property for years, they're a great free resource of firewood, a quick privacy screen, leaves in the chicken run etc
Last year I planted a few in the garden, about 2 ' tall. I'm thinking that they'll be a benefit by fixing nitrogen, give a bit of shade, build the soil, etc people look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them this? Am I nuts? Would there be any downside? My thinking is I can always drop them in a few years and chip em.
I not noticed that of the two white walnuts I planted about 5 years ago, the one that's surrounded by alders is 3 or 4x as tall. I thought maybe the extra nitrogen had something to do with that
Any thoughts?

I've always believed that tomatoes prefer a good deep watering every few days rather than more frequent shallow watering but my garden help likes to water everything everyday. I'm currently watering every 2 or 3 days for an hour with soaker hoses. How often should tomatoes be watered? How can you tell from the plant or the soil that it needs more or has enough. My plants are no more than 18", when I dig about 8" into my raised bed the soil feels moist and forms a ball but breaks apart easily, I would think that moisture level is good.

Thanks for the feedback

I just built a Diego Footer 'Device for people who don't compost good'.  I also get chicken manure, household compost from the tumbler, and worm castings.

You don't need to drain the line if you put in a shutoff, just open the tap. The lines might freeze but pipes won't burst.  
As others have said, put the insulation on the cold side. Let it get some heat.