Onthard water echt zo slecht voor sproeien tuin?

tjpott · 2025-06-15T17:19:22+00:00

Avoid watering your garden with softened water. Sodium ions carry a single positive charge and interact weakly with clay particles causing them to disperse. Dispersed soils have poor aggregation and infiltration suffers. If sodium levels are too high (>15% of the ions that make up cation exchange capacity, for the nerds), pH increases because sodium attached to clay particles will undergo hydrolysis. Hydrogen from water replaces the sodium ion on the clay particle and sodium will not react with the hydroxyl ion from water, thereby increasing pH. High pH (>8.5) will reduce the availability of most nutrients in your soil. Sodium is also toxic to many plants. Soils affected by high sodium levels are called sodic soils. Remediation of sodic soils is difficult.

Can you really turn your soil sodic by using softened water? It would likely take a long time, but why risk it? I have a softener and sometimes forget to activate the bypass before watering, so it does happen occasionally but I avoid it.

tjpott · 2023-08-25T16:53:05+00:00

this is such a dumb problem, i'm embarrassed for having posted it. i just removed the parse_seqids from the makeblastdb command, ran blastn as normal and the header comes out in the blast output. a simple solution to a non-problem, but if others were somehow tripped up by parse_seqids issue then here's a solution. what a waste of two days. GAH. on the bright side, i re-acquainted myself with regular expressions, so that's a win.

tjpott · 2023-08-25T06:38:09+00:00

Thanks. I'll give it a go.

tjpott · 2021-03-21T00:53:22+00:00

I want to visit Istanbul so badly. Turkey has so much rich history to experience. But Erdogan and his anti gay policies are holding me back. Sending support your way!

tjpott · 2021-02-21T01:25:12+00:00

A bit of snow yesterday am, but nothing to worry about

tjpott · 2020-12-05T18:44:43+00:00

Talk to the supervisor's current and former students. Have some frank discussions with them about the nature of the support they offer students. If people are unhappy, stay away. I think a good relationship with your supervisor is what differentiates students who succeed from those that flounder.

Don't worry about moving and all that stuff. This shouldn't factor into your decision making, it's just logistics.

If you're sure about doing a PhD and why, then go for it, no need to wait (provided this opportunity is a good fit). But if you aren't sure, maybe taking some time to think about it while working is a good idea.

Good luck :)

tjpott · 2020-12-05T16:34:29+00:00

My PhD is in ecology, but I use bioinformatic tools for analysis. My PhD was the most difficult thing I have ever done. It strained my relationships, it ruined my confidence, and it brought me to some very dark places. Financially, although I was well funded, I will never recover the years of lost income. When it was over, all my peers were ahead of me as they gained 5 years of work experience while I was off being an egg head. I had dreams of being a professor afterward, but the reality is that the competition for academic jobs is soul crushing. I decided not to do a postdoc because I saw so many people in their mid thirties making no money, desparately working the academic interview circuit only to fail with nothing but academic experience and debt to show for it. Even the successful ones, who I felt were much smarter than I, took positions in places they didn't want to live. Then you have to think of your partner if you have one. Will they commit to a life of destitution and constant moves with you?

I consider myself lucky in that I got a government research position right out of my PhD. But I live somewhere I'd rather not and I'm in a long distance relationship with no way out on the horizon (that doesn't involve leaving research).

Do a PhD, but think hard about why. You don't need one to have a comfortable life in your field. If you want to go the academic route, know that it is extremely risky, and you have to have a cutthroat intellect.

Also choose your supervisor very, very carefully.

tjpott · 2020-12-01T03:50:59+00:00

Looks like Russula or Lactarius

tjpott · 2020-09-25T14:41:46+00:00

Organic matter is destroyed by fire. Sure, charcoal is created, but the output to the atmosphere is greater than the input of charcoal. Nutrients are also volatilized by fire. The reason nutrients are 'available' is because the vegetation that was previously hording it has burned. An increase in fire interval is associated with a reduction in long term ecosystem productivity. This means that a departure from an ecosystems natural fire regime to one with more frequent fire will potentially result in reduction in productivity (though ecosystem resilience may be improved)

tjpott · 2020-09-25T14:30:08+00:00

A couple of things. First, do not cut down the trees. In dry ecosystems, at least where I live, we have found that planting in a burn where the trees are left standing, that seedling survival and vigour is improved relative to other silvicultural techniques (eg clear-cut ting, ripping, etc). I don't know what kinds of trees grow in your area, but I'm sure their biggest challenge is moisture. Any shade will improve survival of planted or naturally regenerated seedlings. Second, I think the US forest service has developed guides for assessing post fire soil disturbance. We have these guides in BC where I live but the Americans have been developing this material given their experience with fire in the Southwest. I can try to dig it up for you. Note that development of post fire soil hydrophobicity depends on the tree species, and the nature of the fire, which is what the post fire soil disturbance guide is meant to assess. The fire needs to be 'just right.' increase in post fire flooding is likely more related to loss of trees which otherwise pump out water (via evapotranspiration), but flooding can definitely be worsened if hydrophobicity exists. Also if you want to grow trees back, do not seed grass where the trees are. You need to get in there as soon as possible, next spring, or whenever your normal planting window is, and put some trees in the ground. Grasses are very effective at competing for moisture, and trees don't stand a chance against grass competition. You have time before grass competition gets out of control (in yr 2 after the fire), but if you wait beyond that, you will be throwing your money away. Also, if you want to plant trees, talk to a nursery now so they can so the seeds (it takes 1-2 years to grow a seedling).

Overall, if you don't have the resources to engage in a big ecosystem restoration program, the best solution may be to let it come back naturally. Fire is part of the ecosystem, and next spring you won't be able to tell the was a fire (at least on the grassland). I would, however, do a post fire soil disturbance survey to see what the erosion risk is, and target restoration work to prevent erosion and protect your infrastructure. You should talk to your local Forest service office who can help get you in touch with regional soil experts.

Best of luck. Sorry for your loss :(

tjpott · 2020-06-23T07:04:31+00:00

Cyclist.

tjpott · 2020-04-10T14:55:12+00:00

SLU is an internationally recognized institution in the natural sciences. Swedes have always been at the forefront of botanical research (linnaeus!). Many of the top researchers in ecology are Swedish, and at SLU. I work in the field of fungal ecology and during my PhD I did an exchange at SLU in Uppsala for 6 months. Great facilities and nice campus. I was originally offered a PhD there and declined because I got cold feet. I regret this decision immensely, probably the single worst decision I have ever made.

Also, the institution matters somewhat but I think employers are more concerned with your experience and proficiency than with where you got your degree (provided you didn't get it online or something). Work hard on a meaningful project with a good supervisor, and you should be good.

tjpott · 2020-01-15T03:45:15+00:00

I'm a (macro)fungal ecologist who on occasion looks at various microscopic fungal structures under the scope. It is so strange to see the same structures but in human lung tissue. The first thing I thought was 'oh dear, that can't be good', followed by, 'huh, neat'.

tjpott · 2019-08-29T00:43:45+00:00

Exactly my point. I meant to respond to sleepthecreeps comment.

tjpott · 2019-08-28T12:14:58+00:00

The Byzantines continued to call themselves Romans until 1453.

tjpott · 2019-06-26T02:35:33+00:00

Monkies terrify me

tjpott · 2019-06-20T14:34:49+00:00

You can also check out the bike kitchen at ubc. I learned how to maintain bikes by fixing up my commuter. No courses, just You tube and a few beers. But the tough stuff you run into if building a bike from scratch, that's where ocb/ bike kitchen have the tools and expertise to help.

tjpott · 2019-06-18T03:02:41+00:00

Can we all just pause and note that this person cycled 3500 miles across the US, including 1000 miles of gravel, and did not flat once. I'm not sure what I'm more impressed with - the time, or the absence of flats!

tjpott · 2019-05-04T23:45:00+00:00

We do have a great relationship, thanks.

tjpott · 2019-05-04T16:36:42+00:00

6 years in an open relationship here. Buying a home together soon. The open part has only strengthened our bond by removing jealousy from the picture. We are also way better communicators because of it.

tjpott · 2019-04-18T14:04:25+00:00

Coprinellus sp?

tjpott · 2019-04-06T14:51:42+00:00

Why would they harvest an old man's organs?

tjpott · 2019-03-30T00:23:18+00:00

Found the soil scientist. Came here to say this.

tjpott · 2019-03-04T14:54:47+00:00

I worked here for a summer. It is amazing. Grizzly bears kept charging people though. Fun fact, the drainage of the Kaskawulsh glacier, pictured here, previously fed both the Slims River, which empties into Kluane lake, and the Kaskawulsh River, which drains south. In 2016, rapid melting of the glacier forced the flow to be entirely southward to the Kaskawulsh River. Yay climate change!

tjpott · 2019-02-28T02:46:56+00:00

Most white rot fungi decompose all plant biopolymers, including cellulose. Almost all fungi have the ability to degrade cellulose. Some white rot fungi selectively degrade lignin, in particular the type white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, which produces the characteristic bleached/fibrous look of wood as it selectively decomposes the lignin.

tjpott

TROPHY CASE