Re: Interactive Projects/information/guilds database

["georg parlow" <georg@websuxxess.com>]

(i was hanging on to this reply, waiting for the dblist to start showing
some traffic. but since it is either still without a mentionable number of
participants or they are all as hesitant as myself in starting to use the
list, i post it here on the general list after all.)

----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Morris <webmaster@pfaf.org>

some minor comments below:




> My mind recalls some stuff I picked up recently on a teacher
> training course. There are four stages in a group dynamic
> forming - just building relationships
> storming - heated discussion about everything
> norming - arriving at a common objectives
> performing - getting on with it.
>
> We probably still in the forming stage here, maybe its time
> to come up with some solid structures so that we can have
> something to storm about.

well, i feel on the general pc list we (at least some of us) went through
all 4 stages, or actually right now we are between 3 and 4. this at the same
time is the start of the next cycle, so in the "getting on with it" group we
are in stage 1.


> As a help to any on these lists, I'm happy to let people have the
> pfaf dataset (and code if they are mad enough!). I'm sure we can
> workout something in licence terms later.

way cool, rich!




> Hardiness
> The hardiness zones plant grows in. Maybe want to specify
> a range of zones for these. Of more use to US people than rest
> of world. Might want some more useful info such as conditions
> in which the plant can survive (min temp),
> and conditions necessary for it to bare fruit (length of growing
> season).

i reckon these zones completely useless, for they do ignore microclimate.
and in the 'necessities for survival' you need annual mean (or T-sum) as
well as absolute minimum (even tho this again is varying quite a bit between
individual genetic strains of the same species). i was in correspondence
with a german chap, who grew the most incredible southern woddy perennials
somewhere in zone 5 - with things like perfect drainage, within 2 meters of
the house, within 1 meter of the house, under the awning, winterwrap of corn
straw, etc. he did miracles.

and then we have not touched the guilding aspects so far.

if a wild plant, or a cultivated plant that still has a wild form known, the
re should actually be people who can enter field data from their experience,
as to whith what plants the plant in question likes to hang out with in its
natural habitat. and of course wizards like toby can share their
experimentially arrived knowledge about those aspects.

(especially but not only) for plants where neither guilding field data nor
designers experience is available, descriptions of the rooting system might
be useful. with the information of similar climatic, soil, habitat and
matching moisture requirements, we can then find complementing light
requirements/shading ability and complementing root systems to have a
starting point for new guilding experiments. description of root systems
should be at least surface-both/medium-deep.

georg