2020 Gardening Thread

[Inor]

This year is the year of the garden at M.T. Acres. We have plans on putting up 6 raised bed gardens this year, whether we get that far or not remains a mystery, but that is the plan.

In support of that, I got the forms done for pouring the cast concrete panels for them today.

9714

They are all screwed together and have two heavy coats of butcher block oil. So the only thing that is left is to fill in the corners with latex caulk and do the concrete pour.

I intentionally left the sides with about a 1/16 to 1/8 inch gap to be filled in with latex caulk to make it easier to take the forms off. I figure I can just remove the screws holding it all together and run the corner of a putty knife to break it free.

I am going with a 4000 PSI premixed concrete rather than the CSA concrete. The CSA concrete can achieve strengths of up to 7000 PSI, but the work time with it is so fast, I do not think I can get it cast and smoothed properly in the time allowed. With a portland cement based solution, I have about an hour to get everything done properly. Yes, it means that I will only be able to do about 4 casting per day, but it is a small price to pay for being able to work it for more than 10 minutes.

Tomorrow I will caulk the forms and hopefully get the first pour done. I have no idea how well, or even if this will work. It may be a wild success or an abject failure. I am going out on a limb here because I have no idea.

Updates to follow...

[KnuteFartne]

Badass big M! Might as well give it a shot. I'm guessing it'll work out fine.

At the new place we already have a ton of fruit trees already known to produce so I am good there.

The former owner had a raised wood garden bed about 6X10 but I want to go bigger (time will be a factor when we start). We've also been throwing around the idea of a greenhouse.

Curious though about your soil in AZ. I'm guessing you have to haul in planting soil?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Deebo]

Inor, I worked a little bit of concrete, back in the day.
I aint no expert. But I do remember a few things.
I do know that for our forms we used old used motor oil, and rolled it on with paint rollers (we poured septic tank casts, and stepping stone from the left overs). It was messy, but cheap. Surprisingly, it doesn't go into the concrete if I remember right (20 Years ago).
We would walk around the forms and tap them with a huge mallet, to reduce air bubbles.
I also remember watching the video of those forms being made, and All I can add, is I would put a piece of scrap wire or something in the form, just in case that concrete cracks or breaks, it will keep it together.
Best of luck, and I know you can make it work.
Now let me borrow that tractor..

[Inor]

Badass big M! Might as well give it a shot. I'm guessing it'll work out fine.

At the new place we already have a ton of fruit trees already known to produce so I am good there.

The former owner had a raised wood garden bed about 6X10 but I want to go bigger (time will be a factor when we start). We've also been throwing around the idea of a greenhouse.

Curious though about your soil in AZ. I'm guessing you have to haul in planting soil?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

My original plan was to just haul in a couple dump trucks full of black dirt. Apparently "black dirt" is a Minnesota term because when I called the dirt people they had no idea what I was talking about. When I told them what I was using it for they gave me estimates that were outrageously expensive - like north of $1000 per truckload!

Talking with some folks that have lived here for several years, they told me to just use the clay that is about 3 inches under the sand here. We do have an abundance of clay.

So, we have a few acres that is outside of our fenceline. Thus, I think I will just go out there with the tractor and see what I can get. I am sure I will have to condition it. But I will figure that part out when I get that far.

[Slippy]

This year is the year of the garden at M.T. Acres. We have plans on putting up 6 raised bed gardens this year, whether we get that far or not remains a mystery, but that is the plan.

In support of that, I got the forms done for pouring the cast concrete panels for them today.

9714

They are all screwed together and have two heavy coats of butcher block oil. So the only thing that is left is to fill in the corners with latex caulk and do the concrete pour.

I intentionally left the sides with about a 1/16 to 1/8 inch gap to be filled in with latex caulk to make it easier to take the forms off. I figure I can just remove the screws holding it all together and run the corner of a putty knife to break it free.

I am going with a 4000 PSI premixed concrete rather than the CSA concrete. The CSA concrete can achieve strengths of up to 7000 PSI, but the work time with it is so fast, I do not think I can get it cast and smoothed properly in the time allowed. With a portland cement based solution, I have about an hour to get everything done properly. Yes, it means that I will only be able to do about 4 casting per day, but it is a small price to pay for being able to work it for more than 10 minutes.

Tomorrow I will caulk the forms and hopefully get the first pour done. I have no idea how well, or even if this will work. It may be a wild success or an abject failure. I am going out on a limb here because I have no idea.

Updates to follow...

Looking forward to seeing more, Great Job!

(PS I built shit that I have used in my shop/barn/house etc that doesn't look as good as Inor's concrete forms that he's going to throw away! :hail: )

[Broncosfan]

I ran into the same problem here in Ohio getting decent soil. The county I live in is well known for the clay and potteries . For years I have struggled to get the soil in decent shape. Last year I found a guy that had composted horse manure that was well aged. I had 28 yards hauled before starting last years garden. It looked more like rich dirt. I added some to the rows and made several raised beds. I had a huge increase in overall everything we grew. I 'm added I think 3 more raised beds this year. I have about 10 yards of composted horse manure ready when the weather breaks and about 10 tons of good topsoil to start this year. I have another 12 yards of compost that will be ready.

[Inor]

I did the first pour today and they did not come out too terribly bad.

9728

Mixing up the last bag of concrete, I got too much water in it, so I am not sure if that one is going to turn out or not. If it does not, that is not the end of the world.

One thing that made me VERY happy is the forms hold almost exactly 60 pounds of concrete. That means I can start buying the 60# bags rather than the 80 pounders. Also, the aggregate that comes in the concrete is a little bigger than I anticipated so it is more difficult to get a good finish on the small areas of the forms. So I think when I go get more concrete I am also going to pick up a couple bags of Portland cement and mix a small coffee can of that into the mix as well. It should make them a little bit stronger and more creamy to work with.

Tomorrow is the big day when I take the forms off and we see how they look and if the forms are truly reusable.

[Slippy]

I did the first pour today and they did not come out too terribly bad.

9728

Mixing up the last bag of concrete, I got too much water in it, so I am not sure if that one is going to turn out or not. If it does not, that is not the end of the world.

One thing that made me VERY happy is the forms hold almost exactly 60 pounds of concrete. That means I can start buying the 60# bags rather than the 80 pounders. Also, the aggregate that comes in the concrete is a little bigger than I anticipated so it is more difficult to get a good finish on the small areas of the forms. So I think when I go get more concrete I am also going to pick up a couple bags of Portland cement and mix a small coffee can of that into the mix as well. It should make them a little bit stronger and more creamy to work with.

Tomorrow is the big day when I take the forms off and we see how they look and if the forms are truly reusable.

Excellent Inor!

By chance, did you put a few pieces of sturdy gauge metal wire in the forms? Rebar is probably too heavy but something like hog fencing would work fine.

[Inor]

Excellent Inor!

By chance, did you put a few pieces of sturdy gauge metal wire in the forms? Rebar is probably too heavy but something like hog fencing would work fine.


I did. Homely Despot sells some wire mesh that is designed specifically for this application.

Just a quick rundown on the cost for these bad boys so far...

The materials for the forms was about $40.

A 60# bag of Sakrete was $3.29
Wire mesh was $2.89 for a 10 foot piece (enough to make 3 panels) - So $1 per panel
The PVC pipe was $2 something for a 10 foot piece - So about 15 cents per panel
The cheapest latex caulk was about $2.50 per tube (enough to do 5-6 panels)

So the total cost for these babies (without considering the forms) is less than $5 per panel! My target was to keep them under $7 per panel and I would have been happy keeping them under $10. Needless to say, I am ecstatic about that part. I'll find out in a few hours if it worked...

[Inor]

Trial #1 did not go so well. The upside is the forms worked perfectly. They came off without even having to tap them with a hammer. That made me extremely happy because that was my biggest concern when starting

However the concrete looked like crap and was not very strong. I was actually able to break one of them just by pushing on it. It is possible that I did not let them dry long enough even though I gave them a full 24 hours. Plus, the finish on them looks like shit. I think the Sakrete had too large of aggregate in it and not enough Portland.

I took 2 of them out and will not use them. I left the other 2 still in the forms. I have to fly off tomorrow so I will leave those in the forms until next weekend when I get back. But I do not think I will use them.

I also need to come up with some kind of wire reinforcement to wrap around the PVC. I do have some of the cattle fence left over from building the steer pasture. Maybe that will work.

For trial #2, I bought a bag of Portland and some sand. I will try mixing it myself and see how that goes.

I guess on a positive note, I did learn 1 way NOT to make concrete garden beds.

[Slippy]

Trial #1 did not go so well. The upside is the forms worked perfectly. They came off without even having to tap them with a hammer. That made me extremely happy because that was my biggest concern when starting

However the concrete looked like crap and was not very strong. I was actually able to break one of them just by pushing on it. It is possible that I did not let them dry long enough even though I gave them a full 24 hours. Plus, the finish on them looks like shit. I think the Sakrete had too large of aggregate in it and not enough Portland.

I took 2 of them out and will not use them. I left the other 2 still in the forms. I have to fly off tomorrow so I will leave those in the forms until next weekend when I get back. But I do not think I will use them.

I also need to come up with some kind of wire reinforcement to wrap around the PVC. I do have some of the cattle fence left over from building the steer pasture. Maybe that will work.

For trial #2, I bought a bag of Portland and some sand. I will try mixing it myself and see how that goes.

I guess on a positive note, I did learn 1 way NOT to make concrete garden beds.

Inor,

I have thought about your project quite a bit today!

And I keep going back to the idea of simply building some plywood forms on the ground where you want the garden to be and getting a Cement Mixer truck to deliver and pour the cement. I'm assuming that you want the Raided Beds to be at least a couple of feet tall so you might need enough cement to justify a delivery?

Just thinking aloud on this one...

[Inor]

Inor,

I have thought about your project quite a bit today!

And I keep going back to the idea of simply building some plywood forms on the ground where you want the garden to be and getting a Cement Mixer truck to deliver and pour the cement. I'm assuming that you want the Raided Beds to be at least a couple of feet tall so you might need enough cement to justify a delivery?

Just thinking aloud on this one...

That might end up being what I do. Mrs Inor wants to start with 6 of them so that would require at least one truckload. But this is kind of fun, so I am going to try a couple more times with the forms first and see where we land. If I can get this figured out, it will be damn cool and I will be able to do a BUNCH of other stuff with it.

Plus, concrete is so cheap that even if I do end up throwing in the trowel :biglaugh:, I am not out much.

[Slippy]

...even if I do end up throwing in the trowel :biglaugh: ...

That was a good one, made me chuckle! :trophy:

[Inor]

Update:

Version 0.1 of the garden panels came out much better.

9782

These are the same exact concrete mix as the first two, but they have been sitting in the forms for a week. I am still not entirely happy with the finish, but I think I can make that better by adding some Portland cement and a little more sand to the concrete mixture. So I think I am going to continue using the high strength Sakrete:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/SAKRETE-60-lb-Gray-Concrete-Mix-65200940/100321247

The one thing I noticed about the Sakrete is that it is pretty inconsistent with how much cement is mixed into each bag. I think by adding some, it will be better.

Also, I do not think I vibrated it well enough when I poured the concrete. I was just tapping the forms with a hammer to vibrate it. So next time I think I am going to try using my sawzall without a blade to vibrate it better.

Also, this is the mesh I got from Homely Despot to put in the concrete:

9783

I think for the next batch, I am going to try using two layers of cattle fence. The wire is not quite as thick on the fence as the stuff I bought, but I think with two layers and the holes being smaller, it will be better.

9784

I do not think I will use these two panels on the gardens, or if I do, it will be on the back side where they will not show. But all in all I am pretty happy with how they came out for a proof of concept.

Also, the forms are working perfectly! Even after sitting for a week, they come off without any beating with a hammer. I just run a putty knife down the seams to cut the latex caulk and they pop right off. Before I poured the concrete, I sprayed them down real well with cooking spray. For the next batch, I might try coating the forms with cooking oil. I think we have a bottle of rancid Crisco in our preps that I need to use for something. (ADD moment: Rancid Crisco sounds like the perfect name for a punk rock band.) Also, they clean up very easily.

So overall, I am calling this one a success with only some experimentation required to get the concrete mix right.

[Slippy]

Looking good Inor

[Innkeeper]

Not bad so far enjoying this thread so far. But means I need to start thinking about raised beds myself.

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[hawgrider]

That is cool how they will interlock together.

[Broncosfan]

Seeds are now ordered. I bought a new shelve unit to start plants on this year. I even got a new set of LED plant lights. So I need to get all of that together soon. I will start peppers at the end of the month. Tomatoes about 2 weeks later. Looking forward to getting this gardening season started.

[Deebo]

Badass.
my neighbor is remodeling a mobile home, I scored ALL the windows. I plan on building the wife a small greenhouse, probably about 8X12 with all the windows I can salvage. They are decent, but some are broken. I will evaluate and lay out, using the windows as roofing panels, A frame style.

[Deebo]

waiting on Tax refund to go rent a tiller, the wife WANTS a bigger garden, no raised beds this year.

[Inor]

Badass.
my neighbor is remodeling a mobile home, I scored ALL the windows. I plan on building the wife a small greenhouse, probably about 8X12 with all the windows I can salvage. They are decent, but some are broken. I will evaluate and lay out, using the windows as roofing panels, A frame style.

Awesome! I need to find some neighbors like that. Our problem is, where we are the only people selling windows have already sold the glass for meth.

[Broncosfan]

Badass.
my neighbor is remodeling a mobile home, I scored ALL the windows. I plan on building the wife a small greenhouse, probably about 8X12 with all the windows I can salvage. They are decent, but some are broken. I will evaluate and lay out, using the windows as roofing panels, A frame style.

Deebo When using glass as roof panel you might need to put up some shade cloth. The glass will magnify the sun and heat could be too much heat for young seedlings. I always start my seeds inside under lights and them move them into the greenhouse. As of last year I installed shade cloth in part of my greenhouse. It helps because I was watering 2-3 times a day just to keep the plants from burning up.I had to constantly babysit the plants until I got the shade cloth. I even lost some plants before. Having a way to ventilate well will help a lot. I have seen my greenhouse hit 130 degrees here in Ohio with the window and doors open.

[Slippy]

Mrs S and I are starting to talk about our garden for this spring. Getting a plan in place etc.

Today I ran across an article about a Heatless Habanero Pepper. NuMex Suave Red or NuMex Suave Orange. Last year my Habanero plant was the king of all plants yield-wise, but the peppers were just too hot to enjoy so I ended up giving them away to a local farm/stand. Anyone have experience with the heatless habaneros?

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/vegetables/heatless-habaneros-zm0z20fmzols

[Inor]

Mrs S and I are starting to talk about our garden for this spring. Getting a plan in place etc.

Today I ran across an article about a Heatless Habanero Pepper. NuMex Suave Red or NuMex Suave Orange. Last year my Habanero plant was the king of all plants yield-wise, but the peppers were just too hot to enjoy so I ended up giving them away to a local farm/stand. Anyone have experience with the heatless habaneros?

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/vegetables/heatless-habaneros-zm0z20fmzols

I have never heard of them but they sound interesting. I like the hot a lot, but Mrs Inor doesn't. Those might be an option for her. Please let us know how they do for you.

[Broncosfan]

Mrs S and I are starting to talk about our garden for this spring. Getting a plan in place etc.

Today I ran across an article about a Heatless Habanero Pepper. NuMex Suave Red or NuMex Suave Orange. Last year my Habanero plant was the king of all plants yield-wise, but the peppers were just too hot to enjoy so I ended up giving them away to a local farm/stand. Anyone have experience with the heatless habaneros?

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/vegetables/heatless-habaneros-zm0z20fmzols

I'm cannot remember if I tried the heatless habaneros. I'm thinking I did a few years ago. I'm thinking they had a fruity taste but I have tried 2-3 heatless Jalapenos and it was a total disappointment. The heatless jalapenos tasted more like a bell pepper. I was expecting a true jalapeno flavor just with no heat. They were some of the best plants I have ever grew about 40"-48" tall and loaded with peppers. They all went into the compost heap probably 30 lbs or more. You might try the spicy bell pepper from Seedsnsuch.com. They have less kick that a jalapeno.

[Inor]

I cleaned up the forms for my concrete garden panels and put them back together today. One of them warped really badly, to the point that I do not think I will be able to use it. I'll pour the other three tomorrow, but I think I am going to remake the forms. This time I am not going to use framing lumber for them. I have some 3/4" plywood left over from building the kitchen cabinets. I think with a bit of engineering to stiffen it up, I can use that and make forms that are less likely to twist and will be lighter and easier to assemble.

[Baglady]

I cleaned up the forms for my concrete garden panels and put them back together today. One of them warped really badly, to the point that I do not think I will be able to use it. I'll pour the other three tomorrow, but I think I am going to remake the forms. This time I am not going to use framing lumber for them. I have some 3/4" plywood left over from building the kitchen cabinets. I think with a bit of engineering to stiffen it up, I can use that and make forms that are less likely to twist and will be lighter and easier to assemble.

Just read thru this post. Neat idea for the raised beds. Will last a lifetime!

[Inor]

Just read thru this post. Neat idea for the raised beds. Will last a lifetime!

If I can get them working right. If not, it is a bunch of garbage for more than a lifetime...

[Prepared One]

Mrs S and I are starting to talk about our garden for this spring. Getting a plan in place etc.

Today I ran across an article about a Heatless Habanero Pepper. NuMex Suave Red or NuMex Suave Orange. Last year my Habanero plant was the king of all plants yield-wise, but the peppers were just too hot to enjoy so I ended up giving them away to a local farm/stand. Anyone have experience with the heatless habaneros?

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/vegetables/heatless-habaneros-zm0z20fmzols

The year I didn't slaughter every plant in my garden I had a couple of habaneros plants and they out produced all my other pepper plants. I made the mistake of adding to my Chili one weekend. I knew they where hot so I didn't a lot. Those things made the chili so hot even I couldn't eat it, and I have a cast iron stomach. I must not have learned my lesson, they are on my plant list this year.

[hawgrider]

The year I didn't slaughter every plant in my garden I had a couple of habaneros plants and they out produced all my other pepper plants. I made the mistake of adding to my Chili one weekend. I knew they where hot so I didn't a lot. Those things made the chili so hot even I couldn't eat it, and I have a cast iron stomach. I must not have learned my lesson, they are on my plant list this year.

Ive been slowing down on the light your ass on fire peppers Ive got enough pain without the added misery. My go to these days for flavor and a small kick is the hot banana peppers.
No pain I gain!

[Prepared One]

Ive been slowing down on the light your ass on fire peppers Ive got enough pain without the added misery. My go to these days for flavor and a small kick is the hot banana peppers.
No pain I gain!

Yep, I am a pepper guy, love em. when I eat fast food I like to get the Sonic Jalapeno Burger with extra Jalapeno. But, maybe I need to tone it done a bit. Those Habaneros kicked my ass.

Maybe I am just getting stubborn and meaner in my old age but I hate giving things up I like. Every time I see my doctor (Not enough according to him) he tells me to give up something. I tell him I can give him up and live my life as I see fit. Then he says without him I won't live as long. Then I say without all the things you want me to give up why in the hell would I want to live longer? And on it goes.

[Inor]

Ive been slowing down on the light your ass on fire peppers Ive got enough pain without the added misery. My go to these days for flavor and a small kick is the hot banana peppers.
No pain I gain!

I did those little ****ing Thai peppers last year; the little bastards that are dark green and only about an inch and half long... When I bought them, I thought, how bad can they be? They are from Thailand where they do everything half-assed. We got about a bushel of the damn things from 12 plants! They are too hot to eat! I LOVE hot foods. I live on Ghost Peppers. These damn things put Ghost Pepper to shame! I don't know what to do with them. I dried some and we grind them up into powder. But that takes what?, 17 peppers to last a lifetime. Whoa mama!

[Broncosfan]

I did those little ****ing Thai peppers last year; the little bastards that are dark green and only about an inch and half long... When I bought them, I thought, how bad can they be? They are from Thailand where they do everything half-assed. We got about a bushel of the damn things from 12 plants! They are too hot to eat! I LOVE hot foods. I live on Ghost Peppers. These damn things put Ghost Pepper to shame! I don't know what to do with them. I dried some and we grind them up into powder. But that takes what?, 17 peppers to last a lifetime. Whoa mama!

Hot Sauce time!

[Broncosfan]

Getting the new seed starter system together. Trying out some new LED grow lights this year. They're a lot brighter that what I tried last year. Hot peppers seeds are first on my list to start. Garden season is right around the corner. 9934

[hawgrider]

Getting the new seed starter system together. Trying out some new LED grow lights this year. They're a lot brighter that what I tried last year. Hot peppers seeds are first on my list to start. Garden season is right around the corner. 9934

"Right around the corner" LMAO not here end of May for us ... you suck!

[Broncosfan]

"Right around the corner" LMAO not here end of May for us ... you suck!

I try to have all of my plants ready by early May. Sometimes its a gamble but the reward is worth it to be ready. Hot peppers take so much longer to germinate I have to have them started by the last week of February. I will start my cantaloupe and even my corn again this year in peat cups. My goal is to have everything planted the week before Memorial Day. I almost forgot I need to order onions. Praying that we have another successful year again this year. I want to try to triple the cantaloupes this year and sale a few extras. Helps to cover my garden costs. When you start all of your plants you need a good 2 months to get them ready so its thats time again.

[MountainGirl]

I try to have all of my plants ready by early May. Sometimes its a gamble but the reward is worth it to be ready. Hot peppers take so much longer to germinate I have to have them started by the last week of February. I will start my cantaloupe and even my corn again this year in peat cups. My goal is to have everything planted the week before Memorial Day. I almost forgot I need to order onions. Praying that we have another successful year again this year. I want to try to triple the cantaloupes this year and sale a few extras. Helps to cover my garden costs. When you start all of your plants you need a good 2 months to get them ready so its thats time again.

Wish I could do something like that in the cabin. Very cool, Broncosfan. Very.

[Baglady]

I'm told Watermelons are on the gardening list this year. I think the last time we planted them was 6-7 yrs ago. We used to plant about an acre every year. It got so hard fighting the Coyotes, raccoons, crows, deer, etc., that we gave up.
Believe me when I tell you we tried everything, even posting 3 hunting dogs at intervals around the patch. Live traps, wire, clanging pie plates, scarecrows, hair, perfume, sound machine, radio, even sitting in the patch with a shotgun. :banghead:
The definition of insanity; Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results..
The rest of the garden will be as usual. 200 tomato plants, peppers, squash, peas, beans, etc.
Haven't done corn for 2 or 3 yrs.

[Broncosfan]

Spent the morning planting seeds. 3 trays of 72 so far. Cabbage and other cool weather crops. Will plant a few more tomorrow and wait about a week or so to start the tomatoes. Spent part of the afternoon cleaning out the greenhouse it was a perfect 80 degrees or so inside.

[Inor]

Okay, here is version 2.0 of the forms for the concrete garden panels:

10106

The old forms had a couple significant issues:

1 - The framing lumber warped all to crap in the Arizona sun.

2 - They were held together with wood screws so assembling and disassembling them multiple times was causing the screw holes to strip.

3 - Assembling them was a serious pain in the neck and a very time consuming process because I had to measure and square each piece multiple times.

I hope version 2.0 proves to be stronger and longer lasting. I made these from plywood so I was able to be much more accurate with them. I also added some dados and braces along the length of the sides and ends. Finally, I am going to use 5/16" bolts to hold the forms together. That should be much stronger than the wood screws and the forms should last a lot longer.

The other major change I am making is to varnish the forms with at least 3 coats of marine-grade urethane. That should protect them from the sun and the concrete much better than the butcher block oil.

[Slippy]

Okay, here is version 2.0 of the forms for the concrete garden panels:

10106

The old forms had a couple significant issues:

1 - The framing lumber warped all to crap in the Arizona sun.

2 - They were held together with wood screws so assembling and disassembling them multiple times was causing the screw holes to strip.

3 - Assembling them was a serious pain in the neck and a very time consuming process because I had to measure and square each piece multiple times.

I hope version 2.0 proves to be stronger and longer lasting. I made these from plywood so I was able to be much more accurate with them. I also added some dados and braces along the length of the sides and ends. Finally, I am going to use 5/16" bolts to hold the forms together. That should be much stronger than the wood screws and the forms should last a lot longer.

The other major change I am making is to varnish the forms with at least 3 coats of marine-grade urethane. That should protect them from the sun and the concrete much better than the butcher block oil.

If I had Inor's skills I'd stain the concrete forms and hang 'em on the dang wall at the art gallery! Excellent job Inor!

[Broncosfan]

These are the first plants up and looking really good. Had one tray of assorted cool crop plants that didn't start well and the bananas haven't done great so far. 10116 The pic isn't great due to the new LED grow lights. Running a little behind schedule since the granddaughter and daughter are here. Tonight youngest and I got another 3 trays started approx 200 plus plants. I might start one more tray of vegetables then start some flowers.

[Inor]

I finally got 3 heavy coats of marine urethane on ALL sides of the version 2.0 forms.

10186

This stuff is a serious pain in the neck to work with! But it is done and at least I did not have to worry too much about a few drips and runs since its only purpose is to protect the wood.

I did the first pour this afternoon.

10187

These forms are MUCH easier to work with than the old forms I made from framing lumber! I think I am going to have to be a lot more careful taking the forms off however. So I am going to give them at least 2 days, possibly even 3 before I even attempt to remove the forms.

I also changed up the formula for the concrete. Instead of just using Sakrete. I used a 60# bag of Sakrete and added 2 quarts of sand and 1 quart of Portland cement to the mix with 3 quarts of water. It seems to be much smoother. I also changed the way I vibrate the forms. Instead of just tapping the forms with a mallet, I used my Sawzall without a blade to really vibrate them well. The Sawzall trick really did a much better job plus it was a whole lot faster and easier.

A future installment will be photos of taking them out of the forms. In the meantime, I am going to take the tractor out into the steer pasture and collect as much steer and donkey shit as I can and get a manure pile started for when I have to fill the gardens.

Next week I actually have to work (can you imagine?!?), but I think I have the week following free. So I may try to get some water lines buried in between pouring more panels then.

[MountainGirl]

Dang that's a lot of work to make the things that make the things that make the beds... but it'll sure be pretty in the end!

[Slippy]

I finally got 3 heavy coats of marine urethane on ALL sides of the version 2.0 forms.

10186

This stuff is a serious pain in the neck to work with! But it is done and at least I did not have to worry too much about a few drips and runs since its only purpose is to protect the wood.

I did the first pour this afternoon.

10187

These forms are MUCH easier to work with than the old forms I made from framing lumber! I think I am going to have to be a lot more careful taking the forms off however. So I am going to give them at least 2 days, possibly even 3 before I even attempt to remove the forms.

I also changed up the formula for the concrete. Instead of just using Sakrete. I used a 60# bag of Sakrete and added 2 quarts of sand and 1 quart of Portland cement to the mix with 3 quarts of water. It seems to be much smoother. I also changed the way I vibrate the forms. Instead of just tapping the forms with a mallet, I used my Sawzall without a blade to really vibrate them well. The Sawzall trick really did a much better job plus it was a whole lot faster and easier.

A future installment will be photos of taking them out of the forms. In the meantime, I am going to take the tractor out into the steer pasture and collect as much steer and donkey shit as I can and get a manure pile started for when I have to fill the gardens.

Next week I actually have to work (can you imagine?!?), but I think I have the week following free. So I may try to get some water lines buried in between pouring more panels then.

I'm serious Inor,

Please save those Jigs for me, I'll hang them on the wall they look so dang good!

Funny true story about one of my first "jobs"....The last time I heard, "Save those Jigs for me"...I was about 14 years old and working weekends and summers for a local Tree Farm. The owner of the Tree Farm would go to the local Feed and Seed Store looking for day laborers. Me and few other of the cash workers would sit in the back of the owner's pick up while he "procured" some day labor in South Alabama in the 1970's! :thatsracist:

[Baglady]

I finally got 3 heavy coats of marine urethane on ALL sides of the version 2.0 forms.

10186

This stuff is a serious pain in the neck to work with! But it is done and at least I did not have to worry too much about a few drips and runs since its only purpose is to protect the wood.

I did the first pour this afternoon.

10187

These forms are MUCH easier to work with than the old forms I made from framing lumber! I think I am going to have to be a lot more careful taking the forms off however. So I am going to give them at least 2 days, possibly even 3 before I even attempt to remove the forms.

I also changed up the formula for the concrete. Instead of just using Sakrete. I used a 60# bag of Sakrete and added 2 quarts of sand and 1 quart of Portland cement to the mix with 3 quarts of water. It seems to be much smoother. I also changed the way I vibrate the forms. Instead of just tapping the forms with a mallet, I used my Sawzall without a blade to really vibrate them well. The Sawzall trick really did a much better job plus it was a whole lot faster and easier.

A future installment will be photos of taking them out of the forms. In the meantime, I am going to take the tractor out into the steer pasture and collect as much steer and donkey shit as I can and get a manure pile started for when I have to fill the gardens.

Next week I actually have to work (can you imagine?!?), but I think I have the week following free. So I may try to get some water lines buried in between pouring more panels then.

Neat idea using the sawzall!

[Inor]

I was going to leave the forms on until tomorrow, so Mrs Inor and I spent most of the day cutting and splitting firewood. But when we finished the wood, I just could not control myself so we removed the forms late this afternoon.

10214

This version of the forms seems to be the perfect formula. They do require a little more care to remove the sides than the old forms, but it is still not difficult. Also the forms held their perfectly square corners even after they dried completely. That is huge, since that was the major problem with the first version. Also, deciding to bolt the pieces together instead of using wood screws was definitely the right choice. The marine varnish filled in the grain in the plywood so there is absolutely no telegraphing of the grain into the panels.

I am calling this version of the forms an absolute unqualified success!

So now, only 66 more panels to pour and I will be done with this particular project. (Mrs Inor seems to really like them, so I am sure I am going to be reusing these forms in the future. - Slippy, if you want me to make you a set, just pay for the materials. Now that I have done them once, they are pretty easy to make.)

[Broncosfan]

I was going to leave the forms on until tomorrow, so Mrs Inor and I spent most of the day cutting and splitting firewood. But when we finished the wood, I just could not control myself so we removed the forms late this afternoon.

10214

This version of the forms seems to be the perfect formula. They do require a little more care to remove the sides than the old forms, but it is still not difficult. Also the forms held their perfectly square corners even after they dried completely. That is huge, since that was the major problem with the first version. Also, deciding to bolt the pieces together instead of using wood screws was definitely the right choice. The marine varnish filled in the grain in the plywood so there is absolutely no telegraphing of the grain into the panels.

I am calling this version of the forms an absolute unqualified success!

So now, only 66 more panels to pour and I will be done with this particular project. (Mrs Inor seems to really like them, so I am sure I am going to be reusing these forms in the future. - Slippy, if you want me to make you a set, just pay for the materials. Now that I have done them once, they are pretty easy to make.)

Those look fantastic Inor. I'm not sure I have the time to make them anytime soon but a future project I could see doing it.

[Inor]

Those look fantastic Inor. I'm not sure I have the time to make them anytime soon but a future project I could see doing it.

If/when you do it, give me a shout. I can give you a couple pointers on some shortcuts that I figured out (after doing it myself the long way).

[Inor]

I had my first failure with the panels today. I have been letting them sit in the forms for 2 days before taking the forms off, so my progress has been a little slow. No matter, with my Coronacation, it is not like I have deadlines anymore.

I had poured the 6th batch of panels on Friday. One of the panels developed a small crack right down the middle while drying in the form. It spooked me a bit because I have been experimenting with the formula for the concrete on every pour to try and get the smoothest finish I could. So if my concrete formula was the problem, I was going to throw away all four panels that I poured from that batch. When I took the forms off the cracked one, I discovered the crack did go all the way through the panel, making it unusable for the gardens. But I also discovered I had forgotten to tighten the four bolts in the center of the form before I poured it. So I am thinking between the natural movement of the concrete as it dries and the wind (it has been extremely windy the last week), the form moved enough to allow the panel to crack. But even cracked, it held together fine when picking it up. Thus, I think the concrete formula is okay.

The other three panels from this batch came out perfect. So I am going to pour the next batch using exactly the same formula that I used this time, this time trying to remember to tighten ALL the bolts. If they all come out okay, I am going to call this one formula winner because the finish is perfect.

(I need to get the formula right because Mrs Inor now has designs on me making many more of these beyond the 76 that I need for the garden project.)

Edit: The other point I meant to note, the forms are becoming easier to clean up between pours with each use. The first couple times, it took me about 2 hours of hard elbow grease to scrape and wipe down the 4 forms for the next use. Now I can do them in about an hour and it is not nearly as difficult.

[KnuteFartne]

Started my compost pile today.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200413/51c7931ac60a31a4cf1446f9d6ab6446.jpg

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[Inor]

Started my compost pile today.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200413/51c7931ac60a31a4cf1446f9d6ab6446.jpg

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That is a nice looking bin! Well done!

[Slippy]

Started my compost pile today.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200413/51c7931ac60a31a4cf1446f9d6ab6446.jpg

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Nice job on the compost bin!

[Slippy]

Raised beds are planted with both seed and store bought veggie plants. Everything is growing great. Nice cool rain today. Grow veggies, grow!

10570


10571

[hawgrider]

Great looking beds there Slippy!

[BucketBack]

Puts my shat to shame

But BB is rocking 2Nite

[Inor]

Raised beds are planted with both seed and store bought veggie plants. Everything is growing great. Nice cool rain today. Grow veggies, grow!

10570


10571

Nicely done! That front walk-up to Slippy Lodge is awesome!

[Innkeeper]

Still too cold to put anything outside was 37 here today and yesterday it was 54.

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[Sasquatch]

Raised beds are planted with both seed and store bought veggie plants. Everything is growing great. Nice cool rain today. Grow veggies, grow!

10570


10571

Since the first time I saw Slippy Lodge I knew that is what I wanted. I aspire to have pretty much that same set up. House with 25 or so yards of grass and garden in any direction and then forest for the rest of my property.

[StratBastard]

I'm getting some great idea from all this... I hope to buy a little place out in the country in about a year to retire on. Then I gotta learn to lose my black thumb, 'cuz I do love my fresh veggies.

[Broncosfan]

Tomato and pepper plants spent there first night in the greenhouse. It dipped down into the 40's so the will get hardened off rather quickly. I will be transplanting them into peat cups today.

[Inor]

While waiting for the concrete garden panels to dry, I decided to start running some irrigation lines. Before I get into the particulars, let me state unequivocally, I absolutely HATE doing any kind of plumbing!

So for the last couple weeks, as time permits, I have been digging trenches and laying PVC.

10801

I got the water hoses layed around the fruit trees in the front yard and everything looked good.

10802

So today was the big day. I decided to hook it to the water with a temporary test hose I made and check for leaks before I bury the whole thing.

For the most part, it worked perfectly, except for 2 fittings. When I cranked the water pressure up, I had 2 brass fitting that absolutely blew apart! They sounded like muffled gunshots when they went off! In both cases, it did not blow the fitting off the water lines, rather it literally blew up the brass and completely destroyed the fitting! Prior to today, I was a little worried whether I would have enough water pressure to run the whole system I have in mind. I guess that extra-heavy-duty commercial water pump I installed when building the house really does work.

I was able to cap off the blown fittings and test the rest of the system for leaks and everything looks tight. So tomorrow I will go to hardware store and get replacements for the blown fittings and get a proper hose for permanent installation, then I can call this line done! Only 4 more to go...

10803

[Innkeeper]

While waiting for the concrete garden panels to dry, I decided to start running some irrigation lines. Before I get into the particulars, let me state unequivocally, I absolutely HATE doing any kind of plumbing!

So for the last couple weeks, as time permits, I have been digging trenches and laying PVC.

10801

I got the water hoses layed around the fruit trees in the front yard and everything looked good.

10802

So today was the big day. I decided to hook it to the water with a temporary test hose I made and check for leaks before I bury the whole thing.

For the most part, it worked perfectly, except for 2 fittings. When I cranked the water pressure up, I had 2 brass fitting that absolutely blew apart! They sounded like muffled gunshots when they went off! In both cases, it did not blow the fitting off the water lines, rather it literally blew up the brass and completely destroyed the fitting! Prior to today, I was a little worried whether I would have enough water pressure to run the whole system I have in mind. I guess that extra-heavy-duty commercial water pump I installed when building the house really does work.

I was able to cap off the blown fittings and test the rest of the system for leaks and everything looks tight. So tomorrow I will go to hardware store and get replacements for the blown fittings and get a proper hose for permanent installation, then I can call this line done! Only 4 more to go...

10803Nice job Inor, I would love to work up to something like that but my skills with plumbing are on part with my woodworking, laughable.
More things for me to learn, it is a never ending thing.

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[Inor]

Update: I got the hoses for permanent installation as well as the replacement fittings. I got everything hooked up and ran the system for about an hour and a half without issue. Then two more fittings blew. (These were also from the batch that I bought originally, not the ones from the hardware store today, which seem made much better.) Fortunately I had purchased some extra fittings so fixing it was not a big deal, but damn. It is extremely frustrating that all of my connections have worked without issue, but the damn cheap Chinese fittings are blowing up like popcorn!

So looking around, I found some pressure regulation valves for about $3 each! I only need 9 of them for all of the lines I plan to run. So for $27 I hopefully will not have to worry about the shitty Chinese fittings. So hopefully, I finally have the answer to make this entire system work as designed.

[Sasquatch]

Update: I got the hoses for permanent installation as well as the replacement fittings. I got everything hooked up and ran the system for about an hour and a half without issue. Then two more fittings blew. (These were also from the batch that I bought originally, not the ones from the hardware store today, which seem made much better.) Fortunately I had purchased some extra fittings so fixing it was not a big deal, but damn. It is extremely frustrating that all of my connections have worked without issue, but the damn cheap Chinese fittings are blowing up like popcorn!

So looking around, I found some pressure regulation valves for about $3 each! I only need 9 of them for all of the lines I plan to run. So for $27 I hopefully will not have to worry about the shitty Chinese fittings. So hopefully, I finally have the answer to make this entire system work as designed.

Sucks having to run back and forth to the store when something blows. Hoping those PRV's do the trick for you.

BTW, I hate plumbing work too, I'm not built for it being so tall. But hell if I don't have to do it.

[TJC44]

Sucks having to run back and forth to the store when something blows. Hoping those PRV's do the trick for you.

BTW, I hate plumbing work too, I'm not built for it being so tall. But hell if I don't have to do it.

At least he was dealing with the water supply side.
Wait until you get to play with the sewer side! Now THERE is F U N !!!

[Inor]

Update 2: The pressure regulator valves arrived today, so I got those installed. While I was at it, I dug out and threw away the remaining original Chinese fittings I had bought and replaced them with fittings made in the good ol' U S of A. Everything seems to be working correctly now even when I crank the water pressure up to full blast.

As an FYI, if any of you are planning on doing any irrigation work, check these guys out for supplies:

https://www.dripdepot.com/

Their prices are outstanding and all of the stuff I have bought from them so far has all been American made. I ordered the pressure valves the day before yesterday and they got here today, with free shipping.

Moving on... As these home improvement projects are prone to do, this one expanded in scope and expense (again). It started out as just making some above ground gardens from concrete panels. Then we decided to add some built in irrigation to the gardens. But why just run a couple hundred feet of irrigation lines to the gardens when you can run over half a mile of freakin' irrigation lines all over the damn property?!?! Today we decided, since the front yard is all tore up anyway, let's just add a blueberry patch and a raspberry patch...

But this time I was smart. I got the ground all dug for the raspberries and blueberries, got the water lines run and got all of the trellis wire run. I also got most of the trenches for the irrigation filled in and graded by the end of the day today. So the front yard is basically done (except for the new fruit trees Mrs Inor wants to add this fall). Regardless, any new additions to this project in the front will require tearing up what is looking pretty good right now. So I think I am out of the woods, at least in the front of the house.

Tomorrow I will take the current batch of garden panels out of the forms and clean the forms to get ready for the next batch to pour on Saturday. I figure that should give me about half a day to get started digging the trench to run water to the steer pasture.

[Innkeeper]

So I went by my local nursery ymtoday to buy some fruit trees, and the peach trees and Granny Smiths have not come in yet, so she took down my name and number and is going to check into them and will get back with me on a date was in the 60's today and beautiful half a dozen people at the nursery buying stuff it was nice to see.

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[Inor]

I decided to try the new panels with a small planter around the flagpole.

10970

They went together really easily and look pretty dang nice I think.

But... (And there is always a "but" in a shoot-from-the-hip Inor project) I am having second thoughts on using them for the vegetable gardens. My initial plan was to stack them 2 courses high to give us gardens 16 inches deep. But I am starting to think 16 inches might not be deep enough. Also, I am a little concerned if they will be strong enough to hold back the dirt when it gets soaked with a 2-3 inch rain that we seem to get every year during monsoon season.

Since I already have about 35 made and have enough concrete on hand to make about 20 more, I think I am going to repurpose these into ornamental planters. Mrs Inor already had designs on making 50 or so for ornamental planters and an herb garden anyway. So these will not go to waste, but I am going to reconsider my options for building the vegetable gardens.

So overall, I cannot consider this project a wild success, but I also cannot call it an abject failure either. I will give it a grade of maybe a C or C-.

[Innkeeper]

That does look good Inor, what is the Mrs going to plant there?

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[Inor]

That does look good Inor, what is the Mrs going to plant there?

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That changes daily. She bought some "wildflower seeds" (read that to mean weeds). But then she was talking roses for a while. Yesterday it was blueberries. I am taking bets on whether she actually plants anything useful. Right now the over/under is at 30%.

[TJC44]

I couldn't help but notice, Inor, that Mrs Inor's she shed is "out in the back 40" so to speak. Is that her idea or yours? :bounce:

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[Inor]

I couldn't help but notice, Inor, that Mrs Inor's she shed is "out in the back 40" so to speak. Is that her idea or yours? :bounce:

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Crazy huh? I looked at the picture last night when I was uploading it and it scared the hell out of me! The porch on the shack looks like it is leaning forward. I had to run out there are look at it in real life to satisfy myself that the shack is still plumb; it is the camera in my phone that is making it lean... :biglaugh:

The She Shack is about 50 yards from the house. She wanted "the perfect view" of the mountains. She did not even give me a key for the damn thing! Once I was done building it, I became persona non grata inside it.

[TJC44]

Crazy huh? I looked at the picture last night when I was uploading it and it scared the hell out of me! The porch on the shack looks like it is leaning forward. I had to run out there are look at it in real life to satisfy myself that the shack is still plumb; it is the camera in my phone that is making it lean... :biglaugh:

The She Shack is about 50 yards from the house. She wanted "the perfect view" of the mountains. She did not even give me a key for the damn thing! Once I was done building it, I became persona non grata inside it.You need a key to get in?

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[Inor]

You need a key to get in?

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She keeps her sewing machines and a bunch of other expensive art crap out there so yes, it is locked. Of course, maybe she is just locking ME out?

[Slippy]

Front yard garden looking good!
11127
Back yard raised beds starting to produce.
11128
Any container gets a veggie! Red Dog loves sugar snap peas, carrots and radishes.
11129
More containers.
11130

[Inor]

Nice looking gardens Slip!

I have the exact same bottle tree as you and I see yours is suffering the same slings and arrows as mine - namely the wind breaking bottles. This weekend I am going to mix up some concrete to set mine in to hopefully prevent further wind damage.

[hag]

Nice looking gardens Slip!

I have the exact same bottle tree as you and I see yours is suffering the same slings and arrows as mine - namely the wind breaking bottles. This weekend I am going to mix up some concrete to set mine in to hopefully prevent further wind damage.

Does the bottle tree have a purpose or just for looks?

[Slippy]

Does the bottle tree have a purpose or just for looks?

hag,

The story goes;

West Africans who migrated to the Low Country of GA, SC, FL and NC called the Gullahs. The Gullah's believed that evil spirits would see the bright colored bottles and during the day when the sun was out they would venture into the bottles and get trapped forever.

Y'all know me as the cool and handsome man who makes everyone laugh! But around Slippy Lodge I turn into a Old Low Country black lady who drinks Sky Vodka and hangs the blue bottles on bent pieces of rebar...

Seriously, they just add some color to the garden and I like them!

[hag]

hag,

The story goes;

West Africans who migrated to the Low Country of GA, SC, FL and NC called the Gullahs. The Gullah's believed that evil spirits would see the bright colored bottles and during the day when the sun was out they would venture into the bottles and get trapped forever.

Y'all know me as the cool and handsome man who makes everyone laugh! But around Slippy Lodge I turn into a Old Low Country black lady who drinks Sky Vodka and hangs the blue bottles on bent pieces of rebar...

Seriously, they just add some color to the garden and I like them!

Thanks for the history... and if you ever make your way through ky I can hook you up with gallons of sky vodka... they give it to us at work all the time and I don't drink it hahaha

[Inor]

I finally got the water line put in to the steer pasture. That was a HUGE victory. Until today, we have been filling the water tanks for the steer and the donkeys using a garden hose running almost 100 yards across the top of the yard. Every evening we have been praying that two little brown dogs did not discover it is really cool to chew that big rubber thing that shoots water when you bite it.

11148

When I first turned the water on I must have had some mud or dirt in the PVC because I was getting water but the pressure was really low. After running it for about 5 minutes, the line jumped a bit and we had more water pressure than we knew what to do with. Tomorrow I will finish burying the PVC and then spend some quality time with my box grader to make the yard look respectable again.

Inor's helpful construction hint #962: When digging the trench for the PVC, I discovered the ground is REALLY hard in several places. Even the tractor could not dig down more than a couple inches at a time. Initially, I started softening the ground up by running some water from a garden hose onto it. That worked but it was still a slow process and used far more water than I would prefer. So I got the idea of using the pressure washer to soften it up instead. That worked PERFECTLY! Water works well, but water at 3500 PSI works great!

Just don't wear your good clothes when you do it...

11149

Mrs Inor also decided to add a couple strawberry beds out by the raspberry and blueberry patches. So if I have time after getting the yard graded for the steer pasture, I will get those installed and some water lines run to them as well. Then it will be time to move around to the back of the house and some REALLY long water runs.

[Slippy]

Inor definitely has a PHd in Garage Logic!

Great picture! and great job done!


I finally got the water line put in to the steer pasture. That was a HUGE victory. Until today, we have been filling the water tanks for the steer and the donkeys using a garden hose running almost 100 yards across the top of the yard. Every evening we have been praying that two little brown dogs did not discover it is really cool to chew that big rubber thing that shoots water when you bite it.

11148

When I first turned the water on I must have had some mud or dirt in the PVC because I was getting water but the pressure was really low. After running it for about 5 minutes, the line jumped a bit and we had more water pressure than we knew what to do with. Tomorrow I will finish burying the PVC and then spend some quality time with my box grader to make the yard look respectable again.

Inor's helpful construction hint #962: When digging the trench for the PVC, I discovered the ground is REALLY hard in several places. Even the tractor could not dig down more than a couple inches at a time. Initially, I started softening the ground up by running some water from a garden hose onto it. That worked but it was still a slow process and used far more water than I would prefer. So I got the idea of using the pressure washer to soften it up instead. That worked PERFECTLY! Water works well, but water at 3500 PSI works great!

Just don't wear your good clothes when you do it...

11149

Mrs Inor also decided to add a couple strawberry beds out by the raspberry and blueberry patches. So if I have time after getting the yard graded for the steer pasture, I will get those installed and some water lines run to them as well. Then it will be time to move around to the back of the house and some REALLY long water runs.

[hawgrider]

I finally got the water line put in to the steer pasture. That was a HUGE victory. Until today, we have been filling the water tanks for the steer and the donkeys using a garden hose running almost 100 yards across the top of the yard. Every evening we have been praying that two little brown dogs did not discover it is really cool to chew that big rubber thing that shoots water when you bite it.

11148

When I first turned the water on I must have had some mud or dirt in the PVC because I was getting water but the pressure was really low. After running it for about 5 minutes, the line jumped a bit and we had more water pressure than we knew what to do with. Tomorrow I will finish burying the PVC and then spend some quality time with my box grader to make the yard look respectable again.

Inor's helpful construction hint #962: When digging the trench for the PVC, I discovered the ground is REALLY hard in several places. Even the tractor could not dig down more than a couple inches at a time. Initially, I started softening the ground up by running some water from a garden hose onto it. That worked but it was still a slow process and used far more water than I would prefer. So I got the idea of using the pressure washer to soften it up instead. That worked PERFECTLY! Water works well, but water at 3500 PSI works great!

Just don't wear your good clothes when you do it...

11149

Mrs Inor also decided to add a couple strawberry beds out by the raspberry and blueberry patches. So if I have time after getting the yard graded for the steer pasture, I will get those installed and some water lines run to them as well. Then it will be time to move around to the back of the house and some REALLY long water runs.

Mud r us! :biglaugh:

[Inor]

Inor's helpful construction tip #963: Non-reusable compression fittings on an irrigation drip line can be reused! Cut the fitting off the irrigation hose leaving about an inch of the irrigation hose sticking out. Put it in boiling water for about 3 minutes then pull the hose out with a pair of needle nose pliers.

(This afternoon a couple of little brown puppies decided it would be pretty cool to chew up the irrigation hose for Mrs Inor's strawberry patch. Since the disposable compression fittings are about $2 each and a 45 minute drive each way to get them, I made it my mission to figure out how to reuse them.)

[Sasquatch]

I started my first little garden at the new house (aka Sasquatch Farms). We've had a lot going on and since we already have all the fruit trees to tend to we decided not to go too crazy on the vegetable garden this year.

I put in about 10 plants. Some squash, tomatoes, jalapenos, etc. My Roma tomato plant was small but exploded almost overnight into a very nice and large plant. I figured I would get a great harvest off of it. I went out one morning and it was laying on its side. When i inspected it I found the roots had been eaten off of it. Yep, a gopher. I went and bought some gopher bombs and stuffed one down his hole. Figured I had got him because I didn't see any activity for a few days. Last weekend I was laying new sod in the backyard near the raised beds and out of the corner of my eye I see my jalapeno plant moving. I turned just in time to see my plant disappear under the ground. Who knew the old cartoons were telling the truth when they showed the gopher take a plant down into their tunnel. I got over to where the plant was and all I saw was two leaves sticking out of the ground. I grabbed the shovel and stabbed the crap out of the the ground. After I was done assaulting the dirt I dug around and didn't find a body. So, obviously, he got away. I transplanted the remaining plants over into the old turtle pen which has a concrete bottom. They all seem to be doing well in there for now.

The gopher on the other hand has declared war and I have a new plan to eradicate him.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvdHXnuaho4

[Inor]

I was having thoughts this afternoon of Slippy and Mrs Slippy building their chicken coop (which is a really awesome chicken coop if you have not yet seen the photos). As I recall, in the early stages of building the coop, Mrs Slippy was helping ol' Slip with her supreme mathematical ability. I detected a bit of friction from Slip's description of the effort. The only advice I can give my pal Slippy is: Be glad you married mathematician and not a friggin' artist!!!

I was finishing digging the trench to get water to the fruit trees on the north side of M.T. Acres today. This was by far the longest of the 5 trenches I am digging. It is about a quarter mile long. Today I was doing the final 30 or so yards to the house to connect it to the water. Since I do not trust myself with the tractor yet, I asked Mrs Inor to just stand outside and watch and warn me if I start getting the tractor too close to the house. (The last thing I wanted to do was put the bucket through the wall into the dining room!)

I started digging and the ground near the house was the hardest that I have encountered so far. But given that I did not have too far to go, I did not want to deal with the mess of using the pressure washer. So I told Mrs Inor to get the hose and soak the trench, thinking she would just turn the hose on and lay it at the top of the trench I was digging. After she watered all her plants and filled the dogs bowls (which had to be emptied and moved in 5 minutes anyway) she finally got the hose near where I was working. But instead of putting the hose where I was working, she started spraying down the area I was going to be working 3 hours later!!! Frustrated, I told her to just put the hose in the trench I am currently working on. So she followed my instructions exactly and neatly laid the hose right down the middle of the trench I was digging! Finally, out of frustration, I climbed down from the tractor and put the hose where I needed it to be. I got the trench dug (mostly I still have about 3 feet to go but that has to be done by hand) and got everything put away.

Tonight she informed me she no longer wants raised beds for her gardens; she now wants to go with "sunken gardens"! GRRRR!!!! This changes my entire plan for digging the irrigation for the gardens! Since part of the trench for the fruit trees is going to do double duty also holding the pipe for the gardens too, I told her she has about 3 to 4 days while I finish up the fruit trees to figure out what she wants to do for gardens because then we will be past the point of no return.

Pay attention Squatch!

Marriage is a 3-ring circus:

You have the engagement ring
You have the wedding ring
And you have the suffering!

[StratBastard]

Marriage is a 3-ring circus:

You have the engagement ring
You have the wedding ring
And you have the suffering!

I think there's a nose ring in there somewhere too...

[MrsInor]

I was having thoughts this afternoon of Slippy and Mrs Slippy building their chicken coop (which is a really awesome chicken coop if you have not yet seen the photos). As I recall, in the early stages of building the coop, Mrs Slippy was helping ol' Slip with her supreme mathematical ability. I detected a bit of friction from Slip's description of the effort. The only advice I can give my pal Slippy is: Be glad you married mathematician and not a friggin' artist!!!

I was finishing digging the trench to get water to the fruit trees on the north side of M.T. Acres today. This was by far the longest of the 5 trenches I am digging. It is about a quarter mile long. Today I was doing the final 30 or so yards to the house to connect it to the water. Since I do not trust myself with the tractor yet, I asked Mrs Inor to just stand outside and watch and warn me if I start getting the tractor too close to the house. (The last thing I wanted to do was put the bucket through the wall into the dining room!)

I started digging and the ground near the house was the hardest that I have encountered so far. But given that I did not have too far to go, I did not want to deal with the mess of using the pressure washer. So I told Mrs Inor to get the hose and soak the trench, thinking she would just turn the hose on and lay it at the top of the trench I was digging. After she watered all her plants and filled the dogs bowls (which had to be emptied and moved in 5 minutes anyway) she finally got the hose near where I was working. But instead of putting the hose where I was working, she started spraying down the area I was going to be working 3 hours later!!! Frustrated, I told her to just put the hose in the trench I am currently working on. So she followed my instructions exactly and neatly laid the hose right down the middle of the trench I was digging! Finally, out of frustration, I climbed down from the tractor and put the hose where I needed it to be. I got the trench dug (mostly I still have about 3 feet to go but that has to be done by hand) and got everything put away.

Tonight she informed me she no longer wants raised beds for her gardens; she now wants to go with "sunken gardens"! GRRRR!!!! This changes my entire plan for digging the irrigation for the gardens! Since part of the trench for the fruit trees is going to do double duty also holding the pipe for the gardens too, I told her she has about 3 to 4 days while I finish up the fruit trees to figure out what she wants to do for gardens because then we will be past the point of no return.

Pay attention Squatch!

Marriage is a 3-ring circus:

You have the engagement ring
You have the wedding ring
And you have the suffering!

There is so much bullshit in this - I don't know where to start.

[MountainGirl]

There is so much bullshit in this - I don't know where to start.

Hi MrsInor! Before you do - I got just one thing to say.

HEY INOR

"So I told Mrs Inor to get the hose and soak the trench, thinking she would just..."

You "told" her? First mistake. Ask, you'll likely get anything. God you guys need to figure this out.
Second mistake - thinking she knows "precisely" what you want her to do with those limited instructions.
Next time, just get your ass off the tractor and go get the hose and put it where you want it.

Ok, that was more than one thing. :bounce:

[Slippy]

There is so much bullshit in this - I don't know where to start.

You got that right Girlfriend!

PS Great to "see" you again Mrs I!

PPS Since Slippy has no idea how to figure out women he has decided to agree with them all the time, even it means throwing his buddy under the bus. Slippy figures a few beers and some Gun Talk, Power Tool Talk, Sophomoric Jokes and trashing Muslimes will always make his buddy forgive and forget that Slippy sided with his wife.

The women folk are a lot more, shall we say, complicated?!?

Anywho, Good to see you Mrs I, we knew Inor was full of caca!

:D

[Slippy]

Hi MrsInor! Before you do - I got just one thing to say.

HEY INOR

"So I told Mrs Inor to get the hose and soak the trench, thinking she would just..."

You "told" her? First mistake. Ask, you'll likely get anything. God you guys need to figure this out.
Second mistake - thinking she knows "precisely" what you want her to do with those limited instructions.
Next time, just get your ass off the tractor and go get the hose and put it where you want it.

Ok, that was more than one thing. :bounce:

Hell Yeah Mountain Girl! Don't take no shit from these freakin dudes around here! They all smell of booze, coffee and cigars. Nasty bastages they are...

Slippy figures he will placate the females and they might just get back in the kitchen and fetch a beer and get ready to lick some lolipops!

[MountainGirl]

Hell Yeah Mountain Girl! Don't take no shit from these freakin dudes around here! They all smell of booze, coffee and cigars. Nasty bastages they are...

Slippy figures he will placate the females and they might just get back in the kitchen and fetch a beer and get ready to lick some lolipops!

They might, they just might indeed! :girldancer:

[Inor]

I finally got back to work on the gardens. I got the trenches dug for the water lines about a month ago and had started digging the trenches for the gardens after that.

12045

But we had not had any rain for about 3 months and the ground was harder than concrete. Even with the tractor I could barely dig through it. My plan was to dig 2 garden trenches about 50 feet long and about 5 feet wide and about 2 feet deep. But the ground was so hard I could barely get them 3 feet wide and well less than 2 feet deep. Even then, I could not even get them close to running straight.

My plan was to wait for the monsoons and hope they softened up the ground enough to dig, otherwise I was going to have to do it by hand using the pressure washer to break the ground up. That works pretty well, but it is a VERY slow and dirty process.

Well, I got my wish and we had a little over 2 inches of rain on Wednesday and Thursday last week. The rain filled the trenches and the water sat in them until today. Even after 4 days, one of the trenches still had standing water in it! So today I got out there with the tractor and got everything dug down nice and straight and as deep as I wanted to go!

12046

12047

This is HUGE win because I really did not want to be digging them by hand!

So now all I have to do is finish plumbing the irrigation lines and get some shoring in the sides of the trenches so the rains do not wash the sides into them. Then I can start filling them up with compost, manure and soil. I am going to be VERY glad to have this project behind me. This has been one of those projects that I knew I had to do, but it has been absolute torture to get motivated to do it.

These are actually the 3rd design for the gardens. My original plan was to do the cast concrete which I detailed here. My 2nd plan was to build raised beds out of steel but I just could not come up with an idea that I thought would look nice. The idea for these was Mrs Inor's and from how well they held the rain water this week, I think it is going to work out brilliantly. Here in the desert, we do not need to worry about water drainage. Our problem is the opposite; we need to keep as much water as possible in the gardens. The other concern we have is wind. So I am going to leave the garden soil about 6-8 inches below grade. That should give young plants a modicum of protection from the wind.

[Slippy]

I finally got back to work on the gardens. I got the trenches dug for the water lines about a month ago and had started digging the trenches for the gardens after that.

12045

But we had not had any rain for about 3 months and the ground was harder than concrete. Even with the tractor I could barely dig through it. My plan was to dig 2 garden trenches about 50 feet long and about 5 feet wide and about 2 feet deep. But the ground was so hard I could barely get them 3 feet wide and well less than 2 feet deep. Even then, I could not even get them close to running straight.

My plan was to wait for the monsoons and hope they softened up the ground enough to dig, otherwise I was going to have to do it by hand using the pressure washer to break the ground up. That works pretty well, but it is a VERY slow and dirty process.

Well, I got my wish and we had a little over 2 inches of rain on Wednesday and Thursday last week. The rain filled the trenches and the water sat in them until today. Even after 4 days, one of the trenches still had standing water in it! So today I got out there with the tractor and got everything dug down nice and straight and as deep as I wanted to go!

12046

12047

This is HUGE win because I really did not want to be digging them by hand!

So now all I have to do is finish plumbing the irrigation lines and get some shoring in the sides of the trenches so the rains do not wash the sides into them. Then I can start filling them up with compost, manure and soil. I am going to be VERY glad to have this project behind me. This has been one of those projects that I knew I had to do, but it has been absolute torture to get motivated to do it.

These are actually the 3rd design for the gardens. My original plan was to do the cast concrete which I detailed here. My 2nd plan was to build raised beds out of steel but I just could not come up with an idea that I thought would look nice. The idea for these was Mrs Inor's and from how well they held the rain water this week, I think it is going to work out brilliantly. Here in the desert, we do not need to worry about water drainage. Our problem is the opposite; we need to keep as much water as possible in the gardens. The other concern we have is wind. So I am going to leave the garden soil about 6-8 inches below grade. That should give young plants a modicum of protection from the wind.

Inor
You sure have some interesting Gardening obstacles that most of us have never had to worry about!

[Inor]

Now that all the water lines are buried and we are just waiting for the weather to cool a bit more before planting our last 5 fruit trees, I decided to take the day and brush hog the steer pasture. We had a horrible monsoon season (only about 3 inches of rain total). So the grass in the pasture is almost all dead and the only thing left alive are weeds. Coming into winter, we will hopefully get some rain and I wanted to make sure the little grass that is left does not get crowded out by the weeds.

So I got started on mowing the pasture and learned two important things: 1 - My brush hog will happily chop up 6 inch diameter yuccas with no problem at all. 2 - Chopping up a 12 inch diameter yucca will break the shear bolt on the brush hog.

I have broken shear bolts literally hundreds of times on my snowblower when we were living in Minnesota. I used to buy the things 20 at time. But I had never broken a shear bolt on a tractor before. Having to stop mowing for 2 hours while I drove the 35 miles (one way) to the next town to buy several new ones meant that I did not get the pasture completed today. But for whatever reason, I feel like this was a significant achievement in my conversion to being a true redneck. Life is good!

[Innkeeper]

I hear you and thanks for the reminder fall is here and I am down to 2 shear bolts for my snow blower. I should head down to the John Deere dealer and buy a half dozen.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

[Slippy]

Now that all the water lines are buried and we are just waiting for the weather to cool a bit more before planting our last 5 fruit trees, I decided to take the day and brush hog the steer pasture. We had a horrible monsoon season (only about 3 inches of rain total). So the grass in the pasture is almost all dead and the only thing left alive are weeds. Coming into winter, we will hopefully get some rain and I wanted to make sure the little grass that is left does not get crowded out by the weeds.

So I got started on mowing the pasture and learned two important things: 1 - My brush hog will happily chop up 6 inch diameter yuccas with no problem at all. 2 - Chopping up a 12 inch diameter yucca will break the shear bolt on the brush hog.

I have broken shear bolts literally hundreds of times on my snowblower when we were living in Minnesota. I used to buy the things 20 at time. But I had never broken a shear bolt on a tractor before. Having to stop mowing for 2 hours while I drove the 35 miles (one way) to the next town to buy several new ones meant that I did not get the pasture completed today. But for whatever reason, I feel like this was a significant achievement in my conversion to being a true redneck. Life is good!

There is some sort of weird satisfaction when you push your equipment to the breaking point !!!

Pics of the garden please!

[Gambit]

need help
i have some sugar watermelons can they grow in a bucket?
had to make big changes due to my spine said "im done!" so im growing stuff out of buckets
edit: i have both sugar babies / crimson sweet, dont know if that matters

[MountainGirl]

need help
i have some sugar watermelons can they grow in a bucket?
had to make big changes due to my spine said "im done!" so im growing stuff out of buckets

Yes, if you can keep them watered. Melons need almost full sun to grow, sun dries out buckets fast. Careful though to not flood them if there's no drain holes. If you can figure a way to shade just the bucket itself that will help it not heat up and cook the roots.

[Gambit]

ok ty.
im putting everything in buckets now so it be less bending
thanks again

[MountainGirl]

ok ty.
im putting everything in buckets now so it be less bending
thanks again

You're welcome and I hope you let us know how things go, with pics too!
Haven't decided yet what I'm gonna grow in buckets this year, still early for up here, but should decide soon lol.

[Broncosfan]

I can say this is the worse year for my seedlings. I don't know what happened. A few look like they got hit with a shot of Roundup. Some look pathetic. I've been growing all of my own garden plants for 20 plus years and have never seen anything like this. I'm wondering if there was something in the seed starter soil that is stunting there growth.

[Piratesailor]

Going back over this thread got me going on the larger garden. My wife, queen of procrastination, wound up planting 3 raised bed box gardens instead of the much larger garden we planned. She did this to at least get the growing season started. I think it’s going to be up to me to clear the larger garden. But in doing so I think I’ll put in an irrigation system and a timer to help with watering. Not going to be a large garden. Probably 40’ x 30’.

[Slippy]

We have most of our veggies in the ground and those that started as seeds are popping up nicely. So far, we have the perfect spring weather; cool nights and warm sunny afternoons. Plenty of showers too.

My biggest complaint thus far is that my compost did not look as good as I was hoping so we supplemented our raised beds with Miracle Grow garden soil bags. A little pricey but I'd only spend the money on whisky and women so I figured I'd waste some on garden soil! :second:

[Michael_Js]

I've been fighting rodents eating my newly planted corn seeds! :( Replanted many and covered then with small plastic, perforated, cups - they were ones from starts we just bought.

I also covered all the rows in compost. 2 reasons: fertilizer for the corn, and a deterrent for the rodents. My assumption is they will go for the chicken manure rich compost first, before seeking, or even smelling, out the corn seeds. We have a 3-bin compost setup in the garden that has some rich compost in it - from last year. Put some in the asparagus bed too - we've already been harvesting those and they will be a side dish for dinner tonight!! Just finished fixing the compost bin top as the storms from this past winter ripped the top right off and split the wood :(

I also bought 4 rodent traps and put poison in them - they are bird/dog safe...they have been eating out of those, so, hopefully they will be under control before the seeds are no more!

We also have corn seeds starting (finally!) in the greenhouse. We'll put those in as a 2nd wave of corn. Most of the new starts in the garden are doing well. Can't really see any of the newly planted seeds starting yet though...time...

Peace,
Michael J.

[LivoniaDan]

ok ty.
im putting everything in buckets now so it be less bending
thanks again

There are a plethora of videos from various people about "Self Watering" wicking tubs.
This guys shows several versions in his different videos.
I bought 5 drums and cut them in half for this years season.
6 inch drainage hose is used in some of his (and others) containers.

Found this is not his best video. Will look and replace. This one does not have the Watering tube to fill the bottom jug area easily.
Just a piece of PVC cut on an angle on the bottom to fill from the bottom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s638_LDzOjM

[Sasquatch]

We only planted a couple of months ago but my garden is producing like a boss.

This is our second round of squash off of only two plants. The yellow is just plain summer squash. The green is a Mexican squash, can't remember the name of it at the moment.

16037

And I have a pretty big hand so that tells you the size of them.

I guess I'm most excited about my okra as I have never grown it before. The little okras are coming right along. I'll post pics later.

[Slippy]

We only planted a couple of months ago but my garden is producing like a boss.

This is our second round of squash off of only two plants. The yellow is just plain summer squash. The green is a Mexican squash, can't remember the name of it at the moment.

16037

And I have a pretty big hand so that tells you the size of them.

I guess I'm most excited about my okra as I have never grown it before. The little okras are coming right along. I'll post pics later.

Excellent!

Do not allow the Okras to get very large before harvesting. They become very tough in texture and not very tasty the larger they get.

[Sasquatch]

Excellent!

Do not allow the Okras to get very large before harvesting. They become very tough in texture and not very tasty the larger they get.

Thanks for the tip. I did not know that. Slippy comes through again!

[Inor]

We brought in the first watermelon today! There are at least 5 more as large as this one that are still ripening.

16040

(I hope all these watermelons and the new chickens don't attract pests...)

Mrs Inor also got her first 3 'maters this week. Given how many blossoms we have, it is going to be a hell of a year for 'maters!

The jury is still out on the corn. The heirloom corn does have some ears started but I think they are going to be pretty small. The Monsanto franken-corn is HUGE but does not have ears yet.

And we are getting RAIN!!!!!!!!!

[Slippy]

We brought in the first watermelon today! There are at least 5 more as large as this one that are still ripening.

16040

(I hope all these watermelons and the new chickens don't attract pests...)

Mrs Inor also got her first 3 'maters this week. Given how many blossoms we have, it is going to be a hell of a year for 'maters!

The jury is still out on the corn. The heirloom corn does have some ears started but I think they are going to be pretty small. The Monsanto franken-corn is HUGE but does not have ears yet.

And we are getting RAIN!!!!!!!!!

Chickens love watermelon. Toss the rinds in the coop and the girls will have a party!

[Sasquatch]

My garden is starting to shape up. Have some squash and jalapeno already producing. Cleaned the area up today so it's a little more enjoyable to be in there.

18601

Our avocado tree is a monster and and produces pretty well. It's about 25 ft. tall. This year we are going to get hammered with fruit.

18602

[Michael_Js]

Cool updates!!

We finished most of the planting this weekend - just some replacement corn growing in the greenhouse since the damn rodents eat it :)

Also installed all the drop lines, and tested, this weekend to all the raised beds and corn rows.

Some items didn't come up, and we'll need to replant them. Oh well...

We're still eating corn on the cob, peppers, zucchini, blueberries, and Roma tomatoes from last year! :)

Will post some pictures when I get a chance...too busy! ;)

Peace out...

[Chiefster23]

My garden is pretty small as there are only two of us. I only have 7 tomato plants that I baby like crazy. Today I found the first plant with the beginnings of tomato blight and 2 fruits with blossom end rot. (Sigh) Every year I deal with this crap. I always manage to harvest plenty of tomato’s, but this blight is a PITA! Overall this garden season is NOT turning out to be as sucessful as previous years.

[Mad Trapper]

My garden is pretty small as there are only two of us. I only have 7 tomato plants that I baby like crazy. Today I found the first plant with the beginnings of tomato blight and 2 fruits with blossom end rot. (Sigh) Every year I deal with this crap. I always manage to harvest plenty of tomato’s, but this blight is a PITA! Overall this garden season is NOT turning out to be as sucessful as previous years.

End rot can be calcium deficient issues. Try side dressing with some wood ashes and water it in. The ashes will boost P and K too to help with fruit set.


Hey, is this the Twilight Zone? it's 2022....

[Michael_Js]

Not the best with the drone videos, but here are a couple of videos of our garden and chicken coop area...

https://youtu.be/te8owumQayw - Garden area
https://youtu.be/XuNZSM66aVk - chicken area

[MountainGirl]

Nice place Michael. :)

[Box of frogs]

Nice layout for your raised beds.
I like the chicken run. I covered mine in white cloth too for shade and to keep the hawks out.

BoF

[Mad Trapper]

2020.

BiDEN got, SELECTED

[Mad Trapper]

not the best with the drone videos, but here are a couple of videos of our garden and chicken coop area...

https://youtu.be/te8owumqayw - garden area
https://youtu.be/xunzsm66avk - chicken area



i see them over my home, 3 1/2 " oo tens gonna fly!!

[Chiefster23]

Garden lesson from 2022 season. I planted 3 small raised garden plots 3 ft x 4ft in Yukon gold potatoes this year. I dug two yesterday and learned a valuable lesson. These beds are 16 inches deep and I planted the seed potatoes on the very bottom. Digging them out was a real pita. Next year I will only plant them 8 inches deep as none of the crop spuds were shallower than 8 inches down. Most deeper. I harvested a 6 gallon bucket full from 2 beds. I will dig the third today. 9 gallons of spuds from 3 small beds! I’m happy.