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.



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?

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[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.



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! )

[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.



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.



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.