Small Projects: Need Daylight Hours

[Mousefield]

OK now I have to ask what is #57 rock? Is that a size?

 

[hillman21]

yes 57 is one inch in diameter

 

[lakngulf]

OK now I have to ask what is #57 rock? Is that a size?

As hillman says, it is a size. Most flat driveways around here can use what they call Crush Run or Crush n Run, which has rocks about 3/4 inch as well as coarsely crushed rock. My drive is steep enough in some areas that the Crush Run would just wash off. Even the larger rock can be moved by some of the rains. Ideally, the area is smoothed, the rock is applied when the soil is a bit damp, the 1 inch + rocks work themselves into the soil and form a good solid road bed.

The picture below is neither of the rock described above. Instead, this is Rip Rap, which is about football to basketball size and is used to shore-up sea walls, and to offer protection from the waves. I have this rock around most of my seawall but some areas need some attention. Hopefully, that will be done this weekend. A load of this rock is a pretty big job for the CK30, but it handles it well.

 

[Rio_Grande]

We use alot of DRB Dense Road Base around here. It works well. Aprox 2 inch rock mixed with lime. Once it is packed cap it with amaller rock again with lime in them,,,, Makes for a great base..

I feel your pain. At least I am on Night shift and get a few hours of daylight each day,,, I however dont recomend going to nights to have time to wrok outside

I have a list of projects that desprately need attention. First off though is getting the shop insulated and sealed up,,, It is cold out there even with a 175000 btu salamander running...

 

[lakngulf]

Another great chilly but sunny weekend in Alabama and 13 hours of tractor time. Was able to move some of my rock to the seawall base and one of the projects I had listed:

(1) Moving the dirt in TopSoil 1 to the garden boxes in TopSoil 3

My garden is near the water in a pretty good spot (first picture below). It gets lots of sunshine during late spring and summer, but the trees shade most of it at other times. I decided to build some boxes alongside the small pier to take advantage of more sunshine for tomatoes. The boxes are about 18 feet long and 2.5 feet wide, a lot of cubic space and dirt.

I have some great topsoil on some farm land where I grew up (second picture). The area is call the Bull Pen because it held the big boys during most of the season until they were needed. I got the top soil from the spot where the hay racks were placed, so it became a natural compost pile. It has been 5 years since the bulls were there. I hauled the dirt home, impossible to use bucket to scoop it off the trailer, but a shovel will do.

The last picture shows the process of getting the dirt into the boxes. The water goes down every year so there is access to the lake bed for projects like this. As you can see I had to pile up some sand and rock to (1) make a level spot for the tractor and (2) get the FEL bucket high enough to dump the dirt. I still had to remove some side boards and shovel the dirt to the ends of the boxes.

Now I am ready for springtime. The tomato plants are under a grow light now, and will love the new soil.

 

[Mousefield]

Nice pics. I'm sure the tomato plants will like that composted soil. At least you don't have far to go to get water for them. The white pipe on the lake floor just in front of the CK35 in pic 4, is that for your drinking water?

 

[lakngulf]

That's my irrigation intake. I have a nine zone irrigation system that covers the yard, garden, herb garden, and the fountain below when it is not needed for other areas. Even though we are in the boonies we have city water that was put in by a private entity. We all had to annie up to get on though.\

Also, check out what I want those tomatoes to look like.

 

[lakngulf]

Update on Moving TopSoil

I got the new topsoil into the over the water tomato boxes, and planted some Celebrity and Better Boy tomatoes that I started from seed on January 31. The pictures below show the boxes with tomatoes up and growing. The love the new soil, sunlight and plentiful warm water from the lake.

I repeated a couple of pictures to recap the process.

 

[lakngulf]

Update on Herb Garden

I put lots of new topsoil in my wife's herb garden as well. We have enjoyed some great Buttercrunch and Romaine lettuce along with chives, etc. The area also doubles as a holding spot for my vegetable starter plants before they are ready for the garden. I have included one picture of how it looked in February, and some shots of how the plants are enjoying the new soil and Alabama sunshine.

The last picture shows, in the background, the new blueberry bushes we planted.