This ain't no Garden of Eden

[EddieWalker]

We need to add one to 2 tons of lime per acre to lower the acid level in our soil. One of the big giveaways to the high acid level is that's where the pine trees grow!!! I didn't know about the azaleas and roses liking acidic soil. Guess that's why we have so many of them here.

The dogwoods are still in full bloom, and might just be better this week then last week. It's hard to tell, but they are amazing to see!!!!!!!

The garden is looking great. I'm impressed with how much dirt you are moving and how quickly it's coming along. Until you actually start moving allot of dirt, it's hard to imagine what's involved or the wear and tear that it creates on both equipment and operator.

Eddie

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

Jim,

That is looking great, you are having too much fun. I've got to fill a ditch beside my south field this summer, I was worried about doing it with the T2220 but got a Farmall 60 with loader to help out. I won't have to haul the dirt that far so this will help.

Makes me want do do some work but we'll be lucky to get into the fields by May...maybe.

Looking good keep the photos coming.

 

[jinman]

The dogwoods are still in full bloom, and might just be better this week then last week. It's hard to tell, but they are amazing to see!!!!!!!

Eddie: Kathy was sick with a cold last week and got some Zicam. It helped her a lot, but she needed the weekend to recover. We had planned to come to East Texas today and tomorrow. Unfortunately, Kathy's 94 yr old grandmother passed away on Sunday night, and Kathy had to leave to go to Ohio for the funeral. We will probably take a wildflower tour next week, but may not get to see any dogwoods this year. At least other wildflowers should be in bloom. Thanks for keeping me updated.

Thumper: You would laugh at me if I told you the most irritating thing about hauling dirt besides needing two tractors. The thing I hate most is getting pelted with windblown sand as I drive down the road. The wind has been blowing/gusting 25-40 mph here and it gives me a sandblast everytime I get a load of dirt. All I want is a little rain and for the wind to drop down around 5-10 mph. Is that too much to ask?

 

[Bird]

All I want is a little rain and for the wind to drop down around 5-10 mph. Is that too much to ask?

NWS says right now we're getting wind at 36 mph, gusting to 48. When I stopped for traffic lights, the wind would really rock my little Ford Ranger this morning, and there's quite a number of big limbs broken off trees in my neighborhood, some just in yards, some out in the street.

 

[jinman]

NWS says right now we're getting wind at 36 mph, gusting to 48. When I stopped for traffic lights, the wind would really rock my little Ford Ranger this morning, and there's quite a number of big limbs broken off trees in my neighborhood, some just in yards, some out in the street.

Bird, you know how tall my house is and the wind really whips around my bedroom on the third floor. That steady and gusty wind seems to be noisier than usual. I'm sure not having an attic makes it louder. It sure does during a hard rain. Not that I've had any of that lately.

I heard on the news that the Denton airport measured a 56 mph gust yesterday. I'm sure lots of people lost limbs and probably a few trash cans got underway too.

 

[Bird]

Jim, no garbage cans out in my neighborhood yesterday, since Monday is garbage pickup day. It wasn't quite as windy Monday as yesterday, but there was enough wind that it blew our recycling bin over twice, and we saw lot of scraps of paper and plastic bags blow across our place, but fortunately, they didn't stop here.

 

[jinman]

I haven't updated this post in awhile, so I decided to bring it up to date and show how my progress is coming with the garden. I've hauled most of the topsoil into the garden area and spread it out. What remains is to finish the retainer wall and then bring in the last 8-10 loads and finish with a thick layer of topsoil above my sand fill. Lately, we've had lots of rain, and I had to cut some drainage trenches and shore up my fill so my little garden doesn't wash away. I've decided how I will make the garden drain in the end, but it needs all the fill dirt in place before making the final drainage swales.

I was hoping to finish with the retainer wall by now, but the rain made a gummy clay mess, and my supplier of treated beams is backlogged for 10 weeks. I've just decided I can't wait on the sawmill to cut the beams. I'll just buy CCA treated 4x6s from Lowes. I have all the posts in and set. They're remarkably in a very straight line considering all the problems I had drilling the holes before the rain when the clay was powder dry.

Anyhow, despite being very wet, my garden is surviving and starting to really grow. Here are some shots from two weeks ago and one from yesterday.

1 & 2. Filled soil with small trench cut to keep water from washing over the garden to the right. Larger temporary trench to drain around garden.

3. View of posts sitting in holes before tamping and setting. Look at the difference in soil between the fill and the red clay.

4 & 5. View of the deepest fill area and the added fill I had to put in to keep my row of tomatoes from washing away. I will eventually rock up this area to control erosion.

5. View of garden yesterday after weeding with my little hand tiller. Everything seems to be under control and my okra in the foreground is really starting to grow.

 

[jinman]

To keep water from washing down the hillside and across the garden area, I built a small terrace along my driveway to direct water away from the garden. I'll have enough problems keeping drainage of the water falling on the garden without dealing with the water rushing down off the hillside. The problem is that this terrace is red clay and looks pretty awful. I decided to put a layer of topsoil (6-8") on top of the clay and then put in iris and cannas to make a long flowerbed with color all season long.

After putting the topsoil in place and transplanting all the cannas and iris we had in other flowerbeds, we still did not have enough to fill the long bed. Kathy bought more cannas at Sam's Club and we planted those too. So currently, only the transplanted plants are up, but they seem happy and healthy. To finish the terraces, we decided to partially line the beds with landscaping cloth and then put rock around to hold the soil in place and form a barrier for the natural cedar mulch we chipped in our chpper/shredder. Here are some pictures of our progress and one of the final beds where we transplanted flowers. When the newly planted cannas come up, we'll finish the other half of the bed with mulch also. I think we have about 2 cu. yards of mulch left. I think this will be a nice border between our driveway and the garden. It will also redirect water runoff.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Looking great! It looks like your on track to getting that green thumb back Jim. I don't think I've ever seen anyone put that much into building a garden from a swale. I was thinking that at the start of the thread you were going to have topsoil hauled in and how much those vegetables were going to be worth after paying for the dirt$$$ But Kathy saved the day and got you the dump trailer. What a nice gal you have there!

My garden is a hodge podge again...Weeding is not my strong suit. I've got volunteer okra and 'maters everywhere. Sure would be nice if we could get some rain. Raining all around us. just not on us. I'm hoping tomorrow will bring us some maybe.

 

[Bird]

That's a major operation, Jim. But the results should be worth it. We don't have a garden here in town, but Margaret wanted some tomatoes with real flavor, so we've got some tomato plants in a couple of flower pots. And we have several tomatoes that are well past golf ball size.