What did you do in your garden today?

[Esther Knapicius]

got home last night, raked some more leaves out of a garden area. took garbage out. filled bird feeders. sat on deck with cats

 

[Doris]

yes that could not of been much fun we had our wood stove motor go out and my husband and son were out in the sleet putting another one in. It got cold in the house quickly. that happened last year this year was much better.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I put out pinestraw in the blueberry, blackberry and 1 flower bed for Becky. A nice dinner was waiting for me after the poison ivy washing procedures. She got into something itchy last week foraging for red buckeye plants. I trimmed some vines from the blueberry patch so I thought better to be safe. She wanted to know why her big dawn soap bottle was in the shower.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

yesterday, I opened up all the moon flower pods from last years vines and have 38 seeds, put them in growing pots, the flat on the deck now getting rain. temps at 50 last night, so left flat out. but in the middle of the night a worry that an animal might come by and mess with it . So they will come in tonight later. If 38 take, wow, will have to be creative to where some will vine. Or give away a few.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I worked myself to a standstill again today but the low retaining wall is now completed; it's been incredibly hard work carrying materials up the steep slope; I must be getting soft as I age.

Once the new hut is erected the wall won't be seen but it doesn't mean I have to do a poor job; I did the best job I could given the assorted stones I had to hand.

Kind regards, Colin.

This is the only part of our garden which is level.

I'm glad this job is behind me; it looks such an easy job but just walking up our garden is hard work.

 

[Sean Regan]

My wife got me to order 9 Diascia plants and a Blueberry Blue Saphire, from QVC, no change out of fifty-three quid.
I'm gonna take the plug off her telly.

 

[DirtMechanic]

38 bags of pelletized lime got put out today. Thats 65 total. Now we wait. Preferably on the couch. My feet hurt!

 

[Sheal]

I finished sifting through half a ton of soil removing rocks, stones and roots. I'll use the soil for filling dips in my lawns and then grass seed them.

@Colin you've done well working in a tricky situation, the wall looks good. Perhaps your next venture should be a cable car.

 

[DirtMechanic]

@Sheal what method or sieve did you use? I have two piles, one of sand and one of 3/4 (2cm) stone I need to clean of a bunch of plant debris.

@Colin its a joy to watch you go brother! No doubt there is a drawing on your desk? Or are you living a more risky lifestyle with so many successful projects under your belt?

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Sheal; a cable car would make a nice project; Bron and I have often said we could benefit from a ski lift up the garden.

Thanks DirtMechanic; no drawing for this project I'm making it up as I go along as you say taking the risky lifestyle but I've done so much of this work over the years it comes naturally to me; the new hut will most likely be a clone of the hut I built a couple of years ago nearer the bungalow.

By 8:30 this morning I'd visited Morrison's; the surgery; Aldi and Home Bargains now I'm having a mug of tea and bickie (cookie) I ache and my hips are sore but then I suffer for working in our gardens.

Kind regards, Colin.

A 30' tall mature holly tree was here and what a nightmare of a job in removing the stump/roots; I had to remove part of the garden wall to gain access.

It was hard graft getting the stump out but I stuck with it.

Just one of the holly tree roots destroying the garden wall.

The garden wall being rebuilt; looking a mess at the moment so it can only get better.

After many hours hard work with nothing but problems the hut base is completed and new fence panel in place; the paving flags are the very heavy 3' x 2' and laid with a gradient to allow water run off.

The new hut in all its glory; this is fully home made and very robust constructed from 150mm x 22mm treated boards all fully screwed. I find hut building easy but the groundworks to be a nightmare due to the steep garden. For the last 32 years I've been upgrading our bungalow and gardens and have yet to find one easy job; I'm pleased the second hut site is now completed and I'll be ordering the timber shortly so yet more work ahead; I'm not complaining because I like to keep busy but these days I struggle more; if our site was level it would be much easier to do these jobs. I always take lots of digital images for future reference; I use my cheap Kodak PIXPRO FZ53 for general use such as the pictures I post here on the forum.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hi,

Thanks Sheal; a cable car would make a nice project; Bron and I have often said we could benefit from a ski lift up the garden.

Thanks DirtMechanic; no drawing for this project I'm making it up as I go along as you say taking the risky lifestyle but I've done so much of this work over the years it comes naturally to me; the new hut will most likely be a clone of the hut I built a couple of years ago nearer the bungalow.

By 8:30 this morning I'd visited Morrison's; the surgery; Aldi and Home Bargains now I'm having a mug of tea and bickie (cookie) I ache and my hips are sore but then I suffer for working in our gardens.

Kind regards, Colin.

View attachment 51428

A 30' tall mature holly tree was here and what a nightmare of a job in removing the stump/roots; I had to remove part of the garden wall to gain access.

View attachment 51427

It was hard graft getting the stump out but I stuck with it.

View attachment 51431

Just one of the holly tree roots destroying the garden wall.

View attachment 51429

The garden wall being rebuilt; looking a mess at the moment so it can only get better.

View attachment 51430

After many hours hard work with nothing but problems the hut base is completed and new fence panel in place; the paving flags are the very heavy 3' x 2' and laid with a gradient to allow water run off.

View attachment 51426

The new hut in all its glory; this is fully home made and very robust constructed from 150mm x 22mm treated boards all fully screwed. I find hut building easy but the groundworks to be a nightmare due to the steep garden. For the last 32 years I've been upgrading our bungalow and gardens and have yet to find one easy job; I'm pleased the second hut site is now completed and I'll be ordering the timber shortly so yet more work ahead; I'm not complaining because I like to keep busy but these days I struggle more; if our site was level it would be much easier to do these jobs. I always take lots of digital images for future reference; I use my cheap Kodak PIXPRO FZ53 for general use such as the pictures I post here on the forum.

I like the way you joined the fascia rakes at the top with the diamond trim. Is that a metal roof? How it the ridge protected from the elements behind the trim?

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks DirtMechanic; yes the diamond trim is the icing on the cake and both were cut from offcuts hiding the mitred joint. The roof is constructed of 150mm x 22mm boards butted together and securely screwed; heavy polythene sheet was stapled to provide a base layer for the felt; the ridge was lined over the polythene with standard 100mm wide damp proof course; the polythene and DPC were allowed to overlap at the roof edges and stapled into position then the top layer of decent quality felt was applied this though being nailed using lots of galvanized clout nails so the entire roof is fully sealed; the fascia boards are simply trim being cut to size and screwed into position; this is a very strong hut.

I did this work midsummer which really should have been called an extension of our usually dire winters; when it wasn't pouring with rain and blowing a gale it was hail stoning; the timber was the heaviest timber I've ever had the displeasure of lifting it being so wet it could have been stored in a pond; as the screws were driven home water was oozing out; I was constantly uncomfortable and fed up of the climate but I wasn't going to let this stop me. the felt etc went on flat but as the timber dried out it caused the felt to pucker a bit; no real harm done but the climate wanted the last word; it was grim.

Kind regards, Colin.

Under construction; everything including me wet.

Roof on awaiting felting.

When I say I was working in dire weather I wasn't joking; mid summer it was a black hole with rain; wind and hail blasting me; the timber couldn't have been more wet had it been at the bottom of a pond for years; What a thoroughly unpleasant job this was.

This is what I had to cope with as I added the profile to the boards; my big 3hp router constantly choking on soaking wet timber; I must be mad doing this kind of work but living here in Yorkshire it's a case of get on with it because the bad weather isn't going to help.

Padlocks here have a short life if left to the weather so I designed and made a padlock cover in keeping with the new hut; I'm actually pleased with this and it works very well indeed whilst being simple. Please note the cup head set screw in the middle of the hasp; this cannot be unscrewed from the outside and secured inside with washer and nut.

The padlock cover open it being hinged; it was cut out on the bandsaw then glued together the hinge is a solid brass butt. So far with this new hut I've enjoyed fine but at times very cold weather at least I've not been soaking wet. When I order the new timber and it arrives this time I'll use my big 4hp home made saw bench to add the board profile rather than struggle using the router again. Strangely one of the hardest things to resolve was how to hold the padlock cover closed; in the end I dreamt up the stout galvanized wire which works perfectly and cost nothing to make.

 

[Sheal]

what method or sieve did you use? I have two piles, one of sand and one of 3/4 (2cm) stone I need to clean of a bunch of plant debris.

I used the word sifting loosely @DirtMechanic. I went through the soil with gloved hands bit by bit. It took days but I can't handle the weight of a sieve/riddle when it's full. By the time I'd finished I had a pile of debris almost the same size as the soil. This is the type of thing I would like to use, they are available with the mesh in different sizes. It would be fairly simple to make one of your own as it doesn't have to be round.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I used the word sifting loosely @DirtMechanic. I went through the soil with gloved hands bit by bit. It took days but I can't handle the weight of a sieve/riddle when it's full. By the time I'd finished I had a pile of debris almost the same size as the soil. This is the type of thing I would like to use, they are available with the mesh in different sizes. It would be fairly simple to make one of your own as it doesn't have to be round.

View attachment 51459

They sell those as a 55 gallon drum sieve. I was checking them out for a way to size char and filter my as yet untapped compost piles.

 

[Sheal]

They sell those as a 55 gallon drum sieve.

I was just thinking, if you own a cement mixer perhaps it could be adapted to use as a sieve.