My Yard Transformation

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SQWIB
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My Yard Transformation

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Post: # 5621Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:05 am

My Yard Transformation

This is going to be an extremely Long post but covers the last several years of my yard transition.
I wasn't sure where to post this, as I usually include all this stuff in my yearly threads some of you may be aware of "SUGA" pages.
Anyhow I'll pop this in here and if it needs to be moved that's fine.

Hopefully what I have done in my postage stamp yard, will inspire others that are limited for space in their yards.
I'll have to go back and reformat everything so it all looks pretty!
And maybe link to the supplies used.



Raised Beds Construction


Raised Beds and Raised Hugelkultur Beds 2016 - 2017



but first.... Back hill cleanup

February 28th, 2016 - Since I got rid of the pool, that meant I could toss out all the pool equipment that was stored on the hill. I decided to totally renovate the back hill, it's a mess, this is where I toss all my yard junk like firewood, all my extra pavers, bricks, retaining wall stones, Hydroponic stuff, planters, etc...
I have been splitting the firewood and hopefully will be able to fix up the storage area. That is gonna be a chore in itself but for now I'm storing the firewood in the playhouse.

I have been balancing out the construction between weather and cost, so when I get some cash I pick up some supplies then if the weather is cooperating I'll do a bit of work during the week and hit it hard on the weekend.

Today I installed a 2nd water tank and in an attempt to try and blend the tanks in with their surroundings, I spray painted them various colors... blue just wasn't cutting it.

One tank is for the DWC Hydroponics system that will have a premixed nutrient solution, and the other is for my new Air pruning setup, (Hybrid Rain Gutter Grow System) [HRGGS] that will be straight water. Hopefully next year I can install a rain water collection system. Update, the DWC Hydroponics was replaced with a Hugelkultur bed and the Self Watering Air Pruning System is hooked into the drip irrigation, only one tank is being used and is feeding the Vertical Garden.
I also cut back the "Rose of Sharon" and the "Bradford pear trees", I may remove the Bradford Pear Trees and also add a few Arborvitaes to fill in the area a bit.

I have a lot more to do on this hill like, redo the raised beds, prune the arborvitaes, break down the copper cages, move the firewood etc.. but I am fairly happy with the water tanks... much better than blue!

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I added the other valve to the tank and ran two hoses to the lower yard, the hoses loop around behind the tanks over the Rose of Sharon behind the wall and under ground in the lower yard.



Raised Beds Build 2016
Raised Bed #1
Asparagus Bed



February 1st, 2016



In an effort to grow more greens without more hassle, I looked into Perennial Vegetables and was extremely happy to see that Asparagus was a Perennial Vegetable. Asparagus is one of my favorite green veggies for cooking, followed closely by Broccoli.

But the problem was, where the hell would I plant asparagus? I literally have no room.

I think I may have found a place that gets good-OK sun, it is directly in front of my AC unit, it's tight, but with a little construction, I think I can get a decent bed of 10 plants. It Is a small area, maybe 3' x 4.25' (12.75 sq.')

I have always disliked this part of the yard, between the slope of the hill, the AC, the trashcan, the neighbors hemlock hedge, the area that nothing will grow in and the Bradford Pear roots tearing everything up I just hate it. I plan on fixing this up somewhat, clean out the roots, put in a raised bed next to the Asparagus bed and install pavers in place of my spray painted (GHETTO) roof tile.

With a plan in mind, I ordered 10 Jersey Knight Asparagus crowns in January from American Meadows. The Asparagus crowns are shipping the week of April 4th, so I do have plenty of time but want to get this knocked out ASAP.

From what I have researched these are supposed to be an all male variety and will produce more and last longer than their female counterparts.

The weather may be half decent this weekend so I'm gonna try to get my son outside away from Black Ops 3 and jump on building the bed.

OK, I'm going to need a 2"x10" x 12', some deck screws, and loamy soil...whatever that is! I also picked up two 5/4" x 8' decking planks, I decided at the last minute to cap it, figured since its gonna be a permanent bed, I might as well dress it up a bit.

Dam I'm gonna need more 2"x12", oh well back to the store, picked up another 2"x12" but an 8 footer, dam again, it was supposed to be a 2"x10" not a 2"x12", oh well, I'll use it to my advantage.




First I cleaned out the area, removed the river rocks, removed the three pavers then cut the concrete slab that the AC rests on.

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I didn't realize but this slab had concrete mesh which made the job a tad bit more of a pain.

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Next, I trimmed the 4x4 on the walkway with a sawzall.

Then I dug out about a foot of soil.



The frame is assembled with 3" decking screws, dropped in place and leveled.

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Buckets of dirt and concrete are tossed in back of the truck to dispose of. I'll use the dirt to fill in a few holes in our lot at work.

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The raised bed is capped with 5/4" deck board. This will be stained in the fall. The bed does tidy up the area a bit.

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Raised Bed Back Hill #2


March 3rd, 2016



(2) 2x10x10
(1) 2x10x8
(3) 2x4x10
(1) #8 x 1-5/8 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (1 lb.-Pack) [1-1/2" is fine, but this is what I had]
(1) #10 x 3 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (5 lb.-Pack) [Had a box already]
(4) ZMAX Galvanized 16-Gauge 2X Rigid Tie Connector
(4) ZMAX 7 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle

(I always try to buy my lumber from Lowes...much better selection)




Earlier in the week I picked up some 2x10's, 2x4's and hardware for the raised bed and dug out around the old raised bed, I got home late and only had about a half an hour of light so I didn't get much done. Doing a bit of digging I was actually pretty impressed with the soil.

Since the weather forecast is for snow until Saturday sometime, I left work an hour earlier today to try and knock out this Raised bed, I figured the extra hour would be just enough time to knock out one of the raised beds. The weather complied, it wasn't too cold if I kept moving.

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I dug out the area a bit more and removed the wood, These raised beds were built in 1999, you can see how weathered the wood is that's behind the shovel. What happens is, it rots out where the screws are but the wood is usually still in fairly good shape, if left undisturbed. Anyhow I figured this is my last time doing this... they're gonna bury me in this bed... so I opted for additional hardware. The wood was all cut and placed on the hill.

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Corner braces are put in, This will be the bottom. Then two 3" screws secure the other end, which will be the top.

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The bed is flipped and four 8-1/4" long 2x4's are cut but not secured yet, all the lengths of 2x4 for the cap are cut and secured to the top, using the 2x4x8-1/4" supports as a guide for a 1-1/2" overhang. After all the 2x4 (caps ) are screwed in place I installed the 2x4x8-1/4" supports, this will allow the bed to rest on the retaining wall cap stones and the bed will sit 1" below the cap stones.

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Then the reinforcing "L" angles are installed, butting up against the 2x4 cap. I made one small error that added 3" to the width of the bed, when I measured the side pieces from the old bed, I didn't realize that they were attached to the sides of the longer piece, so when I built this one I put the sides on the inside, adding 3", it's not a deal but it's a tad tighter than I wanted it to be when walking behind the bed with the tree there.

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I am glad I knocked this out yesterday, its gonna be a mess with all the snow we have coming.

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It's not done yet, there's a few more tweaks that this bed will get, I am working on copper corners that I will cut from 3" pipe, anneal and peen , then the cap will be trimmed with Copper tape to keep slugs out and finally it will be stained in the fall after it has weathered a bit.




March 5th-6th, 2016 - This weekend was nice, and when I say nice I'm referring to it being dry not necessarily warm. I decided to tackle the other raised bed since the other came out so well. I knew this was going to be a nightmare, I have amassed so much stuff in this corner that it took on a life of it's own, so I just decided to jump right in.

This is where I stored all my Pit wood, along with some pool supplies, river rock, extra pavers, extra cap stones from the retaining wall, bricks, extra lumber from the Koi Pond build, Tarps, pond supplies and a whole bunch of other $hit I don't need.

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All the wood is moved to the playhouse for now, all the pavers are sorted and will be re-stacked once the bed is finished. The pond and pool supplies are trashed, most of the "JUNK" lumber is burnt, I did reserve some lumber to see if I need any for this years gardens but will most likely burn it after the gardens are up and running.

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The old raised beds are torn up and burnt in the pit. A water barrel is put in place and will need to be painted. I'm not sure if I will use this, but I may put in some wicking pots someday, not sure yet. I will still need this area for storing my fire wood, garden supplies, tarps and pavers but will have to tighten it up a bit. This area is leveled for the compost bin.

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I found an old water line that I may use for irrigation, its a hose that runs from the house, underground and up under the retaining wall, hopefully it still works. That was put in twenty + years ago...at least!

The hardest part about building these beds has been removing the River Rock and the cleanup, this is the 3rd time they have been moved, every single one has been picked up three times, first to go into my front yard, then some were removed and replaced to build the pond-less waterfall, then they were all moved to the back yard when I built the Koi Pond, now they are being moved again into buckets and crates, I need to find a home fore these stupid rocks.

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Raised Bed Back Hill #3


March 9th-13th, 2016


(2) 2x10x10
(1) 2x10x8
(3) 2x4x10
(1) #8 x 1-5/8 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (1 lb.-Pack) [1-1/2" is fine, but this is what I had]
(1) #10 x 3 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (5 lb.-Pack) [Had a box already]
(4) ZMAX Galvanized 16-Gauge 2X Rigid Tie Connector
(4) ZMAX 7 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle

(I usually buy my lumber from Lowes...much better selection)

I still have a few things to do on the hill, amend the soil, install the composter, cut out a few roots, level the ground behind the beds for a path, stack the pavers and a few other things I plan on keeping.



March 12th-13th, 2016
- This was a productive weekend, I wanted to get the beds done before the rain, that was forecast for Sunday.

I removed some roots from the tree to make a walking path behind the beds, spent near three hours on this...saved all the worms I found and tossed them in the beds.

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Today I leveled, or should I say , Flattened the path somewhat, and added some peat and composted manure to the beds. For years and years, I never amended this soil, I just left it, "as is", and had a decent crop most of the time with the exception of eggplants. One year I went, "all out", amending the soil, turning the soil, weeding, mulching and was totally disappointed. I was going to fill these completely with composted manure, peat and top soil but decided to use the soil on the hill that seemed to be pretty good, hopefully it won't be laden with weed seeds...time shall tell.

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I really don't know whats up with this composted manure, the three piles further away in the picture are from Home Depot and the one closest me is from Lowes. Here are the following specs;

Lowes 1 cu ft $4.98
Home Depot 50lb $5.17

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Home Depot

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Lowes

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The home depot bag definitely has more volume, by like 20% but not sure which is of better quality, they are the same exact bag other than the weight/volume that it is sold by.


March 16th, 2016
- Added a compost bin. I also moved the upright end pieces all the way to the end and re centered the two center uprights.

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April 24th, 2016 - Well, I had to get the stuff out of the playhouse, the girls will be home from college and I need the playhouse to store all their dorm stuff, refrigerators, microwaves, fans, coffee machines, printers etc...
So everything was placed back on the hill as neat as possible and covered.

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September 17th, 2016 - plants are removed. The plants are burned in the firepit and the ashes will be added to the compost pile.

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The beds are stained and mulched, now I just need to clean the junk up on the hill.

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Raised Bed #4
Hugelkultur Bed






April 2nd, 2016

(6) 2x10x10
(3) 2x4x10
(1) #8 x 1-5/8 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (1 lb.-Pack) [1-1/2" is fine, but this is what I had]
(1) #10 x 3 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (5 lb.-Pack)
(4) ZMAX Galvanized 16-Gauge 2X Rigid Tie Connector
(2) ZMAX 7 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle


OK... Time to start this nightmare, Like I said before when building Bed #1, the Asparagus bed, I hate this part of the yard, it has never looked good and the Bradford Pear tree tore it up pretty good. Working around the stump and roots is gonna be a nightmare especially factoring in the close proximity to the fence. Last year I tossed in this pallet fence to keep the dogs out and try to grow some beans...FAIL!

This bed will be a Hugelkultur bed, I have researched this form of gardening and was quite impressed, so I figured I would give it a shot. I have plenty of wood from the Bradford Pear tree to fill it with, (Crotch wood, roots, stuff I can't easily split for firewood). Ray next door wants his shrubs out, so my goal is to get this built, add my logs, cut Rays shrubs back a bit, trim the evergreens and toss everything in the bed. The build will be similar to Raised bed #2 and #3, but three (10") boards high.

The yard slopes a good bit here so the bed will be approximately 30" at the low end and 18" at the high end.

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First I removed the pallet fence and 4x4.

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Oh boy!

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Dug out a bit.

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Then marveled at the roots and tried to come up with a game plan. I decided to "irrigate" the soil away with the hose then chipped away to see what I was up against. OH BOY!

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Look at this thing

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These are the two roots that almost sent me to the emergency due to a cardio event.

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This project is proven to be a total nightmare. Working around the stump is impossible the roots are embedded with rocks so after frying my chainsaw blade on rock embedded roots, I switched to a Sawzall then an axe, it was impossible to get a swing on the axe. The roots were so abundant that I had to irrigate the soil away with a hose but after I got down so far I hit Green/Gray clay.

The clay was so hard that I had to chip it away with a hammer and screwdriver. I finally got through one root that was over 12" thick...REALLY, A DAM FOOT!!!. I am pretty persistent but finally gave up on my original plan to dig behind the stump for the 2x10's and went another route.


Anyhow, after building one frame I decided to put this section in place, level and secure, the next piece was a three sided section that slid in underneath, everything was leveled (somewhat) and secured. What a dam mess!
Of course my wife lets out the, "two stupid dogs" and they decide to run through the mud and jump on me to show me how much they love me!

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After everything was secured, I added some of my crotch wood, roots from the Bradford Pear tree from the back yard and some old firewood. The section in the center where the buckets are will be tore up and pavers will be put in.
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My neighbor wanted to get rid of this shrub, so I told him I would take care of it, figured it would be great for the Hugel Bed.

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After some of the trimmed bush was added to the Hugekultur Raised Bed, the third section was built and secured.

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The top is capped with 2"x4"'s with a 1.5" overhang to be flush with the uprights but I can't finish the uprights yet because the pavers need to be installed first, then I can cut the uprights to be flush with the pavers.

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Another layer of Crotch wood and logs are added. I told a friend that I am planting firewood so I can have a firewood crop in the fall.

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The soil that was removed during construction was dumped into the bed. It's a fairly heavy clay soil but I have had no problems growing anything in this soil, quite the contrary. It will be top dressed composted manure and mulch.

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I busted up the concrete slab under the gate, it was over 5" thick and took a bit of work with a sledgehammer, after the slab was busted up and tossed in the truck for disposal, I removed the roofing tile and placed it in the truck for disposal.

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April 12th - I spent several hours trying to get this root out, I even tried irrigating the soil away to get under it and only made a mess. This thing is just SICK!

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April 13th - I finally gave up and removed as much as possible with a 12" sawzall blade. I wanted to remove the whole root and back-fill because the pavers will sink when the root rots, I figured it would be less effort to lift the pavers, back-fill with paver stone and replace the pavers in 5 years or so.

Early on in this article I said, "The hardest part about building these beds has been removing the River Rock and the cleanup", BOY WAS I WRONG! The Bradford Pear stump and roots are kicking my ass.

After dealing with this stump and the roots, I decided to remove the two Bradford Pear Trees on the back hill before they get too big... I'm getting too old for this $hit!

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Looking good so far, In a few years I'll most likely lift the pavers and peak the center up a bit so its rounded and not concave, but for now I'll leave it!

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April 14th - Final touches, adding the side pieces and irrigation.



There was a 1-1/2" gap on one side of the cap stones (steps), so I centered the cap stones (steps) and cut two pieces of 5/4 P.T. and placed the cut 5/4 in the gaps.

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Finished the pavers and uprights

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Ran some drip irrigation to the bed.

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This year the bed will be used as an overflow (extra veggie plants)

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Even looks good from the deck.

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April 26th, 2016 - Last night I was going through all of my landscape lighting supplies to find some lighting for the new bed, I came across 4 railing lights that I decided to use, I ran some wire and connectors today.

April 27th, 2016 - Last night I installed 4 railing lights and two Bolo lights, I have a 21 watt incandescent bulb in one socket and 3 led's in the other fixtures to see how they looked at night. I did not like the LED's but really like the glow of the incandescent but its 21 watts, that would be 84 watts on the transformer that's too much.

If I used the current LED's, it would be 4 watts but I don't care for them. I ordered some 0.48W LED's to try, that would be less than 2 watts, I also ordered some 11 watt incandescent, I can live with an additional 44 watts on the transformer if need be.
The Bolos had 20 watt bulbs and were replaced with 3 watt luxeon LED's.

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March 1st, 2016 I installed the new LED'S last night and I am extremely impressed, I am so impressed that I ordered twenty more bulbs and 6 more Railing lights for the other Hugelkultur bed. @ 0.48 watts, you cant beat it, these will replace my 7 watt deck lights and 21 watt front yard landscape lights.
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Here's a pic from 2012 that shows the tree, it was taken out in 2015 and was much bigger than this pic shows.

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September 17th, 2016


In the fall, the beds are stained, cleaned out and top dressed with mulch.

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Much nicer than this

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Raised Bed #5
Did he say "5", Yes! I said "5"

Hugelkultur Bed



April 19th, 2016 -
I must be freaking nuts... I'm sitting in the yard playing with the dogs looking around thinking, "this is great, the bulk of the gardening is done, now I can relax", I'm sitting on the grass tossing the ball up by the Hugelkultur bed past the Hydroponic system, the dogs a Shepherd (Maggie) and Shitzu (Millie) are happily retrieving the ball each time.

A couple tosses and the ball lands behind the Hydro Buckets, as Maggie is trying to dig out the ball I'm thinking, hope she don't tear up the plants or the air lines... a couple more tosses, then I start eyeing up my Hydro setup and then the Hugelkultur bed, then the Hydro, then the Hugel and thought, Wow that Hugeklkultur bed looks really nice. I especially like the clean look of the pavers up to the side of the bed, and the irrigation setup is working out so well.

I just like the aesthetics more of the Hugel bed. Anyhow as I'm processing all of this, I started comparing the setup of the Hydro and the Planting of the Hugel bed, thinking how nice it was planting in the Hugelkultur bed compared to the Hydro System. I know what my subconscious mind was doing, it already knew what the outcome was gonna be, it just had to convince my conscious mind.
I called the wife out and said, "what do you think about another raised bed instead of the Hydro system", she looked at me like I had two heads and said, "What will you do with the Hydro setup", I said, "I'll give it away"! "Really", she replied. "But you just built the hydro setup and love it". I said, "but look how nice the Hugelkultur bed looks"... every time I say Hugelkultur I expect someone to say, "gesundheit".

So the conversation continues with stuff like, "I'll make the bed at bench height and make a top piece wide enough for a sort of bench, it is right across from the bar". "It will also tidy up the pavers a bit", "It will look neater than the buckets in the winter", she says, "yeah I do like the pavers you just did". I have such a mish-mosh of pavers, but that story is for another time. I then told her, "Plus I can get rid of the rest of the trees that I cut down", she liked that idea. I do have wood all over the yard.

"And the irrigation line is already there, I only need to install 2 barbs and that's it", she of course had no clue what I was referring to.
Her last statement was the kicker, "well it would be easier on you with your back and stuff, we are getting older, chuckles all around.

"OK, I'm doing it this weekend", her reply, "Your nuts"! We both smile and my mind starts racing!

Now the hydro setup is pretty easy but there are more things to consider and a much larger margin of error when using this setup, there's a lot more worries like Nutrient Level, getting the plant roots just right so they don't dry up or drown, water temperature, air pump or water pump cutting out, electricity going out, squirrel chewing through any of the air hoses or electric.
And then there's end of season cleanup, water pump is removed and stored indoors, air stones are removed, air hoses and air pump are removed and store indoors, hydroton and growstones are cleaned and stored, net-cup lids are cleaned and stored, buckets are flipped so they don't catch water and the up-righted buckets aren't aesthetically pleasing. Now all this sounds like a lot of work but it really isn't that bad, it's just me trying to convince myself to go with the Hugelkultur bed.

Now none of the aforementioned has happened, other than cleanup, but I do worry about these things on a regular basis, especially when we go on vacation for a week and the more I thought about the Hugelkultur bed, I was definitely going to build it. What can I say... I love dirt!

I thought I can do this, I still have 2 weeks till mothers day (my normal planting time).

OK So here we go!



After work, I picked up all the wood at Lowes, I was only going to get the 2"x10"x10's but got crazy and got some 16 footers too. Dam the wood was heavy, it was very wet, if you ever hauled dry vs. wet pressure treated wood, you'll know what I'm talking about.

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I have Rear side open doors on my Suburban and was going to wait and take my wife's suburban, to get the 16 footers, her Suburban has a rear hatch that would have been much easier (safer) to leave the back window open and leave the wood hang out of the back. New hobby, Suburban Jousting!

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I got home safely and unloaded the wood and stood the wood upright to inspect and decide which pieces will be the front (visible) part of the bed.

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Then I broke down the Deep Water Culture setup and transplanted the plants to a tote with potting soil. Hopefully, I can save these guys.

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April 19th, 2016 - This morning on the way to work I stopped at Home Depot and picked up some hardware for the beds and a new Segmented Diamond Blade for my angle grinder.

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At work, during break I went out into our parking lot and chopped up some dead wood for the Hugelkultur bed, hey... killed two birds with one stone!

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April 21st, 2016 - I gotta say, "I really have good feeling about this project". I feel like a kid in the candy store! C'mon 4:30!!!

4:00... yeah, I left work early, anyway... I head straight home and into the back yard, no dinner. I start by running a line for the pavers to be cut, second time doing this, I just did this Saturday for the Hydroponics before I decided to replace it with a Hugelkultur bed.

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Then the area is somewhat leveled but made very flat. Next step was to get out the chop saw and make all the cuts. Each box length is 7' 11" the reason I used this measurement was so that a 16' 2x6 would cap the top without any seam, the 16 foot 2"x6" was 1" over length (16' -1") I deducted 3" from the overall length of the 16 footer and divided by 2,to allow for a 1-1/2" over hang on each side so the 2x4 uprights would be flush on the sides.

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The bottom half of the first bed is put together, angle pieces were used, then 3" deck screws secure the other end. This will be one large bed but in 4 sections.

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The bottom half of bed section#1 is flipped so the corner braces are on the bottom.$HIT, that's tight, I did add over a half inch to the depth when cutting the pavers.

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Building the bottom half of raised bed section#2

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Same with the bottom half of box #2, flipped and put in place. Then the beds are leveled and the center pieces are secured together. The fit on box #2 is even tighter.

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OK, Looks good so far.
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Next up, installing the Galvanized reinforcing L angle. I strongly suggest using these especially if you are going to join more than one board together or are in a tight spot. The angles are offset so they will be screwed into both sections of the bed.

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Then the side pieces are installed.

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Followed by the fronts and backs.

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After everything is secured, the two end pieces in the center are secured to one another with 3" deck screws.

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The top is capped with 2"x4"s on the sides and back, the front is a 2" x 6" for a little bench.

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I started filling with wood but its getting dark and I haven't eaten yet.

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Maybe I should go eat something, these are going to my head!

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April 22nd, 2016 - Before work, I saturated all the wood in the bed.

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After work I picked up a few more supplies, added some supports in the back, I wanted to get the back supports in before adding the wood because I can't secure the supports from the back, they need to be secured from the inside. Then I soaked the wood again.

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Started the tedious task of filling with the wood I got from work.

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Saturated the wood.

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Added about 10 (5 gallon) buckets of soil from the back hill.

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2 bags of shredded mulch are added, figured this would help keep everything intact to help planting this year, I'm sure this is going to settle quite a bit and I'll keep top dressing with mulch.

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The shredded hardwood mulch and soil are saturated.

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Composted Manure is added

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The composted manure is saturated.


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Three bags of top soil are added and saturated.

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April 23rd - Then I installed the plants that were removed from the DWC system. Removed the pavers again and added some paver base to level the pavers a bit better.

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April 23rd -
Installed the uprights, these aren't only for aesthetics but also for structure, and it pulls the boards flush. Then the drip line is installed, then tossed some paver sand down and worked the sand between the bed and pavers.

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Cut the rest of my firewood and saved some of the bark for mulch and used to help secure the drip line.

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Once the bed is seated well, I'm going to pull the fence in and secure it to the bed in an effort to get rid of that lean.

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LED ROPE Lights are installed and will run on a timer, the LED's are just taped in place for now and will be added permanently after the beds are stained.

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May 1st, 2016 I installed the new LED'S last night on the other Hugelkultur bed and I am extremely impressed, I am so impressed that I ordered twenty more bulbs and 6 more Railing lights for this Hugelkultur bed. @ 0.48 watts, you can't beat it, these will replace my 7 watt deck lights and 21 watt front yard landscape lights.




May 15th, 2016 I installed 6 more Railing lights for this Hugelkultur bed. The LED ROPE Lights are removed

September 17th, 2016 - After an excellent growing season, the plants are removed and the beds are stained.



My supervisor on the job.

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Raised Bed #6

Hugelkultur Bed



A few weeks ago I was eyeing up the yard and admiring the Hugelkultur beds. I thought about last seasons crops that were in the “Air Pruning Pots” that were along the side of the fence and was contemplating how to set up the Air Pots next season.

After much thought, weighing the "pros" and "cons", I decided to build another Hugelkultur bed along the side of the fence, this will be my 6th bed but 8th box, 9 if you count Moms Hugel Bed.

The plants did good in the Air Pruning Pots, but not as good as the plants in the raised bed. One of the "pros" to the “Air Pots” was they were mobile and at the end of the season I could move them up onto the hill and open the yard up a bit. But this was also a "Con", because the bags could be pretty heavy when wet and storing on the hill looks a little unsightly. So after one year of the Air Pruning Pots, I decided that I didn't want to be bothered putting the “Air Pots” away each season and wanted something more permanent. I will continue to use a few on the side patio.

This bed will be 24” wide by 20' long, I will loose some of the yard but another "pro" is that I can use the beds to straighten and support the fence, however, the cost of building the bed is another "con".


My biggest "con" is that the box turtles hibernate in this corner, so I will have to dig out the corner in front of the corner of the bed and add leaf mulch and wood mulch so they can still hibernate there.

Here is what I did to straighten out the fence using the Hugel Bed.

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(10) 2x10x10 $148.00
(3) 2x4x12 $22.80
(2) 2x6x10 $17.53
(2) 4"x4"x10' $25.38
(1) #8 x 1-5/8 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (1 lb.-Pack) [1-1/2" is fine, but this is what I had]
(1) #10 x 3 in. Star Flat-Head Wood Deck Screws (5 lb.-Pack) $31.78
(8) ZMAX Galvanized 16-Gauge 2X Rigid Tie Connector $16.80
(8) ZMAX 7 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle $19.25
(8) ZMAX 5 in. 16-Gauge Galvanized Reinforcing L-Angle $15.86
(6) 1/2"x5" lags $3.91 (had 3 lags and washers already)
(1) Everbilt 3/8 in. Galvanized Flat Washer (25-Piece per Bag $4.95
(3) Everbilt 3/8 in. - 16 tpi x 6 in. Galvanized Carriage Bolt $6.97
(3) Everbilt 3/8 in. Galvanized Hex Nut $0.70
(2) 1/2"x12" Eyebolt $6.80
(1) 1/8"x50' Cable $17.91
(2) 3/32"x1/8" wire clamp set $4.20
(2) Vista Red stone $9.69


6 bags manure
4 bags mulch


January 18, 2017

Earlier this week I checked the weather forecast and Saturday calls for sunny and 58°, after seeing the forecast I decided to knock out the bed this weekend. The day after I purchased the wood, I checked the weather again and the forecast is still 58° but cloudy, no matter, it will be dry, It's been wet the last few weeks and looks like more rain the beginning of next week.


I Picked up most of the wood at Home depot, still need to pick up the cap and side pieces.

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These are freaking heavy when wet. I stacked them in the back yard and picked out the cleanest 4 pieces that will be for the front of the bed.

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January 20, 2017


I dropped my son off at school and stopped in my usual spot to pick up some Hugel Wood.

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January 21, 2017

The weather was mild but very wet so I figured on getting muddy today. After I double checked the best pieces for the facade, I carefully dug out the one corner checking for turtles, yep found one. I dug a new hole a few feet away, filled with loose soil and mulch then dug out a slot and placed the turtle back in and covered with some light dirt and mulch. I dug out the raspberry bush and placed to the side. I had to move the underground hoses so they wouldn't get pinched.

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This spot is 20' wide exactly so I will be fitting this as tight as possible. The irrigation line needs to be reworked. The hoses to the left of the picture were adjusted also to avoid pinching off.

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I had Air Pruning Pots here for 2016.

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This is the hardware I will be using. It may seem like overkill but it makes building the beds so much easier especially considering I can't get on the back side to drive the screws.

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Build.

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Tight Fit.

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After the bottom half is done I try leveling and straightening the beds the best I can.

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After all the boxes were completed I readjusted the beds one more time then called it a day, I was muddy, sore and tired. I slipped into some sweat pants popped four Advil, made a cup of coffee and watched an episode of Dexter and I was feeling much better. Now for some venting, what really pisses me off is that I am busting my stones trying to get every piece cut and to fit almost perfectly but when I start putting the boxes together, the width varies 1/4" from one end to the next on the 2x10's, 9-1/4" on one side and 9" on the other side, this should be illegal. Whats next, a nominal 2"x 10" actual will be a 1"x 8"?

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January 22, 2017

The next day the weather was poor, it was misting all day and the yard was mostly mud but I wanted to get this done so I could get the wood, leaves, compost and other materials in the bed, we are supposed to be getting a lot of rain and figured it would benefit the bed.
I agonized over a support system, one thing I am sure of is that it is going to be a vertical support system. I really didn't want to be putting in a bunch of conduit and rebar. This was last years support system and with the added length of the bed this year, I thought a bunch of EMT pipe would look a little shabby.

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So here is what I came up with.

But first a stop at the Home depot to get some more wood. I decided on a permanent support system for the plants so I will be adding two 4"x4"x10' supports, they will be dug in and the finished height from the top of the bed to the top of the posts will be 7'.

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Three 5" lags are installed and the corners of the box are beefed up, I used lags on this side because it butts up against the retaining wall, the other support will be secured with Galvanized carriage bolts.

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Tops of the bed are capped

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Filling with wood.

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Had the kids rake the leaves from the front yard and toss in the beds.

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I still have to replant the Raspberry bush, add the upright supports and tweak the watering system. I will be removing the end top piece on the finished bed and install a wider piece for a neater transition between the new bed and the finished bed, also I need to remove the 6" upright in the front of the finished bed and move over the seam of the new bed and finished bed.
I still need to dig out a little of the soil in the front of the bed, this soil will be tossed on top of the leaves.

Over the next several months I will be adding compost from my compost pile and 6 bags of manure, some potting soil, perlite and 10-10-10.

I also need to dig out the finished bed to the far left and install another 4"x4"x10' upright for the permanent support system. This is gonna be a chore because of the wood in the bed, my only other option is to put the upright on the outside which I do not want to do unless I have no other choice.



January 28th, 2017


It was a sad day today, I cut down my Red Maple, I planted this 25 years ago and it just died all of a sudden. I hadn't the heart to burn up the wood so I figured it would make me feel better if it sustained new life over the next 10 years or so in a Hugelkultur bed. Some will be split and used in the pit and some will be chunked for the smoker.

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I removed all the leaves from the bed and placed the red maple in the beds. Sad little coffin!

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Topped with some compost from the compost bin, some clay soil from the yard, followed by the leaves then I emptied my air pruning pots into the beds, the Air Pots had, peat, manure, topsoil and perlite in them.

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I'll probably toss a few bags of mulch in front of the beds for a path, my yard can get pretty swampy. I'm all ready to plant, just need to tweak the irrigation line, add the top cap pieces, vertical pieces and finish the vertical support. I will stain the bed and may add lights in the fall.

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I ran out of money but not Mojo so I dug out the other end of the bed, there was some wood in the way that I cut with a sawzall and one piece I had to split with a splitting wedge, then I hit a piece of granite with the post hole digger and got out the hammer drill... forget that... I gave up after 30 minutes and just decided the extra 10" wasn't worth it!

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Well the whole day didn't go as planned, we blew a brake-line on the suburban and I had to drive home with no brakes, wife was having a conniption the whole way home, I used the brakes one time on a twenty minute drive...IN THE CITY, wasn't fun.

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February 5th, 2017.

I finished installing the vertical support line.

Notched the side top plate

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I had to cut 9" off of this upright because I hit a hunk of granite that I couldn't get through and the depth was shy by about 9". Next up I installed the Carriage Bolts.

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Back filled with stone, wood , ash and soil.

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OK, time for the support cable, this will be 36' long.

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There were only about 3" of threading on these eye bolts but I wanted as much adjustment as possible so I had to thread these further. What disappointed me was that the shaft diameter is slightly a smaller diameter of the threaded end so I don't have a full thread (Threads are flat).

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Thread comparison.

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Closeup of the threads.

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Holes are drilled in the uprights, slightly larger than the eye bolts so they can move freely. Cable is looped and secured at one end around the eyebolt using the cable connectors. The cable is run to the other end and adjusted to the proper length and looped and secured with the cable connectors. Yes, Home Depot screwed up and gave me two different size cable connectors, but it was 25°F outside and I just wanted to get this done. I may change out the 3/16" with the 3/32" some day if I'm bored.

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I'm happy with the support for the upcoming year, but more importantly, my wife is very happy with the streamlined support system, when she's happy I'm Happy!

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February 6th, 2017


Since my brain is in garden mode the last few weeks, and that is all I can think about. I have been thinking about the support system, I was looking for a way to tighten the cable without tools, at first I was going to use a winch type adjustment but decided it was overkill and I do have a tendency to over engineer stuff. I want it simple enough where I can say to one of the kids, "Hey go outside and tighten the cable a bit", yes I do have a kid named "Hey". Here is what I came up with.

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If you look closely you can see the needle bearing sandwiched between the washer.

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The locking nut isn't really needed but I figured I would just toss it on.

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Finished the uprights on the new Hugelkultur bed, cleaned out the fire pit and spread the ashes and bits of wood on the beds.
Also put on the last few cap pieces, the one to the far left where the stained bed meets the new bed, I cut a piece that tapers wide in the back to narrow in the front to set the vertical garden tower on.

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April 12th, 2017


Ran a 40' drip irrigation line.

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May 20th, 2017


Installed the new lights and LED bulbs

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Added a walkway

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Stained the new bed

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Re: My Yard Transformation

#2

Post: # 5622Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:06 am

Raised Bed #7

KOI Pond Hugelkultur Bed



August 25th, - 27th 2017

I was jonesing to build another Raised Hugelkultur Bed on the patio, but have been putting it off for a while, because it just didn't feel right, if that makes sense.
Anyhow I threw one together and it seems a bit overwhelming of the patio. I'm gonna give it a season or two and see if it should stay or go.

Since I was cutting back some of my shrubs I asked the neighbor if he wanted me to hack his stuff back. It's so overgrown you can barely get into his back yard and he has some large silver maple trees in there that gotta come out.

After the bed was built I removed the pavers underneath but didn't cut the other pavers, just in case I decide to take the new bed out.

I lined the bottom with Magnolia stumps and on top of that some thin cut Ash logs and then a boat load of Rose of Sharon cuttings, followed by a little of my clay soil, the contents of a planter that contained, peat, sand compost and manure then topped off with compost. In an effort to make it look a Little respectable, I tossed in some flowers and a basil plant then planted some Kale and Spinach.

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Adding some serious amendments.

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Once I stained the Bed, stained the bench, added a more proportionate planter and added some flowers it looks real nice, Laura's Happy, I'm Happy.

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This planter was for Laura's Hydrangea, she loves Hydrangeas. I gave up this planter (was leeks) because she wanted a little focal point with color on the Koi Pond Patio. Well the Hydrangea died and I asked her if she wanted to try another one, which I thought was a bad idea, or let me toss together something from some Home Depot plants. She's happy with the results.

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I decided to make the Koi Pond planter a dedicated Herb Garden, My perennials are French Tarragon, Roman Chamomile, Lemon Thyme, Thyme, Winter Savory, Garlic Chives, Red Welsh Bunching Onions and I plant Cilantro, Dill and Basil here in the spring.

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The herb garden is growing nicely.

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Raised bed #8

Mini Root bed




I caved and Installed a "root" bed. I was a bit reluctant to do so, but I usually end up throwing a grow bag up here on the step anyhow. I also caved and picked up two bags of Kellog Raised Bed Mix and a bag of Black Kow. I usually get my compost and mulch from the city recycle center.
In the bottom of the new bed I tossed in some grass clippings, an old eggplant plant and some spent cut flowers, topped with a bag of Kellogs, then a bag of Black Kow then another bag of Kellog, mixed real well and watered.

The bed was planted with Red Beets, this will be my last attempt at red beets.

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Raised bed #9

Mini Pallet Raised bed



I tossed this together from an old pallet from work to go in front of the playhouse to reduce weeding.

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Re: My Yard Transformation

#3

Post: # 5623Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:11 am

The fence and retaining wall were built during construction of some of the raised beds, this is not in chronological order.


Fence and Retaining Wall


March 2017

Last February I put in some new raised beds, the old raised beds were 20+ years old.
I decided to clean up the back hill a bit, it's a mess, this is where I toss all my yard junk like pool supplies, the pool, firewood, all my extra pavers, bricks, retaining wall stones, Hydroponic stuff, planters, etc...

The pool and pool supplies are long gone now and since I stopped doing hydroponics, I decided to start tossing my Hydro stuff. I also put in a compost bin and noticed how bad the retaining wall was. I put that in the back of my mind.

This year I got tired of looking at the shabby Arborvitaes as they were very sparse at the bottom and decided to build a fence. While I was removing the Arborvitaes I looked at the retaining wall and figured that there is no getting around it another year and that it has to be replaced.

My original plan was to do the fence in the spring and build the retaining wall in the fall, but I really need to get it done ASAP!

My goal is to have the fence and retaining wall in by the LAST week of May at the latest.

Here are my projected cost.


Fence

(6) 4x4x8 @ $8.98 each ($53.88)
(9) 2x4x12 @ $7.81 each ($70.29)
(3) 2x6x10 @ $8.87 each ($26.61)
(8) 5/4x6x12 @ $8.13 each 8 per section ($65.04) x 6 ($390.24) Home depot
or
(8) 5/4x6x12 @ $7.89 each 8 per section ($63.10) x 6 ($378.54) Lowes
(6) Marble Chips @ $4.08 each ($24.49)
(1) #9x3 Deck Screws 5lb. $31.78
(1) #8x1-5/8 Deck Screws 5lb. $31.78

Total Cost $628.99 $104.83 a section



Retaining Wall

(9) 6x6x10 @ $29.44 each ($264.96)
(4) 4x4x8 @ $8.98 each ($35.92)
(1) 10" TimberLock Screws ($43.11)
(6) #4 1/2" X 4' Rebar @ $3.34 each ($20.01)

Total Cost $364.00




Here is my story.

When I built my Koi Pond in 2012, I had to remove all of these rocks by hand, this would be the 2nd time every single rock was picked up. All of the rocks were placed on the back hill around the Bradford Pear Trees.

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February 2016

This is part of the mess I need to clean up.
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The old beds were barely sticking out of the soil.
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This is what the back hill looks like near the end of the season, what a mess.

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February 22nd, 2017

Time to decide what to do with the shabby Arborvitaes, it's sad to look at these knowing they were really a pretty privacy shrub years ago.

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OK, They gotta go!

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The final buckets of rocks SYONARA!!!

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I am still pulling crap from the hill, I removed a bunch of ivy and will need to spray it real good to knock it down a bit. Most of the bits and pieces of wood will be burnt and the ashes used for compost, The thicker stuff is cut up and will be used in the chiminea. All the pressure treated wood will be burnt separately and the ashes discarded.
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March 9th, 2017

Today I started the fence, picked up six 8' 4"x4" PT posts earlier this week. The bottoms are coated with roofing muck.
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I got 4 of the posts in today. A few of the post holes were exactly where the arborvitae stumps were so I had to dig them out, I used a sawzall to help remove the stumps. Each hole was dug a bit deeper than 24" then the post were set in place and temporarily secured to the fence using copper wire. The holes were then filled with Marble Chips and topped with a bit of soil, then adjusted.
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Removing the stumps wasn't too bad, and once I got down about 10" or so I was past the roots and although the soil was pretty much clay, digging with a shovel, a post hole digger and a bum hand wasn't too bad. OH! I didn't mention the hand incident, well I had a little accident with the Sawzall removing the stump out front. After a bit of tape and a rag and 4 advil, I was back in action.

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March 28th, 2017


Earlier in the week I picked up 10, twelve foot 5/4 decking planks.



March 30th, 2017

Today I picked up another 10, twelve foot 5/4 decking planks.


March 31st, 2017

I ordered my "5 for 10" mulch at Home Depot but it was raining too bad to even attempt picking up the bags of mulch, Friday it rained about 12 hours non stop


April 1st, 2017

It was too wet to really do anything so I got all of my tools ready and cleaned up the yard (swamp) a bit.




April 2nd, 2017


Woohoo!, its finally dry enough to get moving on the fence.

I had Stephen stack my mulch. Afterwards I realized that I got the wrong mulch, I don't care for the Vigoro it's too red, I prefer the Earthgrow, however its not too big of a deal because the color fades out by the end of the season. The reason I get the colored mulches because there is a better transition in color from the red to faded as opposed to the black mulch.

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Dug in the last post and started leveling. I put eyebolts in the posts and secured to the fence once level using romex. I done all the posts but one, (More on that later).

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Sam wanted to help so I had her dig around the arborvitae stumps as I worked on the supports.
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Maggie decides that she wants to help Sam dig out the stump.


After all the posts were leveled and secured I noticed the one post set back about 8" further than the other ones, this is because my back yard butts up against two neighbors back yards and its not straight. I decided to leave it as is

Remember the ONE POST I DID NOT SECURE, well, I got all my supports in and noticed the one post I did not secure had shifted about 3 inches to the right on an angle, I decide to leave that as well and try to place the fence slats straight in an effort to make it less noticeable, we will see!

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April 3rd, 2017

Today after work, I cut the remainder of the planks and installed all but 5 of the planks. You can see the post to the left how it shifted, when I start adding planks to the left, I'll try to run them straight instead of spacing evenly. Its bad but looks even worse than it is due to the camera angle.

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April 4th, 2017


I ordered 10 more decking planks and it's supposed to rain every day this week but Wednesday, so I will be working against Mother Nature again.

After work, I picked up the decking wood and surprisingly, since the weather was nice, I cut the pieces, removed another arborvitae stump and finished another panel.

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April 5th-12th, 2017


Still digging out the back hill. I have been digging out this hill for the last few weeks and taking the dirt to my Brothers house, he has a low spot in his yard that pools pretty good after a heavy rain so we have been dumping it i the low spot.

After work I decided to stop by Home Depot and pick up some 6x6x10 footers, lets just say that I wont do that again!

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April 13th-16th, 2017


I ran a 1/2" irrigation line from the raised bed under the retaining wall. I plan on running an emitter line to water the plants in front of the fence, I just need to order as few more parts.

I dug the hose in a good bit and covered the hose with some pavers, just in case I'm digging around and forgot about the line being there, Yeah, I sometimes do that!

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I called my brother for assistance on the rest of the project, The game plan was to meet at Home Depot at 8 am, pick up the wood and install the retaining wall. We got the wood home safely and moved it into the back yard, boy was it heavy.

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I had three of the 6x6's installed and semi leveled, or should I say flat. For the 2nd layer we left a 5 foot gap and laid the next two pieces.

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OK, somethings not right, I'm scratching my head wondering what was going on, $HIT WE PICKED UP 12 FOOTERS... NO WONDER THEY WERE SO HEAVY. OK I'll make this work. We squared everything up best we could then we installed the 5 footer and dropped in some 10" timberlock screws. I cant even imagine using lags after using Timberlocks in past projects. We then started the top row. If using the tens I planned to have all the seams covered with the front posts but the stumps would have gotten in the way anyway. We kicked back the wall and propped it back on an angle and started the posts.


Each post hole was dug in to 34", some stone was added then the post. This gives me 31.5" of post in the ground. Jim helped me do 4 of the posts and he added a few pieces of 6x6 to the far left to keep everything contained then he planted the two gilbert hedges. After the four posts were in we tamped everything real good secured to the fence and removed the support that was kicking the wall back.

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Laura was painting the playhouse, when she finished, she ran out and grabbed a few hoagies and we stopped for lunch.
After Jim left I installed the last two posts and with the left over 12 footer and some old 4x6 I had laying around I tweaked my Compost bin, It was undersized, last years garden waste filled it up and then some.
This is when I called it a day, I was screwing in the 4x6 for the front of the compost bin and the drill caught and I wasn't supporting the drill with my legs like I usually do and my arm twisted and Snap, something in my shoulder popped.
I ended up on the ground, I called Laura on her cell phone to bring out some Advil and some water. I took the Advil and sat in the dirt for 30 minutes. I guess *Bleep* happens like this when you have a torn rotator cuff and build retaining walls and fences.

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I had Stephen bring back 10 bags of mulch to lay out on the hill.
So here is where I'm at, I ran out of stone so I need to pick up three more bags to finish the two posts. I need to get three 10 foot 2x10's to top the retaining wall, these will be tacked in until the fall so they can be removed and both sides stained to avoid cupping, just like the three pieces sitting on top of the fence. Everything will be stained in the fall after the growing season. I started adding plants as they come in and planted quite a few Marigolds.
I still need to clean up the far ends on the hill.

The emitter line needs to be installed and I need to come up with lighting. I will also be ordering a some wall art, probably an Outdoor Celestial wall art as a focal point.

I gave up on removing the stump but may chop it up a bit more with the chainsaw.

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Finally a chance to relax.

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April 17th - April 28th, 2017


Today I added the top pieces on the retaining wall, back filled with stone, topped with soil then covered in mulch. There are swarms of bees coming from both holes, I just hope I didn't mess up their home too much!
The top pieces for the retaining wall and fence are not screwed in yet, they will season all year then both sides will be stained before securing, hopefully this will eliminate or at least reduce the wood twisting or curling out of whack and gaps due to shrinking.

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Sunday was much nicer. I cleaned up the back hill, de-cluttered a bit more, planted some more Marigolds and Basil, planted most of my Leeks and finished the compost bin. It's not real pretty but I need this area for my wood and garden supplies.

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Installed the new inline filter and run the 30' drip line on the retaining wall. The red tape isn't pretty but it sure does hold well!

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April 29th - May 5th, 2017


After work today I picked up my Lights and some other supplies. I removed the hose from the pond area and had Stephen help me reroute it to the back of the playhouse, installed a hose hanger, hose and spray nozzle.

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Now onto the fun stuff, today I Installed the lights by the back fence.

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May 6th - May 18th, 2017

Not a whole lot to do on the hill other than some weeding and tweaking. The boards on top of the retaining wall are really starting to twist and distort, especially after a rain followed by a hot day, I flip the boards when this happens, so they are definitely seasoning.



I wonder what this is?

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Woohoo! my sun came in.

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I'm just worried that the sun will blend too much with the fence once I stain the fence, I may have to throw some light at it if it blends in too much.

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Looks pretty good from the deck.

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Started staining the Retaining wall and top pieces for the wall and fence.

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Boards are flipped and stained on the other side.

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Sam laying cardboard for a weed barrier.

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The family helping lay out the cardboard and mulch.

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Mulch is finished.

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Top plate is installed.

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Sam staining the fence.

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Growing season.

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Squeezing in a trellis.



Started on the trellis, I'll be cutting the laterals Saturday.

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The horizontal 2" x 6" supports will be stained to match the fence, the upright 4" x 4" will be stained the same color as the Hugelkultur beds.

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I had to get a bit creative installing the 10' 2" x 6" horizontal supports with no assistance.

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The area under the new trellis will always be used for garden supplies and firewood as well as other miscellaneous stuff, but I wanted to be able to grow something in this spot, I felt the space was wasted from a gardening standpoint, hopefully the Hardy Kiwis will do well here. I need to reorganize the area under the trellis and get my Hardy Kiwi plants in this weekend.

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Re: My Yard Transformation

#4

Post: # 5625Unread post TheDante
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:19 am

Wow! Thanks for sharing your wonderful transformation. Was also thinking along these lines, but too shy to do it. Nice! I bet you feel so accomplished as much as I am with ours =)
Karen´s current status - tomato nutcase :D

Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the blossoms, Kind deeds are the fruits - Karpal Singh

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Re: My Yard Transformation

#5

Post: # 5626Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:20 am

My Current LED lighting.


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Re: My Yard Transformation

#6

Post: # 5627Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:21 am

Current Rainwater Harvesting and Diverting.


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Re: My Yard Transformation

#7

Post: # 5628Unread post hdrider
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:36 am

Where I come from we call that a greenhorn bump. ;) I wish my yard looked as good as yours does, although I would have to put a heck of lot more time and effort into it to even come close.
SQWIB wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:11 am OH! I didn't mention the hand incident, well I had a little accident with the Sawzall removing the stump out front. After a bit of tape and a rag and 4 advil, I was back in action.
Tracy

Conjunction junction what's your function - whoops wrong place!

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SQWIB
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#8

Post: # 5629Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 07, 2020 12:08 pm


Fire Pit Deconstruction - Reconstruction

September 15th, 2019

For at least the last 10 years I have had some type of fire pit in the back yard (well at least that's how far my pictures go back), the first 5 years the fire pit was a seasonal fire pit, every year I would remove the bricks, stack them on the back hill, put away the fire ring, rake up the area real good looking for nails, then install an 18" pool.

2014 was the last summer I put up the pool and concentrated more on gardening throughout the summer.

2012


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The fire pit has seen some serious fires and abuse, from making Bio-char with pallets to making Lump Charcoal in steel drums.

I started out with a 24" fire ring, I think it was 10 block's around, totaling 30 blocks. After a few years the blocks all cracked and I just used the steel fire ring.

In 2014, IIRC, a friend was getting rid of their Fire Pit, this was a 30" ring with 36 blocks, they delivered... awesome!
The same year we built a Schwenker for the pit, Here is the Schwenker build if you are interested.

A few of the problems I faced with the fire pits with landscape blocks was the concrete blocks cracking due to the extreme heat (my fault), there have been times where red coals completely filled the pit and logs were just tossed on top. I have burnt pallets in here as well, it's actually a tradition to toss on pallets at the end of our Manday parties in December.
I have tried a double ring for insulation which I think helped insulate the blocks a bit, see 2nd pic from 2017 and first pic from 2018.

Another problem was the blocks turned red from the heat, I'm not too worried about cosmetics, I guess that is the natural color of the blocks.

I have tried to come up with ways to insulate the landscape blocks but the blocks were no match for the pallets.

I do a lot of outdoor cooking and use the fire pit on occasion for cooking. We like to cook over the Fire pit with the Schwenker, I also have a swing grate we use.

This year I decided to Deconstruct and Reconstruct a new fire pit with a few new rules, no pallets and nothing gets burnt unless it fits inside the pit. The pit will be designed with cooking being the priority.

2010

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2012

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2013

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2015

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2017

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2018

Bio-char

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So this is what I plan on doing for the 2019 fire pit, but first a disclaimer here, this is NOT a tutorial, there are a million ways to skin a cat, this is the way I decided to do my Fire pit based on the last 10 years of using a fire pit..

Priorities for this redo are, air circulation, insulation (somewhat) and focus on it being primarily a cooking pit.
I done some research on how to vent the fire better, and was on the fence with using an underground 4" vent, sort of like a Dakota Fire. I decided against that due to a million other possible negative factors, so I went with vents on the side of the Blocks.

I increased the height another block because of the vents.

I also ordered another fire pit insert with no lip, this is 12" deep and I will be mounting it to the existing fire ring that has a lip. This insert will be secured directly under the lip of the existing fire ring ring giving me 12" deep steel insert that will cover three layers of the blocks.
The insert will be drilled with 2" holes for ventilation.

A fire grate will sit in the center of the air vents or level with the bottom of the vent, I am still undecided on this.

A 36" piece of black pipe will be pounded into the ground and secured to the installed fire pit insert with stainless steel screws, this will be for the swivel cooking grate.

(21) Recycled pavers
(1) Existing Fire Ring from Lowes kit
(24) Flagstone Ashland Retaining Wall Block $61.00
(32) Countryside Allegheny Concrete Patio Stone (Common: 6-in x; Actual: 5.8-in x 8.8-in) $44.00
(28) Countryside Allegheny Concrete Patio Stone (Common: 6-in x; Actual: 5.8-in x 5.8-in) $27.00]
(1) Paver Base $6.00
(1) 28" Titan Wagon Wheel Fire Grate $107.00
(1) Krueger Custom Steel and Machining Size: 12" H x 30" W x 30" D $93.27
(2) 3/4" x 36" black pipe $38.00
(1) 1/2" x 48" EMT pipe $8.00
(1) 3/4 pipe strap $3.00



First up was deconstruction and to see if any blocks were salvageable. The bottom 12 blocks were fine and about 10 of the second tier were fine, I picked up 24 more blocks and three of the broken ones will be used for the vents, so I needed 9 good blocks. I would wager that the fire pit is not level and to be honest, I really don't care!

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Next up was to pick up some blocks at Lowes.

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Then I started tweaking the original layer of blocks. I used the fire ring as a guide to tighten up the bottom blocks, these blocks are about one inch in the soil.

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Started the next row with the fire ring in place and put in a few temporary broken blocks where the vents swill be.

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After I was happy with the vent spacing, I cut three blocks for the vents so that there will be a 1.5" - 2" gap on each side of the block, I tried grinding it with the diamond blade to make it look like nicer. I cut these on an angle to match up with the wider blocks.

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All the vents are in place and after closer inspection of the blocks, I may need to replace at least 4 more, but for now, they will be fine.

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3rd tier installed, I used the fire ring to tighten up the blocks. A little tip here, when inserting and removing the fire ring, step inside the ring, lift the ring, then step inside the fire pit and put in place, it is much easier and prevents the possibility of crushed fingers.

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Rechecking the vents.

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The 4th tier is installed, I put three blocks in place 4:00 o'clock - 8:00 o'clock, and 12:00 o'clock then dropped in the ring and added the blocks pushing up against the ring.

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Looks pretty good!

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I was a bit unsure about the next part but decided to give it a shot anyhow. The grass dies around the pit from debris and such and gets weedy so I wanted to come up with a neater look.


Picked up some pavers and paver base at Lowes.

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I'm getting really tired of carrying rock, stone, pavers, retaining wall blocks, wood, sand, dirt, mulch, firewood...

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I scraped the ground removing the grass. Now before I go any further, the way I am doing this is not the professional way, my ground is so hard that I can get away with this.

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I was a bit unsure on how to do this and eventually said, "screw it", and started tossing pavers down. I tried sloping the pavers slightly from the pit to the yard, I want the end of these pavers to be flush with the soil, or close, so it's not a tripping issue.

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I originally was going to get 24 blocks of each but when stacking these at Lowes, and for some odd reason thought, "heck, I'll just grab 32 of each", I am glad I did. I had just enough of the larger pavers, one actually needed to be cut. I was a bit worried at first about the gap because of the square/rectangular pavers forming a circle, so I opted for paver base to fill in the gaps as opposed to sand. I believe I use 25 of the smaller ones.

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Cut paver shown in this photo. I then went around and tamped the pavers.

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Here is how I secured the blocks without edging, I mixed a bag of potting soil, peat moss and 10-10-10. I seeded the area around the pavers, laid down the potting mix, topped with more seed, as the seed grows I'll add some compost building up a little bit more.

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Then went around, raked it up against the pavers, then tamped the soil up against the pavers.

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Next up was to add the paver base.

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I swept the paver base in and tamped the blocks once again, I saved some of the base for tweaking after a few weeks of settling.

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Watered the potting mix real good.

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I went back over with another layer of grass seed and watered everything in again. Growing grass is an issue in my yard because I have 2 dogs and a small yard, so I don't expect much from planting grass seed. Hopefully by the end of October I'll have a little grass here.

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The insert came in. I'm referring to this as the "Insert" to avoid confusion The existing ring, I'm referring to as the "Fire Ring".

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the insert was in three pieces and had some heavy hardware, it actually came with an extra bag of hardware. The insert seems to be pretty heavy duty.

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Screwed together the bottom part of the insert. The game plan was to drop my existing "Fire Ring" on top of the insert using the lip of the "Fire Ring" as a stop, however the insert was about 3/4" shy and I had to put the insert on the inside of the existing fire ring.

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OMG, Drilling this was a nightmare and by far the hardest part of this redo. After everything was drilled and I secured the inner ring "insert", it was off by half an inch, 2 of the holes were off! I couldn't believe it. Drilling another hole was not gonna happen so I elongated the holes in the insert with an angle grinder.

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Dry fit to make sure the hardware didn't hit any blocks, at this point I got a marker, taped it to a fiberglass snow marker and did my best to mark the vent cut outs.

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My original game plan was to drill two 1.5" holes in each open area (6 vent holes 12 holes to drill), I said, "no way", and decided to just use the angle grinder and slice tabs into the insert, it's not pretty but it works. I also like the idea that when hot coals fall they will most likely be deflected by the tabs and hopefully not come out of the fire pit.

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Insert/fire ring is placed back in the pit and lined up with the vent holes.

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Watered the area and will start on the swing grate install tomorrow.

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Next up was installing the swinging cooking grate, this has to be removable so the Schwenker can be used over the fire pit. A 36" piece of 3/4" black pipe is pounded into the ground then secured with a pipe strap using stainless steel bolts. The swinging cooking grate pole will slide right into this pipe and so is removable.

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Next up was the rotisserie, I really had to think outside the box on this one. I am using an old Charmglow rotisserie I got from my dad, I'm assuming its near 40 years old? First up I dissembled the rotisserie and oiled it real well, then I had to make some type of mount. Then I done a dry fit and ran the motor for several hours to test.

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I put on the swinging cooking grate to check for clearance. I still need to cut 2.5" off of the black pipe.

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Although the Rotisserie is not done, the kids really wanted a fire and since the pit was still waiting for the grate install, I decided to toss in some blocks and old grates from a grill.

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Patiently waiting for dinner.

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So far the vents seem to be providing plenty of air to keep the smoke at a minimum... why didn't I do this before!

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The kids partaking is some adult beverages.

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OK, The next day its back to business with the fire pit. Started back on the rotisserie and a little surprise came in


What do we have here?

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Wow, this thing is a beast.

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Tossed in three bags of Chipped marble, put in another 36" x 3/4" black pipe and notched, used 1/2" emt for the other side of the rotisserie and popped in a screw to lock the EMT into the black pipe. Just a note, after beating in the black pipe the top was smashed but this was OK because I planned on trimming the pipe with an angle grinder to about 2" above the fire pit

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Making some final tweaks and adjusting the height of the rotisserie.

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I added some grill grates to keep the smaller coals from falling down when cooking.

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Added a couple accessory hooks.

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Time to do a test run.

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I call this a total success, the chicken was done in 3.5 hours and I was figuring closer to 4 hours. The meat dripped a little but not much, however I didn't think that it was too big of a deal because the chix were rubbed in oil then seasoned.

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The whole family agreed that the chicken was one of the best Rotisserie Chickens they had. I was really surprised because I never get such positive feedback when doing whole birds!






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pondgardener
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#9

Post: # 5630Unread post pondgardener
Tue Jan 07, 2020 12:45 pm

[mention]SQWIB[/mention]
What a great description you put together. I wish I would have chronicled the steps I did when I was excavating and later constructing my pond. Now you can look back over this report and remember how much work it involved. Great job!
It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived.

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PlainJane
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#10

Post: # 5685Unread post PlainJane
Tue Jan 07, 2020 9:04 pm

Am stunned and amazed at the work you’ve put into your yard. Just fantastic!
“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”
- Robert A. Heinlein

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MissS
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#11

Post: # 5692Unread post MissS
Tue Jan 07, 2020 11:15 pm

What an amazing transformation. Your yard is just amazing. The amount of work, effort and love really shows. Your documentation is superb. Thank you so much for sharing this!
~ Patti ~

MsCowpea
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#12

Post: # 6284Unread post MsCowpea
Sun Jan 12, 2020 6:23 pm

That truly is an incredible transformation! You are such a hard worker and your designs are great. Your raised beds are fantastic. I had to look up that pear tree —awful. Kind of like the ficus we have in Florida —their roots are so destructive.


I have always wanted a fire pit. Now I am determined to do something as yours looks so inviting. Nothing like a fire, so mesmerizing.
"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
Carl Huffaker

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SQWIB
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#13

Post: # 6310Unread post SQWIB
Mon Jan 13, 2020 9:55 am

Thanks guys, I'm just thankful I have a great wife, she keeps me in check. Sometimes my ideas get a little too extreme but she reals me back in.

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Whwoz
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#14

Post: # 6318Unread post Whwoz
Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:03 am

Fabulous job man, well done

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SQWIB
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#15

Post: # 6319Unread post SQWIB
Mon Jan 13, 2020 11:12 am

Back Yard pond and patio

I was really unhappy with this side of my yard. After I removed the shed I decided on a fence because of the neighbor, I wont go into details but I had to do something.


Backyard Pond
Wow, its hard to believe that its going on 11 years since I installed this pond.

Here's where it all started, this was just really a dead area and I figured a pond would be a nice feature to have here. The hedges are Chinese elm hedge and a bear to cut, to the left is the playhouse and to the right is my potting bench.

The little black wood thing in back of the stone and brick is a doggie dooley, (poop composter that's dug down about two feet).

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You can imagine that getting rid of the dirt was a major chore.

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hedges were removed and I planted a Bradford Pear tree, yeah I know, what the hell was I thinking? Installing the Pond Underlayment.

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Installing the EPDM 45 MIL Rubber Liner.

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Finding and placing the rocks was a hell of a chore also.

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Stephen cleaning the rocks.

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I will be installing a waterfall but for now have the pump running like this.

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The kids seem to like it.

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Tossed in some critters

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Actually the pond was being built because my daughter found a Red Eared slider crossing the street and not near any water.

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Started work on the waterfall.

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Topping off the pond and some silliness!

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Removed the Potting Bench

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Removed the Shed

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Installed another pump and filter to feed the waterfall.

I wasn't happy with the aesthetics of the pond looking into the neighbors yard so I installed a fence.

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Halloween.

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Spring

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Installed a divider fence (cooking bar) and pavers, this area would not grow grass.

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This bar top gets a lot of use.

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Stained the fence and Removed the roofing tiles path and installed flag stone rock, well sort of flagstone. Removed the wooden border and added more rocks. Planted some tiger lilies

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Removed the tree and planted an "April Remembered" Camellia. This is the first year it flowered.

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Planted some oregano and chives.

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Installed a patio where the shed and potting bench were.

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Added some furniture a patio rug and a few tiki torches.

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Installed a float valve that is on a timer and hooked up to the irrigation system, I was forever leaving the water run when topping off the pond, resulting in dead fish.

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This was removed 2018 and is now fed by the gutter on the playhouse or a manual valve on the water tank.

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Every year we get frogs that move in.

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I just have to be careful with the Box Turtles, they can act stupid at times.

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I'm always tweaking the pond here and there adding rocks and such, 2 years ago I drained the pond and dug out about four 5 gallon buckets of dirt to increase the water volume.


Winter

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Installed a fan and underdecking.

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The patio is much more useful now.

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Smoker and Fridge

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Home made Reverse Flow Pit

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3 Burner Skillet

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And that's it, so far anyhow lol.

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Whwoz
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#16

Post: # 6324Unread post Whwoz
Mon Jan 13, 2020 1:15 pm

Impressive amount of work and a great looking and useful location. Well done

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Daphne
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#17

Post: # 7089Unread post Daphne
Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:41 pm

Thanks for all the inspiration. I'm so impressed by all the work you did and how well you did it.

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arnorrian
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#18

Post: # 7704Unread post arnorrian
Sat Jan 25, 2020 1:38 pm

Great work!
Climate: Cfa
USDA hardiness zone: 7a
Elevation: 140 m

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Growing Coastal
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#19

Post: # 7813Unread post Growing Coastal
Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:05 pm

Impressive! All of it. I love the water feature and the stupid turtles. :)

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WoodSprite
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Re: My Yard Transformation

#20

Post: # 18861Unread post WoodSprite
Fri May 01, 2020 2:19 am

Wow! I just saw this for the first time. Absolutely amazing! I greatly enjoyed seeing all of the before, progress and after photos. I love how you chipped away at it litle by little. Everything looks fantastic! Well done!
~ Darlene ~
My garden is made of multiple 6' diameter x 24" tall round stock tanks, located in a small clearing on our wooded property in the center of Pennsylvania. Hardiness zone 6b (updated). Heat zone 4.

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