JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
It's spelled "farming." Congratulations on your future parsnips, though.
+5
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I have a lot of cardboard boxes around the house (from things like getting that huge chest delivered), and when my sister was visiting she suggested something brilliant: I can use the cardboard as a growth-stopper underneath the garden beds I've been trying to create. Wayyyyy cheaper than buying that black fabric, and I have tons of it. I put some of that to use in my backyard today. I already had a lot of fertilizer to cover it because I'd bought something like 40 bags of it last month.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
Should I be able to hear my basement's sump pump? It's silent right now and there's a storm and water is pooling at the base of my basement porch. It's draining but very, very slowly.
Check it. Sometimes takes a few hours to get in there
Check what? The rain has stopped but I've been keeping an eye on the drain. My main concern is there's a block somewhere between the drain opening and the pump.
As others said - the sump level. The pvc should be just direct to the pump with the cover a split or moving along it. Shouldn't be sealed. It sometimes takes a few hours for rain to drain through the soil and into your basement.
Should I be able to hear my basement's sump pump? It's silent right now and there's a storm and water is pooling at the base of my basement porch. It's draining but very, very slowly.
Check it. Sometimes takes a few hours to get in there
Check what? The rain has stopped but I've been keeping an eye on the drain. My main concern is there's a block somewhere between the drain opening and the pump.
As others said - the sump level. The pvc should be just direct to the pump with the cover a split or moving along it. Shouldn't be sealed. It sometimes takes a few hours for rain to drain through the soil and into your basement.
Additionally, you should be able to see the floater on your pump. My older lever-floater-type pump didn't actually engage until the lever was above 90 degrees, when it should have activated much earlier. My plumber said that the lever types tend to be more trouble than the newer slide types, so I replaced it with a slide type. Now it activates with only a couple of inches in the well.
9 days later and the mortgage company hasn't looked at the damp report because it was sent in doc format and not PDF. If I hadn't called they wouldn't have contacted me.
Meanwhile the solicitors have carried out the searches even though I told them to wait on the outcome of the report so I'm down another £400 on something I might not be able to buy
I'm so close just to giving up and living in the storage unit with our furniture.
The one about the fucking space hairdresser and the cowboy. He's got a tinfoil pal and a pedal bin
This seems like it could be a bad idea. From what I gather they actually take good care of their house.
But on the same token I don't want to offend them by offering them too little either.
Offer them half of what it is worth in cash, say you'll deliver it to them in one of those old timey cash bags with $$$ on it if it'll make the deal go through smoother.
+6
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I wanted to do some 'before' pictures of my back lawn so I can compare once I have everything like I want it. These aren't really a "before" because I've done considerable work already, but I didn't remember earlier. And this is just the basic ground work, anyway
So from this one you see I want to have a bed that wraps around the house and then bring up the walkway to meet the back porch. Using landscape lumber for borders because it's cheap, but I haven't cut any of the lumber to size or buried it yet. The cardboard at the front of this photo is going to be part of the brick walkway.
This shows an area that I kind of had to jury rig to plant my irises. See, my sister who live in town knows I love irises and when we met to see Wicked last year she brought me a bunch from her garden, not knowing that I really didn't have any beds for them yet. I planted them as best as I could just so that they wouldn't die, but some died anyway because the ground around here is pure clay. Once I get my beds a bit deeper I'll transport the irises to up against the house.
This is the walkway that I'm planning to extend. This side of the house is pretty shady so I'm putting mint as a ground cover here. In fact after I took these pictures I went ahead and planted the mint you see in pots near the walkway.
These two photos are of the opposite side of the walk way and honestly I haven't come up with what should go here. I want to plant some vegetables but this area is pretty shady and I don't know of anything besides herbs that does well in shade. That big black drum is my composter and I don't care if anyone else things it's ugly, I love it. And sunshine makes it compost faster, so I'm not moving it to a hidden corner.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
+7
Options
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
edited February 2017
Leafy greens do well in shade, as do root vegetables. In your area you should be able to get a good crop of baby spinach if you put it in after the last hard frost, and then once it gets all wilty from the heat you can replant with carrots that should be mature by the fall. You could probably do potatoes as well, but you'd have to mix in a lot of sand to get decent potato soil. We used to sell some shade-tolerant beans and peas, but they were all dwarf bushy varieties instead of trellis, so the yield is going to be pretty meager either way.
Edit: oh, and reflective mulch helps. You may not want to go full aluminum foil on it, but that red plastic mulch made from recycled tires reflects a surprising amount of light in the photosynthesis range, and has been shown to increase growing speed and yield for partial shade gardens.
Jedoc on
+2
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
Leafy greens do well in shade, as do root vegetables. In your area you should be able to get a good crop of baby spinach if you put it in after the last hard frost, and then once it gets all wilty from the heat you can replant with carrots that should be mature by the fall. You could probably do potatoes as well, but you'd have to mix in a lot of sand to get decent potato soil. We used to sell some shade-tolerant beans and peas, but they were all dwarf bushy varieties instead of trellis, so the yield is going to be pretty meager either way.
Edit: oh, and reflective mulch helps. You may not want to go full aluminum foil on it, but that red plastic mulch made from recycled tires reflects a surprising amount of light in the photosynthesis range, and has been shown to increase growing speed and yield for partial shade gardens.
Also, because I can be obsessive when I'm on a project, I went ahead and put down some more cardboard and laid out the rest of my fertilizer on the side of my house up to the air conditioner. Unfortunately this means I didn't really buy enough fertilizer, because there are still areas I want to lay a garden bed. I wish my composter was working faster, but it really hasn't been warm and sunny enough around here for it, I think.
Cambiata on
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
0
Options
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
More similar to the former, although the type our nursery specialist recommended to people was shredded. I'm not sure how the nugs would affect the reflectivity, if at all, but the shredded stuff looks shinier to me at first glance.
0
Options
Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
I might have a sink again tomorrow. Living the dream
Also, is it just me or is wet plaster a really nice colour? Maybe it's just because it is the colour of progress but suddenly we're talking about finding a similar bcoloured paint for the walls on our bedroom
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
So I replaced the clutch and drive belts in my snowblower last week because they were predicting snow this week and the damn things broke during the last snow storm. OF COURSE, the forecast changed and now it seems like I won't need it after all.
But at least now I know how to do it. (And I got this stuff all over my hands, it's not carcinogenic, right? RIGHT??)
"Simple, real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time." -Mustrum Ridcully in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather p. 142 (HarperPrism 1996)
So I replaced the clutch and drive belts in my snowblower last week because they were predicting snow this week and the damn things broke during the last snow storm. OF COURSE, the forecast changed and now it seems like I won't need it after all.
But at least now I know how to do it. (And I got this stuff all over my hands, it's not carcinogenic, right? RIGHT??)
After our first snow and my 20 something year old snowblower finally dying I went ahead and purchased a new one. Since then we have had zero snow accumulation. The snowblower itself is still sealed in the box. Since we're planning to move this spring/summer, at this point I figure why bother opening the box?
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
Been continuing my backyard work. I already have the brick pavers I want, I just need to dig them in and level the area. Which ends up to be super difficult in clay ground. I also want to dig up the previous pavers and have them slightly higher because they've been buried a bit over time. Anyway, this is what I have at the moment:
Notice the lovely little mint plants on the side of the house. I can't wait for them to start spreading.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
You'll want some sort of trencher/auger tool that can dig up clay soil. Home depot has some you can rent I believe for like $50 a day or something like that.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
+2
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
You'll want some sort of trencher/auger tool that can dig up clay soil. Home depot has some you can rent I believe for like $50 a day or something like that.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
I've been recycling my leftover cardboard for my weedstopper and it works GREAT. I do have some fabric also but I really prefer the cardboard at this point.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
You'll want some sort of trencher/auger tool that can dig up clay soil. Home depot has some you can rent I believe for like $50 a day or something like that.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
I've been recycling my leftover cardboard for my weedstopper and it works GREAT. I do have some fabric also but I really prefer the cardboard at this point.
It'll probably only last for 5 years tops though, whereas the fabric will last for decades or longer. Polymeric sand also resists erosion from rain and snow a lot better too. Though not as great for the environment as normal sand.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
0
Options
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
Man, that's going to be a badass spread of mint. I like growing mint in beds just to show the local weeds what a real champ looks like. Do you dry it for tea, or just like having it there?
You'll want some sort of trencher/auger tool that can dig up clay soil. Home depot has some you can rent I believe for like $50 a day or something like that.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
I've been recycling my leftover cardboard for my weedstopper and it works GREAT. I do have some fabric also but I really prefer the cardboard at this point.
It'll probably only last for 5 years tops though, whereas the fabric will last for decades or longer. Polymeric sand also resists erosion from rain and snow a lot better too. Though not as great for the environment as normal sand.
I guess it depends on what fabric you get... the cheapest variety (which is the kind I originally bought) basically seems to last a month or two, once Spring starts it gets ripped to shreds. Maybe the more expensive kind lasts longer.
Also I am going to be using sand for leveling and whatnot, the cardboard is just as a base.
Cambiata on
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
0
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
Man, that's going to be a badass spread of mint. I like growing mint in beds just to show the local weeds what a real champ looks like. Do you dry it for tea, or just like having it there?
Once I have a good crop I plan to use it for tea and also to see if I can make my own peppermint essential oil because I've found breathing it in does wonders for my sinuses.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
0
Options
JedocIn the scupperswith the staggers and jagsRegistered Userregular
You'll want some sort of trencher/auger tool that can dig up clay soil. Home depot has some you can rent I believe for like $50 a day or something like that.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
I've been recycling my leftover cardboard for my weedstopper and it works GREAT. I do have some fabric also but I really prefer the cardboard at this point.
It'll probably only last for 5 years tops though, whereas the fabric will last for decades or longer. Polymeric sand also resists erosion from rain and snow a lot better too. Though not as great for the environment as normal sand.
I guess it depends on what fabric you get... the cheapest variety (which is the kind I originally bought) basically seems to last a month or two, once Spring starts it gets ripped to shreds. Maybe the more expensive kind lasts longer.
Also I am going to be using sand for leveling and whatnot, the cardboard is just as a base.
Agreed. Having tried to garden in central Texas, the only weed barrier that lasts through the summer is that super heavy duty fabric that's designed for permaculture and costs like a dollar per square foot. The weeds and rhizomatic grasses down there are like something out of a Ray Bradbury story set on Venus.
Given the climate, I'd expect cardboard to perform better than any affordable fabric based on thickness alone, unless we have another monsoon year.
You'll want some sort of trencher/auger tool that can dig up clay soil. Home depot has some you can rent I believe for like $50 a day or something like that.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
I've been recycling my leftover cardboard for my weedstopper and it works GREAT. I do have some fabric also but I really prefer the cardboard at this point.
It'll probably only last for 5 years tops though, whereas the fabric will last for decades or longer. Polymeric sand also resists erosion from rain and snow a lot better too. Though not as great for the environment as normal sand.
I guess it depends on what fabric you get... the cheapest variety (which is the kind I originally bought) basically seems to last a month or two, once Spring starts it gets ripped to shreds. Maybe the more expensive kind lasts longer.
Also I am going to be using sand for leveling and whatnot, the cardboard is just as a base.
Agreed. Having tried to garden in central Texas, the only weed barrier that lasts through the summer is that super heavy duty fabric that's designed for permaculture and costs like a dollar per square foot. The weeds and rhizomatic grasses down there are like something out of a Ray Bradbury story set on Venus.
Given the climate, I'd expect cardboard to perform better than any affordable fabric based on thickness alone, unless we have another monsoon year.
Ah yeah, you'll need the ones that are basically canvas.
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
0
Options
Raijin QuickfootI'm your Huckleberry YOU'RE NO DAISYRegistered User, ClubPAregular
I was at Home Depot and thus KICKASS thermostat that was all wireless and Internet capable. Plays music and shit... Normally $300 on clearance for for $60.
Get it home, get the old one off start looking into hooking up the new one aaaaaaand... NOPE!
Turns out I don't have a common wire which is needed to power the new thermostats.
Boooo
0
Options
MichaelLCIn what furnace was thy brain?ChicagoRegistered Userregular
Well with the money you saved buying it on sale...
I was at Home Depot and thus KICKASS thermostat that was all wireless and Internet capable. Plays music and shit... Normally $300 on clearance for for $60.
Get it home, get the old one off start looking into hooking up the new one aaaaaaand... NOPE!
Turns out I don't have a common wire which is needed to power the new thermostats.
Boooo
a lot of times it's just bridged with a paper clip, if they're right next to each other, but not always
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
0
Options
CambiataCommander ShepardThe likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered Userregular
I ordered a couple of fruit trees for my back yard (cherry and peach) and I'm eager for those to arrive. I'm more and more coming to the conclusion that I just want to have an edible garden in my back yard and NO LAWN because I really hate mowing.
"If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
do cherry and peach trees require companion trees like apples?
I'm glad you brought this up. Most of the trees at that website are self pollinating, but when I went to check back the cherry tree I bought I found it requires another cherry tree to pollinate.
Posts
It's sealed in a way that I'm worried if I yank the top off too hard it'll mess up the PVC piping above it.
It looks like I barely did anything though
As others said - the sump level. The pvc should be just direct to the pump with the cover a split or moving along it. Shouldn't be sealed. It sometimes takes a few hours for rain to drain through the soil and into your basement.
Additionally, you should be able to see the floater on your pump. My older lever-floater-type pump didn't actually engage until the lever was above 90 degrees, when it should have activated much earlier. My plumber said that the lever types tend to be more trouble than the newer slide types, so I replaced it with a slide type. Now it activates with only a couple of inches in the well.
Meanwhile the solicitors have carried out the searches even though I told them to wait on the outcome of the report so I'm down another £400 on something I might not be able to buy
I'm so close just to giving up and living in the storage unit with our furniture.
This seems like it could be a bad idea. From what I gather they actually take good care of their house.
But on the same token I don't want to offend them by offering them too little either.
Offer them half of what it is worth in cash, say you'll deliver it to them in one of those old timey cash bags with $$$ on it if it'll make the deal go through smoother.
This shows an area that I kind of had to jury rig to plant my irises. See, my sister who live in town knows I love irises and when we met to see Wicked last year she brought me a bunch from her garden, not knowing that I really didn't have any beds for them yet. I planted them as best as I could just so that they wouldn't die, but some died anyway because the ground around here is pure clay. Once I get my beds a bit deeper I'll transport the irises to up against the house.
This is the walkway that I'm planning to extend. This side of the house is pretty shady so I'm putting mint as a ground cover here. In fact after I took these pictures I went ahead and planted the mint you see in pots near the walkway.
These two photos are of the opposite side of the walk way and honestly I haven't come up with what should go here. I want to plant some vegetables but this area is pretty shady and I don't know of anything besides herbs that does well in shade. That big black drum is my composter and I don't care if anyone else things it's ugly, I love it. And sunshine makes it compost faster, so I'm not moving it to a hidden corner.
Edit: oh, and reflective mulch helps. You may not want to go full aluminum foil on it, but that red plastic mulch made from recycled tires reflects a surprising amount of light in the photosynthesis range, and has been shown to increase growing speed and yield for partial shade gardens.
When you say red plastic mulch, do you mean this type stuff or this reflective sheeting?
Also, because I can be obsessive when I'm on a project, I went ahead and put down some more cardboard and laid out the rest of my fertilizer on the side of my house up to the air conditioner. Unfortunately this means I didn't really buy enough fertilizer, because there are still areas I want to lay a garden bed. I wish my composter was working faster, but it really hasn't been warm and sunny enough around here for it, I think.
Also, is it just me or is wet plaster a really nice colour? Maybe it's just because it is the colour of progress but suddenly we're talking about finding a similar bcoloured paint for the walls on our bedroom
Done - the wires are still there, but it looks a lot less unfinished now:
But at least now I know how to do it. (And I got this stuff all over my hands, it's not carcinogenic, right? RIGHT??)
After our first snow and my 20 something year old snowblower finally dying I went ahead and purchased a new one. Since then we have had zero snow accumulation. The snowblower itself is still sealed in the box. Since we're planning to move this spring/summer, at this point I figure why bother opening the box?
Edit: it will now snow in May.
PSN : Bolthorn
Notice the lovely little mint plants on the side of the house. I can't wait for them to start spreading.
Just give it a once through and loosen up the soil. Then dig down like .5 to 1 foot, then level it with polymeric sand and some weed fabric (stops bugs and plants from growing through it). Then level it, then place pavers on it. Fill in the gaps between the pavers with the sand as well.
I have some bags of sand, probably not enough though.
I've been recycling my leftover cardboard for my weedstopper and it works GREAT. I do have some fabric also but I really prefer the cardboard at this point.
It'll probably only last for 5 years tops though, whereas the fabric will last for decades or longer. Polymeric sand also resists erosion from rain and snow a lot better too. Though not as great for the environment as normal sand.
I guess it depends on what fabric you get... the cheapest variety (which is the kind I originally bought) basically seems to last a month or two, once Spring starts it gets ripped to shreds. Maybe the more expensive kind lasts longer.
Also I am going to be using sand for leveling and whatnot, the cardboard is just as a base.
Once I have a good crop I plan to use it for tea and also to see if I can make my own peppermint essential oil because I've found breathing it in does wonders for my sinuses.
Agreed. Having tried to garden in central Texas, the only weed barrier that lasts through the summer is that super heavy duty fabric that's designed for permaculture and costs like a dollar per square foot. The weeds and rhizomatic grasses down there are like something out of a Ray Bradbury story set on Venus.
Given the climate, I'd expect cardboard to perform better than any affordable fabric based on thickness alone, unless we have another monsoon year.
Ah yeah, you'll need the ones that are basically canvas.
Get it home, get the old one off start looking into hooking up the new one aaaaaaand... NOPE!
Turns out I don't have a common wire which is needed to power the new thermostats.
Boooo
a lot of times it's just bridged with a paper clip, if they're right next to each other, but not always
I'm glad you brought this up. Most of the trees at that website are self pollinating, but when I went to check back the cherry tree I bought I found it requires another cherry tree to pollinate.
I got
https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Harvester-Peach-Trees.htm
and
https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Rainier-Cherry-Tree.htm
Now to look at other cherry trees for cross pollination.
Edit: And here's the other cherry I just bought: https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/BlackTartarian.htm
When I get a house I'm going to snag a cripps pink (pink lady) and granny smith for my back yard