As the seasons have passed, the dirt and sticks at the bottom of the beds have settled. Once these beds were completely topped off like we see below. But over time the soil drops further down in the beds. So I need to come back and add more dirt it would seem. I do not think I have to do this many more times, as eventually it will all settle. But with plans of some growing some tender perennials like strawberry and asparagus I really will not be able to top them off again so easily once plants are in the beds.
With this bed freshly topped off above, it will still settle. But hopefully just enough to add some nice garden soil when it comes to growing season next year.
I used my skidsteer to drop a few loads of dirt by the beds and in the beds, and then I worked the dirt around using a shovel where the skid steer could not get.
I am only about a quarter of the way done with topping off the beds.
One bed has barely held together from topping off the dirt. I will need to use some tow straps, a vehicle or two and pull the beds back.. Prey they do not collapse during that time. And then drive in a t-post to stabilize once straightened up. If that does not work, I will tear down ones like this and just have a pile of dirt to grow stuff in.
A few other beds like above have a slight lean, but nowhere as bad as the previous bed.
Above is one of the beds that was tilting, I used my bucket of skidsteer to push it into place and hold it. Then used a t-post and driver to hold it up.
Even though the growing season is over, there is still lots of life in these beds. Deep down inside you will find logs, sticks and branches helping to make a really strong ecosystem as they break down. We can see mushrooms hard at work helping to take the wood chips and turn them into usable organic material for plants.
Gotta top off this bed too. We can see its an entire plank lower.
Some beds already had dirt added using the skid steer, I just need to get over and smooth them out.
The long beds need more dirt as well. I could not reach the back side with my machinery. So I have to bring it over by wheel barrow.
In the areas more crowded I will just have to do mostly by hand.
Hopefully this is the last year they settle, its hard work getting them all smoothed out. Luckily I can do it in the autumn when I am not sweating like crazy.
Seems the vine was a bit heavy for this bed. Will need to fix this one too.. Not sure how yet, maybe add tposts where the vertical 2x4s are.
The shifting is bad, but not bad enough I cannot fix them. The wood is still holding up, so if I can fix the tilting/shifting they should last another few years.
The dirt here is quite interesting, I am used to the color. Where I lived previously we called it "Red Clay" But I cannot call it that now.. lol but its still the same stuff mostly.
I keep finding these cool rocks as well, wonder what is going on in the geology below the surface. Found many of these while using the skid steer moving dirt.
So my plan is to top off the rest of the beds, and attempt to fix the ones shifting. If I cannot fix them I will probably just make a pile where the beds once stood and grow there as its excellent dirt inside now.
I need to also figure out a long term plan for these beds, they will not last forever. I am thinking about wrapping them with sheet metal and steel posts. Then when the beds fall apart they will just stay inside of the metal enclosure.
Lots to think about....
Next spring I will build a few beds, but they will be raised on legs (I think) and just for a few herbs, strawberries and some fun - nowhere near this scale!
Oh nice, those are good for keeping crawling bugs out like slugs and caterpillars. Just got to be careful not to make them too heavy for the legs.
Hah yeah I got lots of raised beds, its a fenced in area with a few dozen of them.
Man my back aches just thinking about that dirt moving! Wood definitely will only last a few years so thinking about the next phase is a good idea. Metal for that many beds will be a big investment but you are not afraid to invest where it is needed.
Can’t wait to see the strawberry patch and compare!
Lol yeah I only do it for a few hours at a time and then stop, take a few days off and do a few more hours.
Yeah its something I really need to consider. I just bought a welding rig, so once I get good enough maybe that can be a new project. Though I could probably build them with just bolts and drilled holes.
I should be good once I get it established. May take a year or two but hopefully the beds will be overflowing with strawberry vines soon.
You definitely have a lot of work ahead of you. It should be well worth it once you have things set up though. I can't wait to see what kind of stuff you end up getting out of those raised beds! I've been putting all of my used charcoal ashes in my bed lately in case I want to grow something besides weeds in it again one day!
Hah sure do.. Yeah next year should be full of plants again. We should be starting seeds in a few months to get them going before spring is here.
Oh nice, I bet that will help the soil out. Should be good.
Did you get your greenhouse all finished up that you were working on?
Not finished yet. But got a water line ran to it so going to experiment more with it this spring and summer.
Very cool!
Your farming techniques are worth emulating. Even though we might not be planting the same crops, if I learn from your strategies, my farms will do well. And I will start preparing the ground for my yam cultivation. Thank you for sharing this. I will always stop by to learn something 🥰
So true, gardening can be quite universal. You can grow many things using different techniques.
Best of luck with your yams.
These mushrooms look delicious (haha, but I don’t recommend you try them casually, mushroom poisoning is also a serious matter)
Is it possible that this is some kind of ore, maybe gold ore?
Bro, you’ve struck it rich! You’re sitting on a huge gold mine. 😍
Hehe.. yeah I just like to look at them, never take a chance eating them. Maybe if I knew more about mushrooms I would but since I do not I just like to look at them.
I am not sure, we have asked geologists if they want to come out and look at our soil to see if its worth digging. But yet to find anyone willing to do it.
Maybe there is gold down there... haha :-D
Congratulations @solominer! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 23500 replies.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPI think you mistakenly centred all content while trying to centre only the images.
What are you planning on having here.
The beds looks so raised, I haven't see such round here.
I did that intentionally.
Yep, easier on our backs so we do not need to bend over as much.
That looks like a lot of hard work! Interesting color of the soil, I am used to a more black soil...
Sure is... Ah yeah, it is a different color in the south east. Its called ultisol or just red clay.
The clay is pretty much red. Why don't you call it red clay now?
probably because it rhymes with "GA Red Clay" so people called it that..
You're having a lot of work to keep the beds full, I hope they finally settle and you don't have to add more soil.
It's a shame to see how they're deteriorating, and how the vines are an extra weight that helps to uneven the beds.
I think it's a great idea to incorporate an iron post and cover the wood with sheets, that will keep them in place and they will have a longer useful life.
Have a great afternoon, dear friend @solominer
Me too would be nice if this is the last of the settling.
Yeah we shall see, going to look into how to do that.
Buen vivero que estás montando @solominer 🤩👏. Yo paso mucho trabajo con mis plantas 🪴 para expandirme más, porque los tengo en el techo y abarrotado jjj de cactus 🌵.
Estas creando buen proceso, con sustratos y material orgánico, son bastantes 😮.
No usas humus de lombriz 🪱????? Aquí las siembras grandes de vegetales les echan ese nutriente. Saludos crack 🇨🇺👏😊
Ah yeah you got quite the collection.. yep building good soil is important. I have looked into earth worms but honestly I find them naturally in the soil once it gets good enough.. they just move in.
A vale te entiendo. Pero son muy buenos para las plantas 🪴. Al menos a mi me funciona bien 😉👏
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 29/49) Liquid rewards.
I was going to ask exactly this. Since the beds are made of wood, they have some disadvantages. When you water the plants, there will be leakage because they are made of wood. This means that the plants do not benefit from the water enough.
That is true, some water does come out the sides between the planks. Could be fixed using sheet metal I think.
You really are working so hard and I love your determination to make it work, and I know it will.
The sand in the raised beds would definitely need a lot of manure.
I wish you all the best @solominer🙏
Ah thank you very much.
Yes I have some nice garden soil I am going to mix in once the beds have settled.. it has all that good stuff in it.
Go ahead and good luck for you.
thanks a lot
Great article. I couldn't imagine that many beds o take care of or eating everything they will produce, lol.
Hah yeah it is a lot of work but once they are up and running it takes us around an hour every few days out there to manage them. Just getting them going and topping off the dirt seems to take forever.
Patience bears good fruits on your labor.
Esa tierra debe ser rica en hierro, haces un exelente trabajo
Yes it is, I believe that is where the color of the soil comes from.
When the soil inside the beds is ready for planting, is it used somewhere else or the planting is done inside the bed ? I love the neat environment by the way
All of the growing will be done inside the beds once I add garden soil to mix with the native red clay dirt.
thank you
Ohhh understood but do you use any fertilizer like manure to mix with the soil before planting?
Yeah, it is a better idea, in my dormitory area they did the same thing which is very convenient and maintenance-free for a long time. They installed the basement with concrete and iron bars and made some stronger columb at a distance connected with the stronger basement in the ground and then installed the thick iron sheet, and finally connected each of the sheets by soldering them to make them watertight.
Oh cool yeah I think I will be going with metal beds soon enough. That should hold up much better to the elements and be stronger to hold lots of dirt.
Indeed!
finding those cool rocks must be so exciting.
yeah it is, I need to start collecting them.
!PIZZA
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@danzocal(3/10) tipped @solominer
I love this raised beds so much I believe it will make farming easier.
Yeah indeed it does.. much easier on our backs.
Those who want to farm should read your posts because there's always a lot to learn from. I'm really learning.
Ah thank you, hopefully my posts serve to help others.
And the most difficult part, you seem to have nice equipments to do this at a large scale.
Ah yeah, luckily only a few are like that. I will be done with it all soon.
Yes, it is nice to have power equipment. I am quite fortunate to have it.
Good job my friend, it's true that if it's been a few weeks the soil in the bed will shrink, but you've added it back and it looks higher, in the next few weeks maybe you'll have another job waiting for you.
Keep up the cheer of my friend 💪💪
Yeah we shall see.. but indeed its all progress and I will add more if need be.
The soil looks so red, I'm sure you will have to work in a lot of manure for it to be fertile enough.
Yep, got bags of garden soil I am going to mix in around 50/50
Oh that's great!
Wow!
Kudos to you.
This is some great work you're doing here?
The efforts you are putting will definitely pay off for you later
Weldone friend!
Pls rest well too after work
I think so too.. the work now will be worth the labor later.
Will do, thank you.
When someone knows what he's doing, he is bound to do it well. And that's what you are doing. I'm wishing you well
Ah thank you
When someone knows what he's doing, he is bound to do it well. And that's what you are doing. I'm wishing you well
What a busy day @solominer yet very productive. I'm sure your plants will grow fast and healthy. 😊