Our wonderful trail builder is back on site with his ‘pumpkin’ excavator trying to tame the most treacherous corner of the farm with some curvaceous terraces. We have so much material to move around and he is recycling it all. Logs that were too big for the chipper, unruly stumps, weeds (no shortage), slash (large ‘mulch’ from the first chipper), and lets not forget the rocks.
OMG! There are so many rocks! In all shapes and sizes. They are pretty much dictating where the terraces go. Some of the underground ones are too big to unearth. So we leave them and work around them. Short of some dynamite or jack hammers, we have to work with what the land wants to be.
The width of the machine is about 5 feet and it’s and ideal size. Who knows how many we will end up with but they are great for parking the logs, stumps, slash and rocks.
This is the same terrace viewed from the top down to the street. It’s very steep!
The beginnings of a rock wall marching over to the property line.
You know what else rocks are good for? Raised beds. The last 2 (of 5) are nearly done and filled.
We are using them for nursery plants that we want to grow on. I got two clumps of vetiver grass from a friend and divided it into about 50 plants. It’s super awesome for erosion control as it has a 15 foot root system. And it’s a clumping grass so it won’t take over. I’ve gotten some cuttings from friends and my landlord and have been plunking them in to let them fatten up for creating more cuttings for elsewhere on the farm when it’s ready. So far we have vetiver, comfrey, 2 beautiful coleuses, lemon grass, cuban oregano, parsley, perennial peanut (ground cover), aloe, bougainvillea, regular oregano, cassava, coriander, gliricidia (aka madre de cacao), & malabar chestnut. We also found some mystery ginger and zinnias too. I still have some pomegranate and a white pineapple, gold pineapple, and 2 lychees grown from seed still in pots at the rental. Need to figure out where to put them out of the way.
The final raised bed still has to be filled with slash and dirt and mulch.
This beautiful rock wall belongs to a neighbor and is my current inspiration. I love the nestling of all the succulents. Our rocks aren’t quite as smooth and pretty as these, but they are free and they are *there*.
Finally, it’s pheasant time around here, and though hard to photograph with my phone, I managed to capture this fellow strutting his stuff and squawking his squawk. The pickle barrels behind are for storing non-potable water to keep the dust down and keep the nursery plants alive. I can’t wait for the big 15000 gallon tank to be installed! Hauling water by hand uphill sucks!
Here’s a little drone video:
