fuzzi's "Gardens and Chickens...and Goats? Oh My!" Journal and More Thread

[fuzzi]

P.S. Look at my buddy!

It was in the dirt by the damaged section.

I also saw a mole cricket, they are cool insects!

 

[Weldman]

 

[fuzzi]

View attachment 120566

That's a frog!

My buddy was a toad.

 

[Weldman]

Let me root around in my pole barn, I’m sure to find a toad friend for him.

 

[canesisters]

Back door porch light pals

 

[drstratton]

So...I went outside late afternoon, to switch the posts. There was a nice breeze, sun was behind the pines, figured I could handle pole switching.

Raised bed #1, before and after
View attachment 120556
View attachment 120557
The beds look good, no rot that I could see. I just need to top them off with compost.

I took the t-posts over to the raised bed needing attention, bed #3:
View attachment 120558


Close up of left corner
View attachment 120559

Got the shovel, moved the dirt away from the damaged side.
View attachment 120560
Slid the boards back into position.

I noticed more rot. No. Not rot. It's insect damage.
View attachment 120561
I uncovered a nest of ants, not termites, on the left corner, and signs of more damage on the wood.

I then reassembled the boards as best as I could, and pounded in the t-posts. I made them as tight against the base of the beds as I could.
View attachment 120562
View attachment 120563
Ant nest corner.

I sprinkled fire ant birth control granules, hope they work on these ants.

It should hold for the season, but am doubtful about next year. I think I will take @Weldman 's advice and rebuild this bed with concrete blocks.

Now I can start planting!
View attachment 120564

That is a lot of work and it looks fantastic! Hope you can get rid of the ants.

 

[fuzzi]

That is a lot of work and it looks fantastic! Hope you can get rid of the ants.

Thank you. It wasn't heavy work at all, just troubleshooting, coming up with a solution, and implementing. The soil is loose, so moving it away from the side wasn't difficult, either.

@canesisters I love your porch light buddies!

 

[SageHill]

So...I went outside late afternoon, to switch the posts. There was a nice breeze, sun was behind the pines, figured I could handle pole switching.

Raised bed #1, before and after
View attachment 120556
View attachment 120557
The beds look good, no rot that I could see. I just need to top them off with compost.

I took the t-posts over to the raised bed needing attention, bed #3:
View attachment 120558


Close up of left corner
View attachment 120559

Got the shovel, moved the dirt away from the damaged side.
View attachment 120560
Slid the boards back into position.

I noticed more rot. No. Not rot. It's insect damage.
View attachment 120561
I uncovered a nest of ants, not termites, on the left corner, and signs of more damage on the wood.

I then reassembled the boards as best as I could, and pounded in the t-posts. I made them as tight against the base of the beds as I could.
View attachment 120562
View attachment 120563
Ant nest corner.

I sprinkled fire ant birth control granules, hope they work on these ants.

It should hold for the season, but am doubtful about next year. I think I will take @Weldman 's advice and rebuild this bed with concrete blocks.

Now I can start planting!
View attachment 120564

They look great!! Well done with what you have - McGyver rules! T-posts - soooo useful.

 

[fuzzi]

An instructor once taught that the greatest weapon we had was between our ears. It's not just true for self defense, but all aspects of life. Think, contemplate, imagine, learn, create, fix...all with the brains that we were given by our Creator.

Use or lose.

 

[fuzzi]

They're getting SO big!