Yeah I think I'll have to do that. I had wanted a nice boarder of stone or something around it but its too expensive at the moment. I can always add it later on. 6 cubic yards seems like a decent amount of compost to start with. Maybe a second truck load might be needed later. There are a few other projects I want to do this summer as well. Like pouring a concrete path to the front door to get over the mud. How hard is it to make a concrete path? Seems fairly straight forward tho I might need to buy a cement mixer to do it without breaking my back.
I made my 2 x 30 foot raised bed out of Trex decking. You only cry once since it lasts a life time. If you like beefstake tomatoes, try Mortgage Lifters. After trying many different varieties, that's all I plant these days.
I planted them last year, was not impressed. The bhn589 hybrid from Johnny seeds was excellent, I'll be planting more of them this year for sure!! Since when did the forum turn into a gardening forum?? roflmao.... Use some logs, you know, the ones with bark on them . That's until you cast up some border wall panels.... hey now that's an idea!! Picture is of valley girl tomatoes. Also very good smaller slicer but extremely productive. So much in fact they crushed the tomatoe cages from the weight..
It's always way easier to make a booking for a cement truck than to mix by hand: I think there's like 20+ wheelbarrow loads per cubic metre. If it's a decent bit of concrete away from the driveway then hiring a pump truck is viable if you can't arrange a few helpers with wheelbarrows. Concrete paths are easy, 4" thick, put steel reinforcing inside that doesn't get closer than 2" from the edges. Wood formwork nailed to wood stakes level with the formwork so it doesn't get in the way when screeding the concrete and check the levels and slopes to ensure it all drains water. Also if you want the textured concrete surface, put two kilos of sugar into a bucket of water and spray it on the uncured surface: the sugar poisons off the concrete chemical reaction and prevents it from curing on the surface and you can hose off the top layer to get exposed aggregate.
Pathway is about 15 feet long by 2 ft wide. Do I need a sand base under the concrete? 4 inches thick? Seems quite beefy. I can get scrap stuff from the junk yard to make the rebarring inside if I can't find some locally. Not sure how thick of a metal lattice I need in it. I also need to figure out how many concrete sacs I'll need to buy to get the work done. I'm guessing I can do it without gravel?
SLAP! Call a cement truck The new concrete mixes are fiber reinforced. No need for rebar or mesh, just pour and score.
You have clay soil so it's "Reactive" or whatever the North American term is: it will expand and contract depending on moisture content so 4" or thicker is better. If you had relatively stable soil like a sandy soil then thinner is ok. A layer of plastic under the concrete as a moisture barrier during curing would be nice but soaking the soil before pouring should be enough for a path. As far as reinforcing goes some fine 1/8" or thicker wire steel mesh would be good with 6" or smaller squares, you could even use some secondhand galvanized welded mesh fencing panels cut up with boltcutters. Just so long as it's a bit stronger and stiffer than chicken wire. As far as estimating concrete needed, it's a straight up volume of a cube LxWxH calculation and the concrete premix bag should have a volume on the bag. Cement from a mini mixer truck is cheaper than buying bags not to mention the time and effort saved. 15' x 2' x 0.3333' (4") is exactly 10 cubic feet of cement or 1435 lbs of concrete or 16-20 wheelbarrow loads.
Clay soils also expand and contract A LOT with freeze/thaw cycles so a thin poured concrete walk will not last long, so either go with thick reinforced concrete or go with something that "floats" on surface like pavers.
4 inches it is then. I wonder where to find a concrete truck. I'll look around for one and check pricing. I'm about an hr away from most major areas so transportation costs might eat up a lot of cash. I really need to sort out the soil issue. Maybe I'm over thinking things by getting charcoal and mixing and sorting all this out? Maybe I should just plant my plants and forget about all the extra crap lol. I should start some planter pots. I have so many hydroponics lights from fishtanks left over after I converted the tanks to LEDs. I could start a huge number of seedlings.
I remember an explosives application book that recommended drilling holes in clay soil and firing a small explosive charge which cracked the clay for the tree roots and fertilized it at the same time. This was for fruit orchards in clay areas, aren't grapes suited to clay soil?, you could grow a vineyard. Concrete trucks can carry a dry mix and add water from tanks at the destination to get longer range for transportation.
1750 posts I think that means I am gold now? I'm unsure about grapes and clay soil. I'll need to look into that. I was planning on planting some grapes and fruit trees around the property. I've got a lot of sunny land that could use some fruit trees. How do zinc coated fences do with plants growing on them? Do the plants cause the fences to degrade quicker? Can I add a zinc anode to save the fences?
No need for sand under the Concrete. Just a few inches of packed Gravel. (you want something that drains especially if you have High clay soils. Sand will get plugged with clay and not drain well after a couple of years). A bit of landscape cloth under the gravel and along the sides will help keep the clay ingress at a minimum. Nice extra not a must.
FWIW, clay soil in my area and I'm surrounded by vineyards, so lots of grapes and really good wine gets made from those grapes.
Different people have different experiences with different varieties because plants respond differently depending on their environment. So tomatoes that do well in one garden may do very differently a mile away with different soil and sunlight. Clay soil is good for many plants. Research is best for what you want to plant. You can cast stepping stones individually if you can deal with the grass growing between them. You don't even need to mix the concrete, just put bag mix in a form and wet the surface to smooth it. Leave it a few weeks and it will be hard as, um, concrete.
With grape vines it depends on the variety, and the rootstock. Vinefra varieties are grafted onto different rootstock because of phylloxera . My vines are on 101-14 rootstock which is for clay based soils.
End of summer brings a certain smell to the whole region around here. Quite pleasant unlike manure-spreading season which also brings a certain smell to the whole region. Most of the grapes around here are contracted to Welchs.
They have grape vines for sale at Walmart here and some other vibes/berries. I'll see what they've got. Do climbing plants damage zinc coates fences? I also need cow manure for composting purposes. But not sure where to get it or how to even get it without being able to tow anything. Not having a truck sucks
Don't buy any vines. I'll be taking cuttings of the ones I have and can send you some. I have Concord, Niagara, Brianna, shiraz, enchantment, and 101-14 for rootstock.
I know that smell well! Sadly, it's largely a thing of the past in my area. The native North American grape varieties like Concords give off a wonderful grape jelly like scent just before harvest, almost nobody around here grows those anymore, it's all European wine grape varietals now. I love the wine but I also miss that grape jelly smell in the autumn.
