What Did You Do In The Garden?

[flowerbug]

It wasn't really in the garden but -- I mowed the lawn!

It wasn't really lawn grass that I was mowing. Lots of twigs and things from the trees.

So, it wasn't really mowing but I pushed the machine around the yard .

Changed the oil and washed the air filter and wanted to see how it would start. (I wonder if I have ever sorta mowed the lawn in March before. Kinda doubt it .)

Steve

 

[digitS']

Prepared the two 20' beds to be covered with the temporary hoop house. Drove in rebar stakes and set up hoops.

The bed prep included digging out most of one bed to bury compostables including the winter plant insulation, aka leaves, that has been in various locations around the yard. I Am Not Used to Running a Shovel!

I wonder if the pvc hoops are 20 years old by now. They must be. It surprises me that they can be exposed every spring and survive so well. Might not be trusted to carry water under pressure but have no chips where they have been shoved into the ground over the rebar.

Cover with film, today? Sure hope that the final piece in the box fits! With all the tacking down with lath and installing the door and window, it takes quite a while. DW has other ideas for the day. Might have some trouble getting started . Okay weather for a couple of days, anyway.

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I love it when I build something and it lasts for years.
I am big on "one and done."

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

Planted spinach and kale, along with two six packs of romaine. Its in the mid 70's here (very weird) so I thought I'd get some dirt therapy.

 

[digitS']

And Today! I covered the hoop house, complete with installed door and window.

Steve

 

[Phaedra]

View attachment 47827
And Today! I covered the hoop house, complete with installed door and window.

Steve

I want to disassemble a pallet - still in the "thinking" stage.

 

[digitS']

Am I correct in believing that the nails used in pallets are special?

And that, metal saws are used between the boards to cut the nails?

It looks to me as though the boards themselves are often very poor quality wood. The design and hardware are the primary reason that the pallet stays intact. Of course, wood quality may vary.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I want to disassemble a pallet - still in the "thinking" stage.

it can be a lot of work. a project i did the past few years i took apart about 130 pallets and some of them there was no way short of drilling them out that some of the nails were coming out. i rescued as much of the wood i could but most of it got used for covering up some black plastic that is holding the weeds down out back.

 

[flowerbug]

Am I correct in believing that the nails used in pallets are special?

And that, metal saws are used between the boards to cut the nails?

It looks to me as though the boards themselves are often very poor quality wood. The design and hardware are the primary reason that the pallet stays intact. Of course, wood quality may vary.

Steve

rough sawn wood, sometimes they use very cheap nails that will break off the tops when you try to pull them out. other places use staples. which are even worse. old pallets where the nails are rusty you can pretty much forget pulling all of the nails out, you get what you can and leave the rest. short of using a drill to get them out you might not get them all.

cutting the nails would probably be faster than trying to pull them out, prying the boards to get at the nails is sometimes not easy. i spent way too much time on this, but i did end up with two large jugs of rusty nails i could take to the metal recycling place. much better than worrying about all of those rusty nails in the ground as what Mom wanted to do with all those pallets was burn them. the last time we had a place where they burned a lot of things from building the house i spent the next 10 years finding all the rusty nails in the dirt in that area. no more i said. we don't burn things any more now. i much prefer burying it and letting the worms have a snack instead. it's much better for the gardens.

 

[Collector]

Snuck home from work early on Friday and dug up and transplanted 30 everbearing red raspberries along a fence line out back. Yesterday was busy with family stuff all day, today we will gat some more spring work done around here.