Peter I hope not for Barry's sake.
If it was so he would surely have no time for us or his allotment.
After all, Tolkien is hobbit forming
Is it you down there, is it?!
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud
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Pa Snip
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The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
Pa, you just reminded me of this https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kYzZ-2k216s
Not trying to call anyone here a hobbit
although maybe a few legoless's (over 100 )
Not trying to call anyone here a hobbit
although maybe a few legoless's (over 100 )Once the game is over the king and the pawn go back in the same box. Anonymous
Exploring is like walking, where the walking decides where we're going. Bob the dinosaur from dinopaws
Exploring is like walking, where the walking decides where we're going. Bob the dinosaur from dinopaws
A bit of an anti-climax, actually.
Today, I went back with a trowel and continue digging.
Oddly, despite the depth, the trowel easily slipped through the soil, which continued to make a hollow sound when I whacked it again with the spade.
After several minutes of prodding around, I got absolutely nowhere, but the soil was unnaturally loose, which made no sense at all given it was compacted hard clay all around.
I suspect I somehow hit the former water table and the hollow sound was actually a chamber made by the water, which has now sunk down even further. There was no concrete of metal anywhere that I could feel.
I've dug many a hole in my time, but have never encountered anything quite like this.
There are also no rabbits in this area.
Now, on another note, the posts that I am going to put in the hole are 2.4m high. A landscape gardnerer suggested I only need go 18 inches (45cm) deep, although recommended postcrete. We are not allowed to put up permanent structures here without permission, which I got for my shed, so I am extremely reluctant to go down this route. Nor can I afford to.
Do you think at 45cm in heavy clay my posts will stay upright OK? I've got some smaller ones in shallower earthern holes and they are quite solid. I'm only going to hang netting or chicken wire from the new posts.
The other suggestion was putting ballast (stones) in the bottom of the present hole, which is now too deep, to encourage better drainage. How do you all feel about that?
Today, I went back with a trowel and continue digging.
Oddly, despite the depth, the trowel easily slipped through the soil, which continued to make a hollow sound when I whacked it again with the spade.
After several minutes of prodding around, I got absolutely nowhere, but the soil was unnaturally loose, which made no sense at all given it was compacted hard clay all around.
I suspect I somehow hit the former water table and the hollow sound was actually a chamber made by the water, which has now sunk down even further. There was no concrete of metal anywhere that I could feel.
I've dug many a hole in my time, but have never encountered anything quite like this.
There are also no rabbits in this area.
Now, on another note, the posts that I am going to put in the hole are 2.4m high. A landscape gardnerer suggested I only need go 18 inches (45cm) deep, although recommended postcrete. We are not allowed to put up permanent structures here without permission, which I got for my shed, so I am extremely reluctant to go down this route. Nor can I afford to.
Do you think at 45cm in heavy clay my posts will stay upright OK? I've got some smaller ones in shallower earthern holes and they are quite solid. I'm only going to hang netting or chicken wire from the new posts.
The other suggestion was putting ballast (stones) in the bottom of the present hole, which is now too deep, to encourage better drainage. How do you all feel about that?
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Geoff
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Just that top rails would stiffen the whole structure so the firmness of the posts would be less important. I think you would be alright anyway with posts knocked in 18" but I am not so sure about dug in.
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Pa Snip
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Barry
Are you planning on growing anything up the chicken wire or netting that you might drape over these posts.
That may be where your downfall lies if it creates a barrier that wind hits it would probably take the posts down, especially if dug in rather than knocked in. If you cant use a concrete post mix (although do posts really count as a permanent fixture) can you use Metaposts ? The irony of the latter is they are probably more difficult to get back out, if you ever needed to, than a small concrete block. They are also more costly
I may suffer exactly the downfall problem with my new pea supports this year. For the standard peas I have knocked them i8inches into the ground so they can be removed and stay in the rotation plan. I also have some which are for the 6ft peas which I knocked in 2ft 6 deep to account for the extra height. They will also need to come back out at rotation time.
So far they are all standing firm but of course they have nothing growing up them as yet.
Are you planning on growing anything up the chicken wire or netting that you might drape over these posts.
That may be where your downfall lies if it creates a barrier that wind hits it would probably take the posts down, especially if dug in rather than knocked in. If you cant use a concrete post mix (although do posts really count as a permanent fixture) can you use Metaposts ? The irony of the latter is they are probably more difficult to get back out, if you ever needed to, than a small concrete block. They are also more costly
I may suffer exactly the downfall problem with my new pea supports this year. For the standard peas I have knocked them i8inches into the ground so they can be removed and stay in the rotation plan. I also have some which are for the 6ft peas which I knocked in 2ft 6 deep to account for the extra height. They will also need to come back out at rotation time.
So far they are all standing firm but of course they have nothing growing up them as yet.
The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
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PLUMPUDDING
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I've put some 2 ft pieces of plastic pipe in the ground wedged with stones or brick and put the posts in these, then firmly packed them to vertical by ramming pea gravel down the pipes round them. They have the sheep netting stretched between them. I did put a couple of bracing pieces of wood in too and it worked well. They are easy to move and you can change posts if you want.
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Pa Snip
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Plum, got a pic by any chance ?
The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
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Shallot Man
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Just a suggestion. Maybe it is time to contact Tony Robinson on Channel 4's Time-Team.
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Pa Snip
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Sounds like a cunning plan Shallot
The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet
To be honest, I am inventing the fruit cage as I go along!
The outer edge will form a continuation of the fence I am building all around my plot, so I need to get this 7m section in asap, or risk people wandering off with my veg
I'm basically going to put in four 2.4m high posts along each 7m side, have rabbit/chicken-wire fencing around the bottom and builders netting around most of the rest. Quite how the roof will go is anybody's guess...
However, given I will have next to nothing in my fruit cage producing fruit this year, the details aren't that important. However, if anybody has any suggestions to how this can be EASILY fitted out, do feel free to speak.
The outer edge will form a continuation of the fence I am building all around my plot, so I need to get this 7m section in asap, or risk people wandering off with my veg
I'm basically going to put in four 2.4m high posts along each 7m side, have rabbit/chicken-wire fencing around the bottom and builders netting around most of the rest. Quite how the roof will go is anybody's guess...
However, given I will have next to nothing in my fruit cage producing fruit this year, the details aren't that important. However, if anybody has any suggestions to how this can be EASILY fitted out, do feel free to speak.
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Westi
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On our plots there are all sorts of fruit cage structures & I love the creativity of folk when I have a wander around. Quite a few old gazebo frames being resurrected with some netting & some folk do such neat 'stitching' of the netting. I've never had a problem with birds taking my fruit - they do of course, but leave loads for me as well!
I'm currently in the 'convince Mr Westi stage' of planning a walk in brassica cage though! That won't require posts in the ground but will need a strong base so we can lift it around the plot to keep in the rotation or some other sort of support without a base but with spike thingies to pull out & put back in new space! I'm going to cost it up though as think these DIY jobs sometimes cost a hell of a lot more than you bargained for! (Maybe a Wonder Wall might be cheaper after all)!
Westi
I'm currently in the 'convince Mr Westi stage' of planning a walk in brassica cage though! That won't require posts in the ground but will need a strong base so we can lift it around the plot to keep in the rotation or some other sort of support without a base but with spike thingies to pull out & put back in new space! I'm going to cost it up though as think these DIY jobs sometimes cost a hell of a lot more than you bargained for! (Maybe a Wonder Wall might be cheaper after all)!
Westi
Westi
Hi Westi,
I have lots of creativity, I'm just not very good at DIY. However, because I am not time constrained this year, I can experiement a bit with my fruit cage. Behind it, I am going to build a brassica pen. It won't be walk in, but will be better than the crawl in example I had at my old plot. Plus - roll of drums - I have also got an old cricket net, which should form as much protection as I need!
I have lots of creativity, I'm just not very good at DIY. However, because I am not time constrained this year, I can experiement a bit with my fruit cage. Behind it, I am going to build a brassica pen. It won't be walk in, but will be better than the crawl in example I had at my old plot. Plus - roll of drums - I have also got an old cricket net, which should form as much protection as I need!
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Pa Snip
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Totally bowled over by Barry's latest news. Look forward to hearing the net result
The danger when people start to believe their own publicity is that they often fall off their own ego.
At least travelling under the guise of the Pa Snip Enterprise gives me an excuse for appearing to be on another planet