Monday, November 22, 2021

ORCHARD AREA CLEANED UP

So this is our hidden horror, LOL.  The area behind the house where the fruit trees are.  Because we put up the deer fencing, I could no longer get the zen machine in there.  Well, I could reach the long swaths but not between each bed.  Then I put in the berry planting rings and that for sure stopped it.  I could use the weedeater to clean them but the weather this year was so crazy, it was never a good time we could do it.  Then I just decided, no one can see it, who cares, I'll just wait until cooler weather.

What I had to do first was take down the deer fencing.  Then I used the zen machine to mow the long swaths.  My plan was to borrow 2nd Family's lawnmower and that would allow me to make quick work of the area in between the beds and rings.  

Notice I said that was the plan.

They were glad to loan me their mower and I brought it up to the house and tried to start it.  And tried.  And tried again.  Fuel full.  Oil fine.  It was clean and still almost new (they bought it a few months ago).  I called them and said "is there a trick to starting this?"  She came up to see and said it ran the last time they used it...a few months ago.  We tried again.  I must have pulled that cord fifty times.  I have two blisters on my hand to prove it and my shoulder was burning like fire, ha.  We gave up.  I said no worries, that was just going to make it easier but I can go to Plan B and use the weedeater to "mow".

Here's an up close before and after:


This is in between one of the blueberry rings and the square box raised beds.  Yep, somewhere in that mess is the side of the square box.  I started by using the weedeater on the interior of the beds to clean them out and then I used it like a lawnmower in between...


This was after.  Done and nice and neat.  It took a few hours because it was just so much to do with only a weedeater.  But the end result was such a relief.

Here's a better view of the entire area:

This was slightly "after" the before.  I had taken down the fishing line for the deer fencing and I drove the zen machine back and forth through the long swaths.

But still...a mess.

This was about halfway through when I stopped for a lunch break.  I had made the first pass through the interior of the beds to clear the grass and weeds inside them and started going around the outside of the beds themselves.  Then I used the zen machine to clean up the paths and scattered grass and continued.

After another couple of hours, here is the end result:

YES!  Back to normal.  We are so relieved.  It's one of those projects that you know you need to do but you put off and then it just gets worse.  Of course, we remind ourselves that no one else sees it except us so why not wait until the weather is cooler.  Still, projects like this weigh heavily in the back of your mind until they are done.

The last thing to do was cover the inside of the beds with cardboard so they are worry free until Spring (forgot to get a pic of that). By next Spring the cardboard will have broken down and I can top off with fresh soil/compost to get ready for the new season.

And in the category of "serendipitous", how's this for weird?  I went downstairs to our recycle area and someone had put out a bunch of boxes after a move.  I got the valet cart and loaded it up.  I had no idea how many we needed, I just grabbed a stack until it seemed like enough and loaded up the car.  They were small, medium and large size.  I began cutting them to fit and  place around each of the trees, putting them down.  Some beds used more, some used less.

The last box was cut, the last bed completely covered...and...there were no more boxes.  Not one extra, not one less.  Somehow I had selected THE exact amount needed for the project.

One more thing done and less to worry about.  We'll need to figure out something for next year so they won't be overrun with grass, but that's a worry for then.

For now, we'll just enjoy pulling up to the house and seeing a neat and tidy backyard that matches the neat and tidy front yard.

19 comments:

  1. Your orchard really looks nice and what a great accomplishment to a job well done.

    Maybe instead of putting up deer fencing around each and every tree; maybe you could do one continuous line of deer fencing along your fruit trees.

    Was nice that someone left all them cardboard boxes for you. Never hurts to stock up for the future

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    1. Oh the fencing is around the whole area. We did it that way instead of around each tree. It's worked great all Spring and Summer. It's just that it was still so hard to get close with the mower or the edger, ha . There are always lots of boxes, it's been so great having them for anything from storage to freeze protection for plants on the porch to shipping packages or getting gifts for friends/familiy.

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  2. A trick I learned the hard way is to use only non-ethanol gas in your mower. Ethanol gums up the works if left for 2-3-4 weeks. After taking my mower to the shop every month for six months straight to find out why it wouldn't start, the mechanic eventually told me to use the non-ethanol gas in it. Now it starts on the first pull! I get my non-ethanol gas at the QuikTrip gas stations.

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    1. Oh wow! Thank you for this info. Honestly never thought about that for the lawnmowers. We do that for the zen machine big mower. I'll let them know that too and we'll remember when we get a lawnmower (I think we're gonna need one for the future for things like this).

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  3. What Charlotte said. You can also use a gasoline Stabilizer additive.

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    1. Thanks, I've used those for overwintering the zenmachine if it was full of gas after the last mow.

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  4. What a lucky thing to only get what you needed in boxes and not end up lacking. Things rarely work out exactly. It all looks great.

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    1. Right? It's weird, I think our minds are smarter than we realize. When our office would do large mailings, more often than not I'd pick a stack of envelopes and have the exact amount to match to the letters. Weird.

      Thanks for the kind words, I'm so relieved it looks good.

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  5. That was a lot of work! The cardboard around the trees is a very good idea - and you had just enough. It’s looking so neat now.

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    1. Yep just enough. It does look neat and I'm relieved, it's more enjoyable when I walk back there and see it. The hope is the cardboard will keep the weeds/grass at bay until we can figure out another option.

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  6. Congratulations on the excellent result from a lot of hard work! BUT back to my usual inquiry! Any progress on your plans about what you are going to do with the farmhouse itself? Roderick

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    1. Roderick! Haven't seen you in a while. Glad to hear from you. Yes, you are always one of our biggest supporters for getting the house redone. Since not everyone reads these comments I don't think we'll be giving too much away before we have a post on it. We're gonna wait till we get the final decision. But yes, we have had one contractor come out so far, he's working up some plans for us to see. They kind of have to come up with their estimates and plans so we can go with that to the mortgage for the loan. We have thought about just an infrastructure update instead of a complete remodel and we've gotten a roof and pier and beam quote and a mini split a/c heater system quote. But that keeps us with the same house and no extra space. There is another contractor whose work we have seen and he's coming sometime after the holidays. We'd like to have a few options. I actually told a coworker today that this time next year we might just have a nice rebuilt house out there. So things are progressing.

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    2. Thanks for the update on the renovation! I was kind of worried that your joint enthusiasm was ebbing away, but your remark to your coworker shows otherwise! And you two have a wonderful Thanksgiving together, with Hobart of course! Roderick

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  7. Looking good! A yard or garden clean-up seems like a huge task, but never fails to be rewarding.

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    1. Oh I know you understand, we've seen what you guys have done and your energy and work ethic are always an inspiration. It's so rewarding when you are done and look back and go "wow".

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  8. Looks great!!
    It always feels so good to get these things done.

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    1. Thank you and yes, it's work getting there but so rewarding when done.

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  9. Maybe you could try putting a prop under the leaning tree, it will not help it grow straight but will stop it from leaning more. When it starts to bare a lot of fruit it will get top heavy and might come out of the ground.

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    1. Thanks for that, yes, that's on the list of things to do. I totally forgot now would be a good time to do that. Will research some options. I had a post on it earlier this year when we pruned it to help the bulk grow straight but that was on the list and I forgot. Thank you!!

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