!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

BEL #721

Paul and I chatted this morning about tap-rooted and/or sprawling candidates for the landslide location here at Basecamp. The ones that came up in the suggestions list include:

Lupines
Carrots (a purple variety, in particular)
Buckwheat
Dandelion
Daikon Radish
Parsnips
Comfrey

I've seen all those grow somewhere here at Wheaton Labs, with the exception of the carrots which are always attempted but never seem to come around (maybe there's too little energy stored in those tiny seeds?). So Alex and I brought out the Seed Library to have a look at what's currently on hand:



After combing through the various divided boxes, we settled on this batch:



Another plant that came up in the conversation earlier today was Cleavers, AKA Bed Straw, which I'm personally fascinated with, yet I don't want to have taking over our garden beds. Once we obtain some of those seeds, we'll plant them in various non-paddock, non-garden bed locations to start generating some bio mass. I think the Lab is a fair candidate for this.

Meanwhile, Alex and I wrapped our day with some additional work on the gutters and down-spouts on the Basecamp buildings. An interesting puzzle revealed itself at back side of the Library-Solarium. We're going to install a section of gutter that hasn't had any gutter attached to it at all, which ought to be fun. However, the more interesting part of this - and the puzzle-y part - is where the down-spout ought to go.

Both Alex and I agree that it would be much cooler to have the gutter connect to the long wooden trough that Eliot installed during his recent visit. So I'll sleep on this conundrum, and hopefully tomorrow we'll have a solid way to go forward with this, and hopefully finish it by the end of the week.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:BEL #720

.... I'm thinking some kind of clinging, vine-rich plant out to be brought in. I don't want it to overtake anything else we'd like to plant (and eat). There's still time to consider seeds, and I'd prefer a perennial though I'm thinking some kind of squash may win out, regardless. Any suggestions?...

You could try to plant Apios americana (American Groundnut, or Hopniss). It is a strong growing vine during the warm season, but totally disappears above ground in Winter. If you don't harvest all 'nuts' out of the ground, next year new vines will grow out of the roots again.

Plants in the cucurbit family could be valuable as they will root at nodes that touch the ground, so as the plant expands, it will put more roots in the ground.

That said, the amount of sunlight at that location may also be a consideration.

I'd be leery of putting too many root crops into a location with unstable soil on a slope.  Yes, while in the ground, the idea of the tap root is positive, but if you harvest it, you just created a hole into which moisture can access and it may have a similar response if you leave the root in to rot down.  

Once things are stabilized, those latter thoughts would no longer apply, but I'd think you want to see a year or two without soil slumping before turning that into a garden for root vegetables.

I know there are cover crop mixes identified as good for soil stabilization, but on our relatively flat property it's never been an issue so I haven't really investigated.

Perhaps some fruit bearing shrubs could be valuable to help stabilize the soil while providing long term yields.

BEL #722

First off: Alex and I further locked-down one of the auto cat feeders up at the Lab. At first glance, it may seem over-engineered. However, since the cats have all day to plot and scheme over how to open such a treasure trove of tasty, effortlessly-caught food, we've learned that they will crack nearly any typical fortifications.

I'm thinking we'll decommission these once the Boot team is visiting the Lab regularly for gardening visits. Until then, we'll be wise to lock 'em down.



Meanwhile... A major project moves forward today.

I wanted to tackle the Berm Shed repairs, and what we're currently calling the "sister log." After some conversation with Paul, I drew up this diagram to share with Alex:



These later went under revision, but in a good way. The good news is nothing finished today will be scrapped.

My first task was to trim an angled top into the log Alex and I retrieved earlier this week. The angle was recorded and cranked-down on our T-bevel, and I simply referred to that in order to make a cut.



Earlier today we were doing some tool maintenance on some shovels, and it was then I learned a nice shortcut from Alex: put a brush end on a drill, and you have a speedy way to clear dirt and cobwebs off your work surface.



For the next step, a bit of explanation. The log that needs a "sister" attached to it is slightly tilted, and it's holding up a lot of weight. Instead of attempting to pull that pillar completely upright again, we'll shape the sister log to accommodate. I needed to approximate the lean with a level, and then estimated where I'd like the bottom of the log to be resting. To sum it up, I opted to trim 3 inches off the bottom of the log, and gradually taper the cut until it reached about halfway up its total length.

In this photo, I measure down 3 inches, then use a level to ensure I have a cut mark made relatively straight.



I used a chalk line to make a mark along the length of the log up to that halfway point, where the tapering ends.



I used another tried-and-true technique for the next step: make "wood wafer" cuts along the length of the taper. I later smacked these out with a hammer and finished the work with a chisel.



Here's how things looked after chiseling-out the remainder of the log wafers. A more aggressive curve is required, I think. For now, this was enough.



At the end of the day... I chickened-out! I started moving the house jacks around, then consulted with both Eliot and Paul about what to do next. I eventually opted to add in another vertical support further along the angled beam, and will build a stocky "knee brace" on a deadman to the left of the leaning pillar. Here's how things looked at the end of the day.



Paul reassured me: "If you ever hear that worried voice in your head, I don't ever want you to turn down its volume knob." I was reminded of two additional worthwhile quotes while doing today's work:

"Instead of wishing the work were easier, wish you were better."

-and-

"Sometimes, it's courage to say quietly, "I will try again tomorrow.'  "

So it goes. That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!