Jay Alvarado

Matt Todd wrote:Here's my latest trellis creation based on the principles of tensegrity. The 3 cattle panels are overlapped by a few inches and bound by hog rings. The bottom bars are cut off so that the sharp ends stick into the ground.
The pressure the bowed panels put against the wood frame is balanced by cables and turnbuckles attached to ground anchors. The wood frame is stuck into 4x4 sleeve anchors, which are basically a 3 foot spike pounded into the ground.
The panels stick to the frame by resting into scraps of channel aluminum (with a few fencing staples for good measure.)

Total length is 12 feet, depth is 8 feet, and the bowed cattle panels are 12 feet. 7 feet tall. I will be using this to showcase native vines as it's part of a growing native garden. I wanted more of a cave-like alcove than a tunnel so I can put a bench in there overlooking the yard.

Would love to see some updated photo's of this post. I like this idea and should be able to incorporate it into existing garden structure.

We opted to plant some cover crops, and some other plants that did not fit in the garden, to see how everything settles. It has withstood a nice two day storm and we are starting to see some sprouts.

Scott Stiller wrote:Clay’s ideas is phenomenal but beware of settling for the first two years. If you could somehow terrace from a solid surface (the ground) upward that would keep things in place. If the edges are simply on top of the soil they’ll sink and settle as well.

Yeah, I am okay with some erosion, since it is quite large. I guess my major concern is for the young sugar maple I planted before the mound and now is a little close. Perhaps the fire pit area on the opposite side, but there is ample space there. I was thinking of using the method that this old house shows here for stairs...but on a slightly larger scale.

I like that idea a lot Clay. I have some old posts from a garden fence I may be able to use for.

thank you!

Two years ago a large, mature sugar maple fell on my property. I cut and repurposed what pieces I could but the main trunk mainly laid in place. Over that time I slowly added other organic matter from around my property.

Today I was able to get some machinery, tighten the mound of wood chunks together, top it with leaves, wood chips and 15 yards of top soil.

Planning on just growing some cover crops this year, perhaps some pollinators. But curious to see how others handle erosion.

Have a 1.5 yr old and was debating on best way to turn some fallen trees from the property into different structures. Does anyone have any experience doing that?

Finally started taking my fallen sugar maple trees around my property to make a 8ft long hugelkultur wall. Not sure what I will plant there yet, but looking forward to the process.