Kel Rock

I really enjoyed this thread! Hadn’t heard of potato onions before but the name alone makes me want to know more. I’m going to watch the videos now to see if there’s any hope of growing them here in zone 11. It’s been a while since I’ve grown any food crops but I was making plans earlier today for a trellis for Malabar spinach. The guy helping me still doesn’t believe me when I pointed out the wild purslane and told him I used to gather and eat it regularly.

Ha! I just read back through this thread and realized bundles of logs were mentioned as a way to keep water flowing. But when I saw that earlier today my mind read it as a hollow log. Suddenly I’m imagining it planted with bromeliads and all kinds of extra stuff.

This is how I get myself in trouble and lose focus, turning a fairly small project I don’t have time, energy, or money for into a very elaborate project that would take even more time, energy, and resources! I’m not sure where the line is between “big ideas” and “attention deficit.”

Ben, we were getting along so well… you just had to ruin that with math? It caused my brain to make the same sound as a needle scratching a record (I can send anyone under 40-ish a WAV file with a synth version if you need a reference). lol

I’m already obsessed with the hollow tree idea! All my terracotta pots are holding my cactus collection so I ruled that old-school idea out. But a hollow tree is super old-school and absolutely fits my aesthetic perfectly!! I’m thinking about bromeliads on the side branches that would be sticking up a foot or so…. I even have a mango tree (not the good one) that needs to come down. Living here in this godforsaken swamp I’m sure it would need to be replaced every couple of years as it turns into compost. If things go my way I’ll be living in the desert southwest before the tree finishes rotting. I’ll

John, i like the idea. The only reason it might not be practical for me is that my vehicle is a 50cc scooter. I did just come home from the big box store with a big bag of composted cow manure, a plant, and 2 x 60” rake handles. So, I’m not saying it’s impossible….but I do have to decide what I’m going to try to schlep around and how I’m going to make it work (I took the side streets earlier just in case the rake handles weren’t as secure as I thought. Made it home safe but drove 30mph instead of 40). This is another reason using materials on my property is appealing.

FYI Jay, I envy your chickens! We can’t have them in my city (although, I know people who do). We have dozens of feral peacocks in my neighborhood which are WAY worse neighbors than a few hens. If egg prices keep going up I might have to see what peacock eggs taste like. lol

I appreciate your input!

It is the ‘new’ kind that’s porous throughout. As I was wandering the isles of the big box store after I posted this question, I did think about the backfill crushing the hoses. I thought of that while I was walking past the same kind of paver bricks I have stacked at home and imagining those bricks on each side and on top of the hoses. Basically making a 3 sided tunnel to support the river rocks.

I know I’m probably overthinking this and the $20 pvc is the most straightforward solution. I’m just trying to figure out if it’s worth the hassle to reuse something I already have and avoid buying another plastic product (I know the hose is a type of rubber/plastic compound but it’s bound for the landfill anyway if I don’t use it here). I know it’s going to be up to me if I want to gamble with the untested method or not. But if anyone has a reason why I absolutely should not try it, I’m all ears.

I just had this idea and would appreciate opinions. Especially if it’s a bad idea!

I live in an urban area. South Florida, to be exact. At the end of my concrete driveway the water pools and I’ve been thinking about making a small French drain to move that water a few feet (4-6’) into the swale. My budget is tight so if I can cut a few corners and still improve the drainage, I’m fine with a less than optimal solution. It’s not a huge amount of water that pools even when we have massive amounts of rain.

I was going to trench along one side of the driveway near the end and possibly try to just use gravel for the base with larger river rocks (and landscape fabric). I just now started to wonder if I could use sections of an old soaker hose that has split in a few places and headed for the garbage bin and repurpose that to go under the larger rocks? Most people use 3-4” pvc with holes or similar large diameter pipes. Could several sections of the soaker hose (I think 1/2” diameter) serve the same purpose? Any downside to trying it? I really just need to move the water a few feet so it’s not a massive project.

I’m trying to get code enforcement off my back for several smallish to moderate issues. I’m spending my limited funds on mostly native, low maintenance plants (I’m refusing to sod my lawn just because it’s “the norm”). So if anyone can advise me on the drainage issue that would be one less thing to focus my energy on.

Thanks

After sending the message I realized you’re not in the states. Still far away

I’m new to the site and didn’t know you could click on a name and get info about the person. Anyway, you and I seem to be as far apart as we could possibly be and still be in the states. lol. I’ll probably still be in the same place in June/July so maybe I can send you a few mangoes. Not sure how long it would take to get there but if I sent green ones they might be ripe when you get them. I promise they would be a treat! We can get them in the grocery store but they don’t compare to Glenn’s fruit. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. lol

Jay, I plan on calling Steel Masters to ask if there’s a formal to determine how much weight can be hung from the QH arch. With the 2x framing, spray insulation, and then something to cover the insulation (plywood, metal sheeting, or my least favorite, drywall) I want to be sure I don’t do anything to compromise the structure. I would think that as long as the weight is evenly distributed it should support a fair amount of weight.
I know that covering the arch with anything (soil etc) voids the lifetime guarantee.
I know the large windows have a much lower R-value. That’s why I want to put almost all of them on the south facing wall. The back wall would have something (hempcrete?) for thermal mass, along with the concrete slab floor (bare, stained, and polished).
But yeah, I know all of this will add up to more than I’ll probably have after selling my current home, moving 2k miles, and buying a car appropriate for the rural mountains. That’s why I’ve been looking into prefab houses. Most are catering to the upper middle class buyer. But there are a few that are making what seem like nice, well built, but small homes. The kind we need in this housing crisis. If I can get into something like that and then take my time to build another house on the property. Eventually rent the smaller one out. That would take a lot of the pressure off me. The idea of selling, moving across country, then starting a building project…just the logistics of it can keep me up at night.