cheap yet pretty barrier Vs. neighbor's leaves
jally
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
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7 years agojally
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
leaf mold vs composting or mulching leaves
Comments (21)Egganddart49, We both are using almost the same kind of leaves, thus we have a great example of what the leaves are doing and how different zones interact with basically the same kind of leaves. To me, gardening is about "point of view", how you look at it if you will. When I look at what you are saying this is what I see: Your zone is cooler than mine, thus you will have slower decomposition in your garden. The leaves you put down in the winter sat there due to low temperatures. What the leaves did is act like a security blanket for your garden. When rain or snow piled up on the leaves the water seeped through, not flowed. As the water seeped in it took some of the nutrients from the leaves into the soil with it. Because of the limiting effect of the leaves you suffered less leaching in your soil, this causes you to need less amendments for your plants. As well, you added nutrients from the leaves all winter long, this is a very good thing. When spring came you had to move those pesky leaves out the way, but what did you find underneath? You discovered soft tender soil, moist and happy that you are the owner of the garden. They proved their gratitude by giving you a good crop, and paid you back by making sure you did less work in the process. Shoot, if you stopped concerning yourself with how many leaves are still there and focus on what you want to better improve next years crop who knows what you will end up with. Now ole Blutranes on the other hand lives where it is mild in the winter. His mulch gets chomped on by the microbes the minute it gets warm enough outside. By spring most of his leaves are gone, but his soil is ready to go too. Blutranes enjoys the same benefit you enjoy, water seeps into his soil too; he gets those minerals from his leaves as well. Blutranes can plant earlier, but Egganddart can still grows just as good as Blutranes can in less time. They both are given extra time for other things due to some leaves they put on their gardens. Blutranes is sitting at his computer looking for more wisdom from others to use that extra time on. Egganddart can now make a decision what Egganddart wants to pull outta Eggs' hat next. Work in the garden is good, less work even better IMO. I conclude that you have discovered a way to do more with less and save some money, and get a mater or two out the deal. Sounds like a plan over here Blutranes...See MoreAnyone tried bio-barrier yet?
Comments (2)I don't think this type of bio-root barrier would be all that effective against Bermuda grass, which can just as easily grow above ground with rhizomes to get established, as it does under ground. I have specified the bio-barrier as part of a tree planting detail on big multi-unit residential and/or commercial jobs, and they do work; but in principal, it is not best practice to treat tree roots as if they are growing in a bathtub, it is ultimately not good for long term health to restrict the root run so significantly, and typically the soil below 30 inches in depth on large construction sites has been so thoroughly compacted and degraded that there is insufficient oxygen at this depth to allow tree roots to grow below the barrier into surrounding soil as the manufacturer most probably intended. I have never seen soil ripped to break up such compaction after the buildings are finished, so the deeper rooting trees typically suffer with such bio-barriers installed as a closed circle within a tree well for trees within paving. The rhizome barrier for bamboo lasts indefinitely, and would be just as effective at stopping grass rhizomes from creeping in below ground level, and no different from the bio-barrier at needing regular attention to remove rhizomes creeping from above. If it is installed so to leave 10 inches above grade, and 20 inches below, it would give you sufficient depth to prevent bermuda from entering below ground, as well as make it easier to see the runners when they creep in above ground. The hard part for either type of barrier is digging a deep trench after the fact of established plantings, to place a 30 inch deep barrier vertically against a fence of property line. I know, I have done it for clients in the past, and a 50 wide lot with 110 feet of rhizome barrier bought and installed ends up costing a lot in labor to install. It works just fine for confining the bamboo where it is wanted, and keeping it out where you don't, as long as the seams are sufficiently overlapped and glued, and due diligence is done to ensure that bamboo rhizomes don't creep over it and get rooted. For Black Stem Bamboo, it may be much easier to get one of those galvanized cattle troughs, punch some drainage holes in it, and plant your bamboo in this as a container plant. I often do this with running bamboo when I want a screen, but don't want to go to the expense and labor of installing a barrier. It works especially well if it is tucked up against a fence and deck, and one never sees the planter....See Morecheap vs expensive sinks
Comments (39)Mary04 - in response to your post, as Brickeyee and I wrote above, we believe it is preferable to get a lower gauge. Others may have a different opinion. But I am unclear why you say you had trouble finding a lower-gauge sink to fit in a 30" cabinet. You didn't say whether you were looking for a double bowl or a single bowl. But in just a 2-minute search, I found 16-gauge stainless sinks that fit in a 30" cabinet. There is the Kraus KHU100-30 single-bowl sink, which by previous reports on this forum, is a beautiful sink, price includes grid and strainer, and it has an offset drain which is nice to have (my link below has 41 great reviews). Also, Ticor offers 4 variations of double-bowl sinks that fit in a 30" cabinet. As an aside, I don't know if you are looking at a single or double bowl version, but if I am looking for a sink to fit in a 30" cabinet, I would choose a single bowl sink, so that you have a bowl big enough to set down a roasting pan or cookie sheet. Kraus KHU100-30 16-gauge Single-Bowl Stainless Sink Ticor 16-gauge Double Bowl Sinks (use the search function for 30 inch cabinet size)...See MoreEnclose breezeway vs leave open?
Comments (10)Well good news, it looks as though we may be able to make the area much more of a "screened porch". I had been looking into eze breeze windows, but thought they were more than we wanted to spend. Now looking at the website for our local home improvement store, They appear to be less than half the price I was originally quoted by them over the phone. I'm thinking they quoted so much because I had just threw a measurement out there to get an idea, and it wasn't one of their "standard" sizes. So custom must cost a lot more. Since we are starting from scratch we can just go with a standard size. We will be able to get windows that are 42"x84" and will open to expose 75% of the screen. The "windows" are a vinyl material that isn't supposed to insulate or hold in much heat. I am hoping this will provide a much better air flow and give the feel of a screened porch during the warmer months, with the ability to protect from snow and rain when needed. I don't think we'd use it much when it is very cold other than to take off our boots so I'm not worried about keeping it extra warm. We may put an electric fireplace out there for cooler nights. I do believe there is some downward sloping on that side. It is visible if you look at the picture above of the stairs. You can see the gap is bigger on the right than the left. I think I will measure it out a little later to see how much a slope it is. The other side Isn't a problem at all because it has a sidewalk that slopes quite a bit away from the house....See Moreowlnsr
7 years agoMike McGarvey
7 years agojally
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7 years agoMike McGarvey
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