My Garden Progress

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Kevin Cowans, Jul 19, 2018.

  1. CanadianLori

    CanadianLori Total Gardener

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    @Kevin Cowans I get the feeling you did the right thing for your peace of mind. Cut him out. Take your losses. And get a good night's sleep!

    I think we've all been there and got tired of the nonsense and walked away. :)

    Your garden is supposed to be a place of calm. Not a source of aggro!
     
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    • Sheal

      Sheal Total Gardener

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      Yes I agree, you have done the right thing Kevin. :) Sometimes things become a lost cause.
       
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      • Kevin Cowans

        Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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        Hello all

        I hope you are well.

        Well, I have been busy in the garden recently, I have installed the guttering on the Shed, laid the cabling for the Garden Lights, mounted the Transformer and Sensor for the lights and installed the Garden Camera.

        20210501_095841.jpg


        20210501_095857.jpg


        20210501_095920.jpg


        There is only one light at the moment but I will be adding at least two more, one for each tree.

        I just need to tidy the cables now.

        The view from the Garden Camera:

        2021-05-01_10-04-50-348.jpg

        I have also replaced some of the Drip Irrigation Drippers for larger output ones, so I now have 8lph Drippers on all the Shrubs, 4lph Drippers on the Perennials and 2lph Drippers on a few of the plants that do not require much supplemental watering such as the Lavender, Rosemary and Sage.

        I have also, finally, put the Drippers on the plants in the Front Garden, except three, I ran out of Stakes :wallbanging:

        All of the plants look much happier :)

        Thanks

        Kevin
         
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          Last edited: May 1, 2021
        • Sheal

          Sheal Total Gardener

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          It all looks good to me Kevin. :thumbsup: It's good to achieve things that we don't think we're capable of and it boosts our confidence to try others. So have you got another project lined up? :)
           
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          • Kevin Cowans

            Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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            Hello @Sheal

            Thanks, it is good to have got those jobs completed, mostly.

            Unfortunately, my sense of Self (Belief, Confidence, Esteem etc.) are things I tend to struggle with on a daily basis :sad:

            It is fun being me :wallbanging:

            Yes, there is another job I have been putting off.

            I need to remove all the river pebbles from the Water Feature, lay a fine (5mm) mesh over the metal grid and then place the pebbles back.

            I need the fine mesh as the grid has holes that are approximately 50mm x 50mm and debris such as fallen leaves etc. tends to fall in to the reservoir.

            I have been trying to figure out the best way to put the mesh in place, I am not going to be able to move the Basalt Column as it weighs approximately 75Kg so I need to somehow cut the mesh around it.

            Also, the soil around the Water Feature is kept moist as the plants in that area need the extra water so walking in that area is difficult.

            I am probably (more than likely) overthinking it, but hey, everyone needs a hobby.

            Thanks

            Kevin
             
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            • Kevin Cowans

              Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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              Hello all

              I hope you are well.

              Well, I bit the bullet, ouch :smile:

              I removed the river pebbles from around the Water Feature and cut a hole in the mesh as best I could, the issue being that the Basalt Column is a different shape at the bottom than it is at the top :wallbanging:

              Anyway, I managed to get a relatively close fit around the bottom of the column and then placed some of the pebbles back in place.

              I have not cut the mesh around the outside yet as I will wait until I can get (afford) smaller pebbles to go over the area and spill out onto the bed so that it does not look like a circle.

              This is how it now looks, hopefully the mesh will stop the majority of debris, hopefully.

              20210505_102332.jpg

              I have also added some Sludge Buster to the reservoir, hopefully that will help to clear the water.

              Now I have the mesh in place I will drain and clean the reservoir when the weather improves using a pump I have that can handle small solids and then refill the reservoir with clean water.

              Thanks

              Kevin
               
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                Last edited: May 5, 2021
              • CanadianLori

                CanadianLori Total Gardener

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                • Sheal

                  Sheal Total Gardener

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                  Hi Kevin,

                  Yes, I understand that from what you have said in the past. Each time you achieve something new it should give you a confidence boost to attempt something else and a pat on the back at the same time. :)

                  That's a good idea with the mesh. It looks like the base is raised so is it possible to cut the mesh so you can hammer it down around the outer edge. If so it won't need attaching.
                   
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                  • Kevin Cowans

                    Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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                    Hello @Sheal

                    Thanks, unfortunately any confidence boost I gain from doing something only applies to that one job and does not carry over to the next, difficult to explain, sorry :sad:

                    Regarding the mesh, unfortunately, I was only able to source mesh that was 1000mm in width and since the reservoir is 900mm in diameter I do not have much hang over to work with.

                    You are correct in that the grid is raised, it sits on top of the reservoir which sits just above soil level so in all it sits maybe 50mm above soil level.

                    I think I have worked out what I am going to do and it involves Bobby Pins :)

                    I am going to cut the mesh so it has a small overhang, maybe 5mm or so and then use the Bobby Pins to attach the mesh to the steel grid.

                    I also need to remember to cut the mesh out where the door is located and lay a separate piece of mesh in that section so I have access to the reservoir when needed.

                    Once that is done I will just need to dress the area with Black River Pebbles to blend it in to the surroundings.

                    Sounds simple, right :dunno:

                    Thanks

                    Kevin
                     
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                    • Sheal

                      Sheal Total Gardener

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                      Hi Kevin,

                      No need to apologise and there's no need to try and explain. :) But what you do say I take onboard and it gives me a little understanding of how you cope with challenges as they arise.

                      What you have decided to do with the mesh sounds promising so I hope it goes to plan. It does sound simple as you say but we know things don't always work out the way we would like. There's always something that niggles with most jobs but there always seems to be a way around it too. Good luck!
                       
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                      • Kevin Cowans

                        Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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                        Hello all

                        Well, I have done a bit more work on the Water Feature.

                        I have trimmed the mesh around the circumference and fixed it down using the Bobby Pins.

                        Thankfully, the mesh can be cut using scissors so was easy to cut.

                        The idea with using the Bobby Pins worked quite well except for a couple of points around the grid where I could not get the Bobby Pin all the way down due to a slight overlap of the Grid and the Reservoir, however, moving along slightly solved that issue.

                        This is how it now looks:

                        20210509_162134.jpg

                        Much neater, next I need to cut out the area where the access door is which is just where you can see the cable exiting.

                        I will wait a while though as the soil was wetter than I thought and I will not need access to the reservoir until Summer(ish) anyway as that is when I will be draining the reservoir, cleaning it and refilling with clean water.

                        I also need to figure out how to get the pebbles at the soil level to blend with the pebbles on top of the grid.

                        I have now run out of pebbles so I will have to get hold of some more, when finances allow, larger pebbles to finish off the first layer then smaller, if I can find them, to go on top to fill any gaps left by the placement of the larger pebbles.

                        Thanks

                        Kevin
                         
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                          Last edited: May 9, 2021
                        • Sheal

                          Sheal Total Gardener

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                          Hi Kevin,

                          That looks good to me. :thumbsup: Could you build up the soil around the grid and slope it away gently? Or change to bigger stones so that they overlap the edges. Perhaps paddle stones which are round and flat.
                           
                        • Kevin Cowans

                          Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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                          Hello @Sheal

                          Unfortunately, building up the soil is not an option as there is a small gap between the top of the reservoir and the grid laying on top so the soil may get into the reservoir.

                          What I am going to try is lay another layer of pebbles between the two lines of pebbles that are present which should take the layer up to the level of the pebbles on the grid, then I will use smaller pebbles to blend the pebbles together.

                          What can I say, It works in my head :)

                          Thanks

                          Kevin
                           
                        • Sheal

                          Sheal Total Gardener

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                          Well it's worth trying another layer. Let's hope it works in reality as well as your head. :)
                           
                        • Kevin Cowans

                          Kevin Cowans Super Gardener

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                          Hello @Sheal

                          One can hope :)

                          Kevin
                           
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