My Greenhouse and farm

[Loph]

maybe not quite clay, but not far off! we have it reworked so the top foot is fluffy (until its watered). when i dug the hole for the water pond i was jumping (in rage i may add ) on the shovel, and it would go down maybe 6" tops. the pick ax at full swing goes down 6-10"....crazy hard.

the other day i found out something interesting though. i was digging way down to put in some rebar to hold things down for when typhoons come and the hard layer is about 2-3 feet deep. i dug a 3 foot deep hole (took 30 minutes!) and tried to push the rebar down so i wouldnt have to dig more. i put all my weight into it and it budged a couple inches, i gae it one more huge push and WHAM, flat on my face...sunk right in like butter...the soil underneath is VERY soft, and i got a cut up nose and bruise to prove it lol.

i have not tested the ph or looked carefully, but its pretty solid and lacking anything useful in it, which is likely why people are so fertilizer dependent. but i have a 5 year plan to try and turn at least the top layer into a darker/richer soil through composting. also interested in doing aquaculture/aquaponics/vertical crops etc, but may need a bigger piece fo land.

[daiv]

That is interesting. I wonder if part of the reason is due to the constant rain that literally washes the nutrients out of the soil.

[dustin0352]

Awsome set up you have! I love the farm and the palms that surround it! If I had that property I would build a little hut and live out there!

[Saguaro123]

Nice greenhouse and landscaping!

[Loph]

If I had that property I would build a little hut and live out there!

we were going to build a little house and live there, but we saw that all the other farmers spray herbicides, so we decided that would be a bad idea, especially when we are trying to have a baby...not good.

I wonder if part of the reason is due to the constant rain that literally washes the nutrients out of the soil.

yes, i think your right.i am worried all my leaf litter and compost will wash away every year, but never know til you try.

the palms are coconut and betel nut. the coconut houses all kinds of birds and bats, so at night you always hear stuff and the odd frond or coconut falls to the ground and flashes of all those ghost movies you saw as a kid flash into your head

today got all my squash/pumpkins planted along with some herbs. now back to digging the second irrigation pond, this one will have fish though.

[Peterthecactusguy]

that sounds sorta like your typical AZ river bed soil to me. Actually there are sometimes huge rocks in the way. I dug three holes for pecan trees today on the flood plain of the Aqua Fria and I hit so many rocks it was crazy. Worst part about that is that it was bulldozed during the pipeline construction deal. Whatever type of soil you have it doesnt sound like much fun digging in it. I have broken shovels digging in AZ's dirt. Dang caliche.

[king_hedes]

my house is nothing but fine sand so i can dig a 6 ft hole in a few hours but a few parts in my yard are clay any that sucks to did in and at my buddys house it clay and hard soil impossible to dig when dry

[Loph]

peter sounds quite like it, but being a farm most of the rocks are gone. i am on shovel handle #3 right now, made with mahogany...shame almost. wish we had stronger oak here.

your a lucky cactus grower to be on sand, though im sure a rose growing neighbour might not feel the same lol.

started digging the main rain collector/tank for the farms water (that round one is only meant for the greenhouse). this one will be much larger, about 15x30x6 feet.

[Peterthecactusguy]

Loph,
hell it must be nice not having any rocks. The worst part about the dang caliche is after you get going half the time you have a billion rocks stuck in the middle. Ah well. And yeah mahogany that sounds like a waste of pretty wood for a shovel handle. Ah well there isnt oak everywhere in the world and some oak is also very pretty.

[iann]

We use Ash for tool handles. English Oak (a white oak) is strong but much heavier and not quite so shock resistant. Lots of oaks though, some not very strong.

[Peterthecactusguy]

Iann, white oak is really strong, but heavy like you said. Sometimes on the trees they lose branches due to their weight. Back when I lived in PA there was an old white oak tree that lost many branches over the years because it basically grew too much and they got too heavy.

I think that one of the shovels I broke was made out of ash.

[iann]

If you break an Ash handle, maybe try to find one made from Hickory. Pretty much impossible over here, but I know its available on the East coast at least.

[Peterthecactusguy]

Iann, I am pretty sure the new one that I got was made out of hickory. Which is a shame cause that wood makes a good BBQ just like all the mesquite that we have growing around these parts naturally.

[Loph]

hickory eh, never thought of that for tools, its pretty expensive where i come from! then again so is mahogany, but here is cheap. in small pieces. neat how the "one mans trash is another mans treasure" thing is so relevant in so many areas lol.

i threatened my wife if one more breaks im going to mail order one from canada at about $200 postage.

the ones i used there were oak and lasted a good 20 years of digging hard stuff, frozen stuff etc.

started collecting rocks for the cactus area outside. want to raise it up a meter to keep it clear of the floods and use rock base then fill with sand/rock/grit as i use in my pots.

[Peterthecactusguy]

Loph that sounds like a good idea. I am thinking of doing something sorta like that in my yard here in AZ to grow some native cacti. We shall see, on project at a time