Child of the Planet

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Continuing work on the third raised garden prepping it for the garlic this winter. Coffee grounds and ash Collected three trailer loads of horse shit and applied a thick layer. The second raised garden is being prepped for winter veg. It also got a layer of horse shit.    

 

 

 

Throw it into a trailer.... Stand it in the garden bed...

This is the garlic I received from Moa Valley farms today. Now if we could just convince the world to get rid of plastic packing tape.

I’ve been hanging out at the new wood recycling center that’s been established at the Otaki tip. Decided to do a quick project using my Arbortech tools and something pulled out of the ‘free bin’. Secured this bit o pine to my Triton vice. Roughed out a depression with the turbo shaft. Made the depression deeper and a bit undercut with the ball gouge. Marked out the depth of the hollow section Roughed out the carving of the base with the industrial woodcarver Started refining things with the turbo plane. Couple of hours later after a bit of sanding with the mini turbo

In the past I’ve accumulated material, then hired a chipper and spent a day reducing the pile to mulch ( click here to view ) This is a hassle because of the room the accumulating pile takes up and the potential fire risk. And there is the time wasted driving to another town to pick up the hire. The Stihl 355 is really light weight so it can be rolled most places in the garden. Nice big wheels. As I detailed in the previous blog entry ( click here ), this chipper has some quirks. The shredded material is deposited inside a shroud where it sits, and builds up until it blocks off the exit chute. Most of the blade clearance issues I have are when this backed up material jams the blades. Last week I did some more mulching into one of the raised gardens. First lot I had to mulch was a softwood tree. Softer than willow. When the shroud fills up, I drag the chipper back a bit clearing the exit chute and creating a trail of shredded material. I swapped between the ‘leaf’ and ‘branch’ settings,...

We have just started a wood recycling program here. For the grand opening last Sunday, I made a planter box, for a plant that was to be unveiled. I scrounged up some wood from the material we have already accumulated  on site. I’m really liking how when you sand plywood, fractal patterns emerge. Glued the panels together    Clamps are your friend. Holds everything up so I can fiddle with fit before screwing together. Forty five degree cuts suck.     Used the off-cuts to make stops for the floor of the case.