Re: Home and garden projects
 

Wanted to spruce up my deck garden for herbs and chilies this year. Scavenged some wood pallets from a local business to raise the pots off the ground, then found a free baker's rack on Craigslist that provided a finishing touch. (Going by the photo, I'm going to have to water this evening!)

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...c1bfdf3079.jpg

Re: Home and garden projects
 

I'd be a bit worried about the water that will be trapped between the pallettes and the deck boards. Speaking of which - those deck boards look like they need a bit of TLC! We bought a house in 95 that had a spectacular deck, and we proceeded to put a bunch of planter boxes on it, and installed a drip watering system. 10 years later, we had to spend over $30,000 to repair the deck! The constant water presence caused the support beams under the deck to rot. Deck boards are relatively easy and cheap to replace, but the support structure is another story. This deck was 45' x 15', and 40' up in the air, cantilevered from the main house, and so $10,000 of that repair was a massive scaffold to reach the bottom of the deck. I took pictures of the old deck as they demolished it and rebuilt from scratch. Some scary wood rot!

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...88e45a80f3.png
This was something like a 4x10 cross-beam spanning a 15' section. The white part is the main body and was almost unaffected, but the end part, which sat in a 'hanger', was completely rotted out.
This pic shows one of those cross-beams still in place, prior to demolition (several deck boards have already been removed):

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...e4518a620e.png
The main cross-beams rested on metal hangers attached to even bigger beams coming from the house. The planter boxes were placed directly above these joints, and probably indirectly delivered a constant supply of moisture for 10 years, 365 days a year. Decks do remarkably well thanks to airflow, and you can see that much of the structure is still sound, but the area where the beam sits in the hanger was the victim of trapped water, and no airflow.

This is another shot, taken after removing the very first deck board. The deck boards were 'just fine' - looked just like yours, no obvious rot. This shows the same situation as above - the cross beam joining the main support beam coming from the house, and you can see the top of the metal hanger, nailed to the main support beam. The cross-beam was basically hollowed out where it sat in the hanger.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...b653379788.png

We were actually about to sell the house, and we did a 'pre-inspection' to get a head-start on any repairs. The only visible problem was that one of the railings was a bit loose! Those railings were directly bolted to the cross beams, hence the wobble. The inspector basically told us NOT to even set foot on the deck, taped it off with 'caution' tape, and told us to get help!

Re: Home and garden projects
 

I appreciate your concern. You wouldn't believe how recently the deck was repaired and re-stained -- multiple dogs get the stain off in no time, and we're resigned to having it look scruffy! Yes, we monitor for rot all the time -- in actual fact, I think that raising the pots off the ground could be helpful -- nothing has puddled underneath the new risers and I use dishes under any pots that let water through. I'm rather more concerned about it becoming a safe haven for the chipmunks under there . . .

Off topic, a bird has nested in a hanging basket out in the garden -- every time I go by she is sitting there in the same position. I cannot imagine the patience it takes to sit there week in and week out!

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Never mind all that You got a white ducky in there :wub:

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He's not alone! The others just aren't visible from this angle. :wave:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Perhaps if you ever need to move the plants, you could put some sort of feet on the pallets - perhaps a galvanized hex bolt underneath at each corner to make an adjustable foot and give room for the deck boards to dry out. We have terracotta feet which we use at least for the large pots, to keep them off the ground, allow effective drainagle and hopefully discourage nesting insects from moving in. :fingerscrossed:
We used to have chipmunks, but the cats seemed to run them off, or worse. :(
If we put ferns out in hanging baskets on our porch then we usually get Carolina wrens nesting in them. We hang one fern in each bay, and have had as many as three wrens nesting simultaneously in the four fern baskets. :blink:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

I love the sound of that! Yesterday evening when I tried to sneak a look at Mrs. Bird in her basket, I discovered little beaks reaching skywards, while she screamed at me from a nearby tree. I'm glad she's finally getting some exercise!

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:wub:

Re: Home and garden projects
 

After a very slow brick and block laying process my covered pavilion project is ready to have slab poured. The slab pour and finish is the only part I am not doing myself. Pouring large concrete projects is like a Chinese fire drill and not something for amateurs. I am proud of myself for this first time masonry project. The sides vary by less than 1/4 inch.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...75f40e4d9.jpeg

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Looking good! :thumbup:

I agree, I don't think I would ever try to do a big concrete pouring project myself.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Our hydroponic system is producing edible things now. So far I have only picked cucumbers and we had a green pepper that I knocked off the plant while mowing :( Aubergine/eggplant is on the menu for dinner tomorrow (https://thewoksoflife.com/japanese-e...asil-stir-fry/) but will be with ordinary soil grown basil as we don't have the Thai basil going full throttle yet. Peppers are starting to ripen and there should be plenty of tomatoes in due course. There may or may not be melons, time will tell. This is a favourite recipe for the tomatoes to make a change from salads https://iambaker.net/tomato-galette/


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...de6a53b43f.jpg
Peppers starting to ripen

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...a4d6ba384f.jpg
Asian aubergines/eggplants growing in Dutch buckets

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...213fb8229a.jpg
Cucumber variety Tasty Green, mature at about 9" long.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...44f2d3f0ba.jpg
Cucumber variety Minime, mature at 4" to 5" long.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...c24a462812.jpg
Basil only went in this weekend, but usually grows prolifically. This is the sweet basil, Thai basil will go in tonight and I am going to try parsley too.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...4ea5020751.jpg
Grape tomatoes are looking promising and tend to get snacked on once they are ripe.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...49c32150ef.jpg
The bigger tomatoes will go into salads and other more interesting things.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

Great looking garden.

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Last Thursday I got my slab poured. A three man Mexican crew of questionable visa status did a great job. I then proceeded to place the five block high chimney blocks that will form the bottom of the support columns. I welded up fittings to the steel supports that will go inside the block and then filled with concrete. The blocks will be covered in brick and artificial stone.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...f215a80ff.jpeg

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Thanks for posting -- I really enjoy getting a look at your setup! The produce I'm concentrating on this year is basil -- eleven portions of pesto in the freezer so far -- and chilies -- five jars of Indian-style chili pickle made and getting ready to pickle some jalapeno rings. Lettuce is starting to tail off in the heat, but lots of leaf parsley for salads.

Re: Home and garden projects
 

It's the first time I've seen anything like this. I expect you have no problem with weeds, little or no problem with slugs, slightly less of a problem with pests, and no difference with birds? Nice crops.