We've put soil and compost into the butterfly and bee attracting garden. Then the wife planted some flowers in one end of it. She hadn't checked whether they attract anything.
We've put soil and compost into the butterfly and bee attracting garden. Then the wife planted some flowers in one end of it. She hadn't checked whether they attract anything.
Two truckloads of ex-rice paddy soil was 1,000 baht. Have put about half of it into the vegetable gardens and combined with 30 large bags of compost. Buying another 30 bags of compost tomorrow. Compost is costing 60 baht per bag.
A cubic meter each of sand and rocks delivered this morning for 1,400 baht. We will use to make concrete and did so today for the trellis supports.
Bought this hardy plastic container to make concrete in. But the real reason is that it will become a bath and an occasional splash pool for the future dogs.
Did a bit of wood rasping a couple of days ago. Another hour of my life never to be recovered.
Concreted the trellis supports in this morning. Will plant the Australian and Thai passionfruit vines tomorrow. And probably the Flamevine/Orange Trumpetvine as well if I agree to take the wife to a nursery. No more photos for today.
Last edited by BoganInParasite; 09-02-2019 at 04:22 PM.
Buy a decent grinder plus a few different wheels for various materials, invaluable tool here!
Will be following this thread with interest as it is obvious you know what you are doing your setting about it in a structured manner, different to my slash, over-plant, replant, re plan method!
BiP
If you are going to get an excavtor in to trench the wall footings why not have them also dig out the teak stumps at the same time? It would be a better solution IMHO than cutting them lower down.
As for the black pool my dogs love jumping into the water at the river and local water hole but we bought one of these the other day and are in the process of trying to trsin them to get in and get wet. At the moment they still prefer to go to the local water hole as there is mud there.
As AP2 says get a hand held grinder and use it instead of a rasp. I used to use the rasp too but have given it up as hard work compared to using the grinder.
I look forward to seeing your place in 5 years time should look great but it takes time and effort to get there.
Hi ootai, I'd love to dig the stumps out but unless I decide to destroy the existing barbed wire/concrete post fence then I can't do it from my land, nor do I have permission to use the neighbours land. The fence is going to be replaced but not for several weeks and occasionally cattle are grazed on it so I need to leave it in place until ready to replace. At the moment I'm planning on leaving the teak stumps in the ground but will be getting a gent in with a chainsaw to reduce them below ground level. None are showing any signs of trying to regenerate in any way so perhaps they were indeed poisoned before felling. Regards, - BiP
Another load of locally made compost, thirty bags at 60 baht each. Certainly made the Hilux take notice. This is the last compost we'll get, a total of sixty large bags.
BIP: in case you are going to introduce dog(s) to your landscaping, perhaps you should make certain precautions: the dogs love flower beds, especially when it's boring for them to be home alone and during the long nights outside.
(just my two cents of a dog owner coming out of the house some mornings, getting mad when seeing what has happened over night)
So the wife got a nursery trip today and it only cost me 320 baht. We got two Flamevine or Orange Trumpetvine plants for 60 baht each and these have been planted on the trellis on the west boundary in front of the concrete fence. Bit of a milestone, these are the first two plants we've planted on the land. But several more to come today and this week.
We've planted the passionfruit vines on the trellis inside of the back yard and on the west boundary. It has been positioned there to cast shade on the walk-in-robe and bathroom 1 in the hot month afternoons. The vine on the right is the Thai passionfruit. The three on the left are the Australian passionfruits. Likely I'll cull at least one of the Aussies once I can see which two are more vigorous.
Another milestone, the first planting of a proper tree. We planted two Yellow Indian trees about a meter inside the south boundary. The intent is there will be six on that boundary, three either side of the drive. We'll plant three more tomorrow and the final one when we remove the existing Cassia tree.
Looking good, BIP.
Takes time.
A tip regarding such activity before you get into too deeply - a manicured jungle look might be much more preferable than the typical urban floral landscape.
Personal taste and location apply, of course.
Best to all the efforts.
Cheers!!
BIP: when I am already in the lavish mood, another 2 of my cents:
I think once you had mentioned that you can live without a motorized gate. I doubt that you will claim that again within not very long time frame.
Beside the manual opening/closing the gate (and hopping in/out the car and once again when succeded with the rusty padlock) once going for shopping, there will be visitors, village merchants with organical eggs and vegetable, postman bringing your heavy pension and POD mail. And many others that will force you to put something quickly on over your underwear once in the middle of your thread posting - and hurrying to the gate, not letting the visitor to stand long on the rain (not minding your own discommode).
When all of these scenarios you will not mind but welcome as a necessary exercise to lose some kgs there will be many other scenarios with your future dog(s). The gate will have to be permanently closed as the dog(s) welcome every narrow gap for escaping, they need to forage the outside world.
And when you will go with them at least twice a day for an obligatory walk (and for a good exercise for you), not always they will come back together with you. Sometimes they (or just one of them) turn back on the last meter wanting to enjoy a bit more the outside world. So, you will give up calling him, he surely will come back, but not just now. You better go into the house and have a beer, watching remotely the gate when he (they) will be so kind and come home at last, forced also by their empty stomach.
For all this, after all, you would enjoy to have a small thing in your pocket and play with the gate remotely, not having to change your shoes and go out again and attaching the rusty padlock for the night.
So, I believe, that for my 2 cents you will once realize the richness of my advice being worth of a bottle of good wine for me when you decide to realize it as long as you have there some people to help with the gate preparation and with some cable connections.
You can buy the sliding machine in GH for 10,000 + something for the installation they are offering. Then you need a power cable feeding 220V from the house connected to a breaker adjacent to the gate - it serves you for switching off the automatic closing when you are there doing something, leaving the door open.
And together with the power cable to pull also another tiny cable for a pushbutton in the house - for opening the gate (once the dog comes) once your remote controller is hanging in the car or somewhere in pocket of the pants thrown already into washing machine. To this pushbutton connection you can have another pushbutton secretly placed ouside near the gate (I have it under the spirit house), for the same easy opening once outside working on the flower beds.
Important is to have a pipe under or next to the rail for connection between the IR sensors on the two gate columns for avoiding a gate closing when anything appearing in the line of the sensors.
I have it now over 10 years in operation and if one day it does not work (from any reason, e.g. power off) we too feel out of service either.
B.I.P. The “yellow Indian” trees ....... is that the Ratchapruek/ Golden Rain Tree/Cassia fistula ? Or something else ?
If so, you don’t want to plant them too close too each other.
Thanks Klondyke, I'm going to try the suck and see approach. Until I get chickens the front gate will be opened in the morning and closed in the evening. Despite being a bit anti-social, I actually want folks to be able to easily reach the carport and front of the house. The dogs when we get them will be in the locked back yard and on a leash before being allowed out of there. Once the chicken arrive I do have a decision to make. If I want to restrict them to the front yard then I'll need to close the gate and yes, a motorized gate with remote is definitely the go. If I decide to encourage them to free range but not go out of the front yard then I can keep the current option. But there are already soi dogs coming into the yard and I suspect they and chickens are not going to get on. In anticipation of a motorized front gate (and a light) I did run power to the front of the land. Regards, -BiP
PS! Not quite what you have immediately beside your place but we do have a couple of streams quite close to our place (2-4 minute drive) I'm hoping the dogs are permitted to swim.
Hi mikenot, short answer is I really don't know. According to the wife when we purchased them the sign in Thai only said Yellow Indian, nothing else. However what I do know is that this is the tree it is supposed to be. This is a stand in the middle of 101 opposite Nan airport. They seemed to group these trees in threes. However we've planted one meter back from the front boundary and two meters between them. When we are next in Nan will swing by the nursery and see if they can elaborate any more on the species. Regards, -BiP
Been a busy few days outside. Yesterday we planted two lime trees and a kaffir lime tree on the western side of the house near the passion fruit vines. None of these citrus nor the passion fruits like anything underneath them so we'll permanently mulch the area. After contacting the owners of the land either side of us we took down the existing barbed wire from the east, south and west boundaries. We also got a back hoe in today and removed the stumps and concrete fence posts from the east boundary in front of the house. After lunch the back hoe dug a short trench on the north boundary near the north west corner and a longer trench along west boundary for 8-10 meters. These trenches are for the porous retaining wall we need in the north west corner.
However the day didn't start well. I had to get some water and milk and when I returned home thirty minutes later there was water gushing on the front boundary, our neighbour, the village head, the wife and the back hoe owner/operator. Despite the front boundary not being part of his work scope he thought he'd clear it on the way onto our property. Well guess what was just below the surface. (Of course it wasn't his fault...)
Some of the stumps resisted being ripped out quite heroically.
Not all of the wild life was entirely happy.
The end result was pretty tidy though.
Trenching on the west boundary from the north west corner. The back hoe cost 4,500 baht for the day including an additional labourer.
This is a two meter trench on the north boundary. Didn't need it to be as deep as the west boundary trench.
The Cassia tree on the south boundary had a bad day. Will hand dig it out since it was close to the broken water pipe I didn't want the back hoe anywhere near it. Several women turned up to pick the younger shoots off it and got quite a large plastic bag full. Said they boil it with salt and eat with pickles.
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