Thread: Sorting the Garden

First, I pick a nice cool day, find the radio, iced water, mobile etc. Load everything in the barrow and toddle off, out of site, and earshot from everyone else. With the radio blaring and a stream of bemused locals, using the soi down the side, I start on the hole, using the jod. After twenty odd minutes, I'm weezing like the perverbial 70 year old who's attempting to 'entertain' a pay-as-you-go Thai sweetie. A short rest, drink and then a prayer and I have another go. Some time later, I have a nice deep hole, a bit wider than the pipe.



As it is an Isaan syle thing, it's bladdy heavy to move and I know that I can't actually pick it up. So I have a cunning plan. Using the soil, taken from the hole, I make a little ramp, with the idea of sliding it over and then plopping it in.



So much for theory. It gets stuck in the side of the hole and I can't move the wretched thing. The language was appalling and there was no one in the soi to help. I needed some sort of lever and spent a lot of time looking for one. It was starting to get dark, when I liberated a bit of old fence post from the shop next door and the drain pipe, finally, slid in a treat.



Next day, after one of Mrs. LoomB's massages, three coffees, and thirty minutes of Ash's greatest hits, the other hole took less than an hour to dig. Fitting the other pipe in, took about ten minutes.



All I need now is some nice soil and a coat, or tway, of white cement seal. This bit of the garden, gets the sun for most of the day, so I am planning a seat and a blaze of colour. A few solar lamps here and there and the odd mirror will finish it off. All this will come later, now i'm just waiting for the grass to grow a bit.

Somone 'up there' must have heard me, cos it soon starts to rain, with a vengeance. This put any further work 'on hold' for the best part of a week. When it stopped for a rest, I noticed this new lake, behind ours.



Traction was impossible and motivation evporated with each sliding step so I retreated to the clubhouse to wait it out.

Time passes

It's still raining, but not quite so hard. We need to get on and put some sort of roof over the tank and pump, to get them out of the sun. Under the stern eye of the mrs, Khun Mow tries to flatten the soggy mess so that he can mark out with the usual stick.



We have decided on some of those cement posts with a flat base at one end. The sort that you would have for rasing your teak wood style home, as used by many of the neighbours. This handy DIY pack, came with ready sawn timber and all the nuts and bolts. The angle iron and plastic pipes are waiting for the waterfall project.



It's starting to get a bit late when the posts arrive,



...and I am in the shower when I hear more excitement from behind. The MIL has given us two of her spare water jars and it has taken the crew all afternoon to get them loaded and transported here, about 6Km. Not my best shot, but the best that I could do with slightly soapy hands.



Next morning, and all marked out, the boys start digging holes for the posts. Mow starts with the Jod,



...and Loong follows behind with the post hole tool.



After a certain depth, he has to resort to using his hands,



...and here's why. Wet, Issan style, clay is something else that us westeners havn't come accross. If this was cement, it would be perfect for laying slabs.



With the holes dug and the team taking a breather, I get the job of checking the nuts and bolts. The other ends of the posts have pre-formed holes, so it's an easy job to put the timbers in.



A telephone call then sends the team off on a wild Goose chase and we have to abandon work for the rest of the day. More tomorrow.

loving it all, blinding thread!!

LoomB,too say that I am green with envey is and understatement,it's all looking Bladdy Good.Just been thinking,and thought I would pick your Brain's.HollyHocks,Lupins and Delphiniums, Would they grow in Thailand or would it be to hot?.Whats the law like on bringing seed's of non native plant's into Thailand?.Last but not least do they have problems with Slugs and Rust in the Land of Smiles?

That's a good question and the short answer is, I don't know. Most stuff could be encoraged to grow, with the right combination of soil/compost, water and shade. Roses grow ok but the only ones that I have seen have been the basic three rows of petals and no smell variety. Orchids would be the way to go, as they love the stuff in Coconuts to get them going. As far as I know, one would need an import licence for anything non-native.

I have not seen any slugs, but there are more than enough strange beetles, about the place, that eat anything! Rust, again, I don't know but i will be making enquiries.

Originally Posted by Issan Man

LoomB,too say that I am green with envey is and understatement,it's all looking Bladdy Good.Just been thinking,and thought I would pick your Brain's.HollyHocks,Lupins and Delphiniums, Would they grow in Thailand or would it be to hot?.Whats the law like on bringing seed's of non native plant's into Thailand?.Last but not least do they have problems with Slugs and Rust in the Land of Smiles?

We have brought lots of veggie seeds in, but from Portugal. They like the hot weather and thrive

Flowers may be Ok; one advantage of foreign plants is that the insects and diseases do not recognise them so leave them alone most of the time

The rain is becoming a bit of a problem. It's at times like this when I fully apreciate the fact that the site is suitably higher than the surrounding countyside. The 'pond' next door has spread to half the field. Note the grass, starting to grow like mad.



During the lull, the team decided to get down and try to finish. The Gardener's aged, but hale, Isaan style wheel barrow was pressed into service, for one last major task. A mobile pug mixing tank.



The hole bottoms were rammed flat and a little sand was added.



Next, a layer of cement and this was rammed flat.



Next, the posts were plopped in. Loong held them upright but his initial enthusiasm was starting to wear off. Something to do with Mow dropping the spirit level on his foot.



A little hardcore was then added to the holes to stop them trying to escape,



...and then they were securely pugged in.



At this point, we all broke for lunch. I wizzed off to the local 7/11, to er.. check for new staff. When I returned, it was all over.



That white cable is for the TV, and nearly caused a number of choking fatalities by poeple wizzing round the path on their bikes. It was, later, relocated. The temporary aerial is, of couse, up the handy tree.

Now that looks like my kind of Rose. I don't suppose you remember the name of that Orchid place?

I enjoy the thread





What about the bananas? I have been told that moskitos breed in those water puddles at the stem of the leaves so better don't have them around the house.

The pond would probably have fish so not too many moskito larvae growing up there.

BosseO,nice Roses Mate,there more like the kind of thing we have here in the UK

^^^ No, they only had a sign in Thai that wifey translated as Orchid Supermarket. We were just out driving around exploring the surroundings.

Great work LB, loving the thread.

A small ammount of time passes and I am quite keen to get some sort of planting under way. There is one last major thing to do. The path, around the front of the house, is not really wide enough. It needs to be a bit wider to take a truck, as the septic tanks are out the back and we don't want people trying to drive round there. I didn't want a vast expanse of cement out side the front door either, so some sort of compromise was called for. We settled on another 1 1/2 Metres, which should be plenty. The land was well compacted already, so it was just a case of marking, edging, chucking some sand on the bottom, the usual rebar grid and a load of pre-mix. Easy, I thought.

The first bit went a treat. The Builders had left lots of handy edging and Mow and Loong made quick work of digging a little trench,



...and putting the boards up.



We had to treat ourselves to some new nails and some rebar. Wire, for tying, and sand, we had plenty of, and soon we had the little grid all ready.



The problems started with the arrival of the cement mixer, who sat outside for ages wondering if he could fit between the new pillars for the gate.



My suggestion that he should come in backwards and drive up to the pour point was greeted with the usual derision, so I kept quiet and waited for him to get stuck.



This was about one in the afternoon and we had one extra chap from the local village to help. We did not have loads of plastic buckets or a tin bath, so it was essential to get the mixer close enough to the site. Anyway, the driver started digging,



..and then tries to drive out. Then everyone has a go at digging,



..and about two hours later, the team manage to push him out,



...leaving some fancy holes.



At this point, everyone thinks that it would be a good idea to stop for a beer and the driver turns the engine off. I am still laughing like a drain but Mrs. LoomB is not amused.

shouldve got some pics of the missus going into the red, that wouldve been a giggle

Khun Loom,

As U R only too well aware, any suggestings to alter the local practices for the way in doing something, especially by a non local, too often gets overlooked. Now U had the last laugh when it came to the cement truck but the agrivation one goes through to get stuff accomplished the way it one want's is of no consequence to the locals. Again, it might very well be a face thing.

Anyway, I'm taking notes as my garden project will commence upon my return back to Thai in Jan. Keep the good stuff coming.... Ciao!

After the briefest ice cold beer, and a quick coffee for the camera man, the team gerd themselves into a frenzy of inconsequence. The new guy assumes point and sprays a bit of water about. The others prepare for an exciting session of jodding and squelchy toes.



About four hours after the cement truck pulled in, we are ready to start pouring.



Progress is rapid but we have to add a lot of water to the mix to make it workable. This means that we have a wide splatter area and lots of mess.



This old bit of roofing was pressed into sevice when the driver chickened out of any more complicated reversing manouvers.



The point man (never did get his name) proved to be very handy with the float so the others let him get on with it.



It was just starting to look fantastic, when the local fourlegged inspector came around for a quick sniff and thought that he was in Hollywood.



Fortunately, we noticed it in time,



..and the team managed a very good job. The groove, between the old and the new, is to stop a large crack forming and is not deep enough to fall over.



The driver wanted extra money because he had been there most of the afternoon and reckoned that he could have got another load in for someone else. Mrs. LoomB politely pointed out that when Papa (me) tells you to come in backwards and reverse to the pouring point, it is because he knows that the ground is wet, and now he has to pay people for five hours instead of three. The driver waied me and rapidly vanished.

Loong kindly stayed late and filled in all the holes made by the mixer,



...and Mow posed with his Isaan style, ground worker's sock, before a quick wash and home to feed his Cows.

LoomB,What is Thai skin made from,don't they get concrete Burns?!!.I find it amazing that they can paddle around in concrete and nothing happens to there skin,the bladdy stuff burnt me oneday on site,and now I am very cautious when pouring foundations.Also it's good to see that it is not just British readymix drivers,that have a habit of getting stuck even when they are told not to drive on to a certain area

^No, for some reason they don't seem to be affected by cement. They don't even sneeze when there's powder in the air. As for the mixer, we always order from the same company and nower days, we get a better deal. We have had the same two drivers for most of the deliveries and they should know better by now.

Mind you, if I was driving the truck and some 'jolly foreigner', with only a passing knowlege of English, told me what to do, or where to go, I would probably ignore them and seek further clarification.

With the cementing completed and the edges removed, I figured that that was everything just about done and I was keen to get on with some planting. I had bought some baby Fu ang Far, in pots, ages ago. I had them just outside the door back at the bugalow and had been loving them every day. Unfortunately, they don't like a lot of water/tlc and had responded by dropping all the pretty bits and turning brown. Once moved to a lonely spot and forgotten about, they soon recovered.



I had chosen my spot with care and had a number of colours that went well together. I really fancied a low hedge at the edge of the path opposite the front door so I made a little test area, to see what would happen. First we dig a hole, a bit bigger than the pot that the plant is in. As you can see, the soil is a mixture of sand, clay and that red/brown stuff.



Next, we cut up the soil at the bottom to give some sort of transition from the good stuff at the top.



Good stuff is available in many forms. This Panda brand is similar to potting compost and will give our babies a decent start.



We mix a little good stuff with the soil at the bottom and end up with a bit of neat at the top.



We are not going to firm it down yet, as the sharp eyed amongst you will have noticed that we haven't put the plant in. I always make the hole with my fist or fingers, if I am using neat potting compost. That way, it gets compressed outwards and down a bit and it saves having to top off the hole afterwards. These Fu ang Far things have a delicate root structure and do not like to be handled, for this reason, we carefully cut off the plastic pot and put everything in. Dedicated sharp sissors are good for this and don't let the mrs. know that you have any.



One, in isolation, looks a little sad, so I have a few to make a run down the path and round the corner to run along the back. They will have one drink and then they will be ignored by Mr. Water-Inkan.



Meanwhile, down in the front meadow, the local amatuer Cow keeping collective have popped over to trim the grass and top up their food bins. They arrived in this lovely, Isaan style cart,



..and quickly made a big impact. That's Naa on the strimmer.



That's Naa's Dad on the wicker basket, sorting the good from the bad.



Not to be outdone, Loong2 had started to trim out the bottom of the Bamboo clump. A close inspection of all the shoots and laterals was necessary, due to them being well sharp.



Only two hours later, the Cow club has made a good start in the meadow.



At the end of the day, both teams have made a big difference and left a nice pile of stuff for me to burn.



I realise that there is still a tree in with that Bamboo, but I, sort of, like it so it stays. Teatime is full of talk about garden centres and I go to bed a very happy man. Unfortunately, the next day was the day I came off the bike.......

Thanks for the reprieve from all that present gloom and doom.

Your gardenproject comes along nicely.

Looking Good LoomB,do you have to put any Fertilizer in the bottom of the holes when planting,like Blood,fish and Bone,or just let the plants get on with it?.Fu ang Far must be Hardy little Buggers if they don't need regular visit's from Khun Nam-inkan

Originally Posted by Issan Man

Looking Good LoomB,do you have to put any Fertilizer in the bottom of the holes when planting,like Blood,fish and Bone,or just let the plants get on with it?.Fu ang Far must be Hardy little Buggers if they don't need regular visit's from Khun Nam-inkan

The English speaking Husband, of the Woman that does the best noodles in the area, told me that they love poor soil and that it should be well drained. Other than that, put them in and leave them alone. I have yet to see if that was good advice, but at about 33Bht each, I can easily get some more and have another go. I tried to make the medium in the holes, the same as was in the pots. Time will tell.

Bouganvillia are hard to kill. They do respond to pruning just before the peak growth season. A bit of Potassium Sulphate (potash) watered on them in the growing season promotes flowering. When they get established you can prune them like a hedge alright.

Thanks for the thread LB. You have interesting and challenging ground to work with there. Maybe some Gypsum would help you break up the clay in the areas you plan to use for gardens etc.