Fence and Frames

Friday saw just two more posts in the ground. That was all. Both times, the auger sank in and could not be pulled out, so Phil, twice, used the backhoe to carefully extract the auger. Was digging by hand the only option left?

Yesterday, Phil realized he could set the tractor to only allow the auger go to a certain (safe) depth. He quickly managed to put in several more posts, and built cross-bracing. Above, you can see the end of the nail he pounded in, between the six-inch diameter post and the cross-brace.

By the end of Saturday, he had the two ends of the first section all cross-braced. He had pounded in the intermediate posts (the white posts), and pulled the wire tight (the tensioner, specially designed for that task, broke right off, but he managed to improvise).

The five wires will be strung at different heights. He has to drill five holes through each post, then inserts a cotter pin in each hole and bends the ends back.

Phil now has a good understanding of how the whole system works, which is a huge step ahead. The first attempt at something is always the hardest; now he knows, and the remainder will, hopefully, go well.

After a few days for my brain to recover from the mind-bender of ordering seeds (how many heads of broccoli does your family eat in a year, would you guess?!), I started to plan the garden. With about 60 beds, each 4 feet by 75 feet, I have to figure out if that will be sufficient, or if I'll need to plant between orchard rows. Eliot Coleman's books remain a lifesaver, and I study his books to help estimate how many beds of corn or onions or cabbage I might need.

I also decided that there's very little chance that we would be able to finish getting a greenhouse all the way up in the next two weeks (onion seeds and asparagus I'm hoping to get into soil blocks before the month is out). So we've ordered a Lost Creek hoop bender, to make a small 10'x14' hoophouse, just for growing seedlings. That seems like a more reasonable accomplishment.

Our bee hives arrived earlier this week. I ordered based on a recommended list from a beekeeper I know, but the box came without any instructions, and no instructions showed readily on their website, either. I poked through several books, and came up with the two hives in the photo above. How handy, to order them preassembled (they are not in their permanent spot: I just needed a place to put them). I'm thankful I looked, because the order came missing lids.

The inner parts of the hive, though, are a bit more scattered. Four hundred little pieces of interlocking wood, to eventually make 50 large frames and 50 small frames, and, again, no instructions. I have some idea now how they are all supposed to fit together, but a large box of Lincoln logs was a bit overwhelming!