Breaking Ground on the New Garden | Starting Over from Scratch

Simple Living Alaska・2 minutes read

Eric works on garden maintenance, dealing with potential fox threats and improving chicken safety, while also creating a soil sifter to produce topsoil for gardening. The process involves effort and resources but leads to successful garden preparation and excitement for self-sustainability.

Insights

  • The presence of foxes near the chicken coop poses a potential threat, leading to unplanned tree trimming for better visibility and the clearing of brush to prevent access, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the chickens' safety.
  • Constructing a soil sifter using specific materials and a detailed process results in high-quality topsoil for gardening, highlighting the dedication to efficient garden preparation despite the investment of energy, time, and money, ultimately leading to successful outcomes.

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Recent questions

  • How can I improve chicken coop safety?

    By limbing trees for better visibility into the forest and clearing brush to prevent fox access, you can enhance chicken coop safety.

  • What is the best way to prepare garden soil?

    To create garden soil, mix soil with compost after sifting out grass, bushes, moss, and rocks using a soil sifter made of angle iron and welded wire mesh.

  • How can I efficiently utilize a tractor for gardening?

    Utilize a tractor for garden preparation by relocating the greenhouse, collecting and relocating manure and compost, and scraping topsoil to the gravel layer.

  • What are the potential threats to chickens in the garden?

    Foxes observed near the chicken coop pose a potential threat. Clearing brush to prevent fox access and improving visibility into the forest can help mitigate this risk.

  • What are some challenges faced in gardening?

    Challenges in gardening include excess dirt accumulation, the need to sift out unwanted debris from soil, and the time, energy, and money required to build tools like a soil sifter.

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Summary

00:00

"Garden Prep: Fox Threat, Soil Quality, Efficiency"

  • Late April, mosquitoes present, garden work underway
  • Eric scraping topsoil to gravel layer for garden
  • Unplanned tree trimming due to fox issues
  • Foxes observed near chicken coop, potential threat
  • Limbing trees for better visibility into forest
  • Clearing brush to prevent fox access, improve chicken safety
  • Soil quality suitable for gardening, excess dirt accumulation
  • Utilizing tractor efficiently for garden preparation
  • Relocating greenhouse for garden space
  • Collecting and relocating manure and compost for garden use

21:46

Building a Soil Sifter for Gardening Success

  • The soil needs to be mixed with dirt to create garden soil, but the dirt contains grass, bushes, moss, and rocks that need to be sifted out.
  • A soil sifter made of 2x2 angle iron and 4-gauge welded wire mesh with 4-inch squares is constructed to sift the soil.
  • The soil is dumped onto the sifter, allowing small particles to fall through while larger rocks and debris are left behind.
  • The sifter works well, producing fluffy topsoil suitable for mixing with compost for gardening.
  • The process of building the soil sifter took energy, time, and money but yielded successful results.
  • The chickens are thinned out for food, and the process of making nachos with homegrown ingredients is detailed, showcasing excitement for gardening and self-sustainability.
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