| Sys Admin Extraordinaire |

2013-02-17 Initial Post

2014-02-16 Updated

Back in December I had a patio installed with patio pavers and the person who installed it did not do a good job. The spiral spikes used were 10 inches long and were not long enough in some areas to securely hold down the Paver Rail edge restraints. I searched high and low for spiral spikes longer than 10 inches and it was very difficult to find. (more…)

2013-05-11 Updated
2010-06-04 Initial Post

Here’s a list of the main tools that I use for gardening (besides the typical shovels and rakes). I don’t use any machines primarily because I need the exercise—I have an office job where I sit most of the day, so I welcome any chance to perform some manual labor. Also, it makes one feel closer to the earth and the plants.

Before I begin, I'd like to offer one bit of advice: Don't ever leave your tools outside--the sun and rain will wear them down quicker, especially the wooden handles. Treat your tools with respect by cleaning them periodically and storing them indoors or in a well ventilated, covered area.
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2020-09-12 Updated

2010-04-15 Initial Post

Wow! It's been over ten years since I posted this. How time has flew by. I had my first child close to two years after I originally posted this (born 2012-03-15) and then had another one in 2017. I was looking over this post because I will be planting a Japanese maple (I've moved to another house since this post).

I wasn't able to find any instructions on how to plant a tree and build a retaining wall tree ring at the same time. So here are my notes on how to do that. I did a lot of planning and research and got all the tools necessary, so everything pretty much went as expected. I rented a truck from Home Depot to transport everything. I did all the design and work on my own. If you plan to do this, don't be cheap--get all the necessary tools and supplies to do the job the right way. There are way too many people who just throw some blocks directly on dirt and call it a day. (more…)

2011-07-20 Updated

2010-09-08 Initial Post

MISC

• During the first spring/summer after the tree leaves have grown back in, make a note of how much sunlight each area of your property gets per day. You’d want to check this in the spring/summer when all the trees are full of leaves because that will block the sun to certain areas. Even if you don’t plan to plant anything right away, you’ll have this information so you can start making plans regarding which types of plants will do well in which areas. This is important because some plants require a lot of sunlight and some are shade-tolerant. (more…)

2011-06-22 Initial post

The other month I took some tools to the local Ace Hardware to get them sharpened (that’s one thing that Home Depot and Lowe’s don’t do—at least not the ones around my area). One of the tools was a half-moon edger (see more about this tool on my other post here). I didn’t want the edger to have a very sharp edge, but it ended up being sharpened like an axe. (more…)