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Old February 22, 2018   #9
SQWIBB
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Philly 7A
Posts: 739
Default Raised Bed #6 part 2



  • I'll probably toss a few bags of mulch in front of the beds for a path, my yard can get pretty swampy. I'm all ready to plant, just need to tweak the irrigation line, add the top cap pieces, vertical pieces and finish the vertical support. I will stain the bed and may add lights in the fall.



  • I ran out of money but not Mojo so I dug out the other end of the bed, there was some wood in the way that I cut with a sawzall and one piece I had to split with a splitting wedge, then I hit a piece of granite with the post hole digger and got out the hammer drill... forget that... I gave up after 30 minutes and just decided the extra 10" wasn't worth it!



  • Well the whole day didn't go as planned, we blew a brake-line on the suburban and I had to drive home with no brakes, wife was having a conniption the whole way home, I used the brakes one time on a twenty minute drive...IN THE CITY, wasn't fun.





February 5th, 2017.


I finished installing the vertical support line.


  • Notched the side top plate




  • I had to cut 9" off of this upright because I hit a hunk of granite that I couldn't get through and the depth was shy by about 9". Next up I installed the Carriage Bolts.





  • Back filled with stone, wood , ash and soil.





  • OK, time for the support cable, this will be 36' long.




  • There were only about 3" of threading on these eye bolts but I wanted as much adjustment as possible so I had to thread these further. What disappointed me was that the shaft diameter is slightly a smaller diameter of the threaded end so I don't have a full thread (Threads are flat).





  • Thread comparison.




  • Closeup of the threads.




  • Holes are drilled in the uprights, slightly larger than the eye bolts so they can move freely. Cable is looped and secured at one end around the eyebolt using the cable connectors. The cable is run to the other end and adjusted to the proper length and looped and secured with the cable connectors. Yes, Home Depot screwed up and gave me two different size cable connectors, but it was 25°F outside and I just wanted to get this done. I may change out the 3/16" with the 3/32" some day if I'm bored.




  • I'm happy with the support for the upcoming year, but more importantly, my wife is very happy with the streamlined support system, when she's happy I'm Happy!




February 6th, 2017
  • Since my brain is in garden mode the last few weeks, and that is all I can think about. I have been thinking about the support system, I was looking for a way to tighten the cable without tools, at first I was going to use a winch type adjustment but decided it was overkill and I do have a tendency to over engineer stuff. I want it simple enough where I can say to one of the kids, "Hey go outside and tighten the cable a bit", yes I do have a kid named "Hey". Here is what I came up with.


  • If you look closely you can see the needle bearing sandwiched between the washer.
  • The locking nut isn't really needed but I figured I would just toss it on.

  • Finished the uprights on the new Hugelkultur bed, cleaned out the fire pit and spread the ashes and bits of wood on the beds.
    Also put on the last few cap pieces, the one to the far left where the stained bed meets the new bed, I cut a piece that tapers wide in the back to narrow in the front to set the vertical garden tower on.




April 12th, 2017

  • Ran a 40' drip irrigation line.



May 20th, 2017

  • Installed the new lights and LED bulbs






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