Breaking new ground

[rhines81]

Went to test the well water today and to see if the owners had the tires and trash removed. Even though we could hear the motor working, the well pump wouldn't pressure up enough to even fill the sample jar and the contractor never showed up to remove the rubbish. They'll need to fix/replace the pump and get the garbage removed still, so it will be a few more weeks until closing.
At least the system broke now instead of the day after closing (owner said it worked great last week when he was flushing it out).

[Worth1]

Might need primed.
Some pumps like this have to be primed before they will pump because the water leaked past the foot valve in time of no use.
Worth

[greenthumbomaha]

You might want to consider a zero turn mower until you are ready to make the new place your homestead. Its not worth the extra cost for just one till of a small 1/8 acre area,. Until you are ready to tackle the other tasks on a regular basis I would wait on the tractor and then buy a really good one. The ztm makes short work out of mowing, leaving more time for work and gardening.



- Lisa

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Might need primed.
Some pumps like this have to be primed before they will pump because the water leaked past the foot valve in time of no use.
Worth

That was the first thing that crossed my mind but I dismissed that quickly. It's submersible pump set-up which are self-priming by nature, probably the impellers are just shot from age or some other problem to keep the impeller shaft from turning (the motor itself was running). It could also be just a blocked intake. The owner couldn't recall what year they installed that pump (at least 30 years ago he thinks). His now-deceased dad bought the property in 1947 and its a 5-way inheritance split with his siblings who are not the least bit interested in keeping it. The pressure tank looked to be fairly new with all the shiny new paint and original tags.
Worst case its a dry or slow filling well which I will find out when I return and run it wide open for a half hour or more. If I see any air sputters, that'll be my first clue. With the record rainfall this year and even the downpours yesterday, even a normally dry well would have a ton of water in it.

I was just there to get a quart of water which did not happen.

[cjp1953]

Originally Posted by rhines81

I've always thought that cover crops needed to be sown about a month before 1st frost ... I've already had 1st frost on my deck, but not on the ground yet .. any day now. I'll contact the co-op to check, something I haven't thought of. They are just now planting cover crops about 2 hours south of me (and 1500 less elevation).

We have a corn grower near here who grow corn to sell to markets and at their store in the valley.They have it planted in stages so there is a harvest all summer long.I have been cycling in the valley since 1980 and always wondered what they planted after they would harvest the corn.I would see green growth that looked like tall grass.It turn out to be winter rye .I stopped one day and asked a fellow who was planting the seed in some of the fields.I called around to some of the feed stores and found it.I have been using that for some time now and usually would plant the second week in September it would grow 6 to 8 inches before the snow and stay green through the winter and start growing again in the spring.It might be 2 feet high come April when I would mow it and then around the first of May then till it into the soil.I grew it a few years ago then changed over to Hairy vetch and tillage radishes the last 2 years now that I am doing no till.Cereal rye has a very thick root system and is very difficult to plant into if you don't till it in thus the need for me to go to vetch and radishes.As far as how late you can plant it again check with your local Co-Op or county office.I have read it can be planted late into the fall because it will pick up and grow come spring.Good luck with your choice I'm sure it will be a success.

[rhines81]

Not sure if I did something stupid, but wanted to keep the closing moving along. I counter-offered the already accepted offer for $5000 less, telling them to not worry about the pump or trash. They have verbally accepted that and now an addendum is circulation for signature. Had I stayed the course, closing may not have occurred until after Thanksgiving (they can't get people to show up to do the work).

One of the main reasons that this idea popped into my head is that the current well pump is not sized for a future house and I would just have had to upgrade it anyhow. I can get the well pump I want for an installed price of somewhere between $1500-$3000 depending on the condition of the current well casing. I also need to upgrade the pressure tank to something much larger which could set me back another $500 or so. The tires, etc. can be cleaned up for cheap.

I sort of see this new deal as putting me not only about $1000 ahead of the game, but also in the end I have a properly sized well capacity for my future plans.

[rhines81]

Finally made settlement yesterday afternoon. Going to spend some time on the property today to get to know it better and start planning the work to be done. Locks on the gates and some "No Trespassing" signs will be done today for sure to keep people from dumping anything else.

[rhines81]

Walked most of the south side of the property today even in through the wooded areas. With all the rain we had up until yesterday, not once did I step in anything wet. The whole south 5 acres is very well drained soil (very encouraging). I got the well pump working and really didn't need to do anything other than cycle it on and it filled the pressure tank and off we went with water.

Spent about 2 hours (with 4 people) cleaning up general trash, all done with that.
I still need to get an excavator to do some cleanup and filling of an old basement foundation and get the tires out of the hole - that will also require some tree clearing to get the equipment back there to do it.
Anyhow, so far $0 spent out of the $5k that I had them deduct. Even if I have to rent a excavator/loader machine for Thanksgiving week (I'm on vacation), I should be able to have what I need cleared to prep it for next Spring and still up $4k which I can use to build a large shed. If the well pump happens to die in the Spring, I'll replace it and move along.
I'm off work tomorrow so I'll go there again to check out the north 3-1/2 acres which I don't have a lot of interest in, but it is also partially cleared and no trash on that side.
No buyer's remorse which I thought I would have. Looks like great land at a great price.

[Worth1]

And great news too.

Worth

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by Worth1

And great news too.

Worth

Thank you Worth ... I couldn't even wipe the smile off my face if I were beaten up by 20 thugs.

[salix]

Great news, I'm smiling for you as well!

[PhilaGardener]

Yes - congratulations! Sounds like it is going to be fun, so I hope you keep this thread going!

[rhines81]

Here's a summertime picture of the property (South is down). ~5 acres on the south side of the road, ~3.5 acres on the north side. As you can see, if I want the new garden on the south side, I have a lot of clearing to do. The field south of and near the road to the west (left) is ~250 ft x ~75 ft, but with the trees there only about 50 ft of that width is usable because of shade until I clear some out.
The pavilion is to the east and is about 24x48'. The well house is about 75 ft south of the pavilion (hidden by the trees).

[Worth1]

When I first looked at the pictuer it was a shock big time.
Let me explain.
It looked like the area was carpet bombed or something.
The road seemed raised up and there were places chewed out of it from 500 and 1000 pound bombs.
Other areas looked like single bomb craters and others looked like a whole mess of bombs had been dropped.
I am thinking what on earth how will he get there how did it happen and where is it?

Later when I looked again it was trees and shadows.
I have no idea why I saw it the way I did but I did.
It was like one of those optical illusions you see.

Looks nice now that I dont see bomb craters.

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by Worth1

When I first looked at the pictuer it was a shock big time.
Let me explain.
It looked like the area was carpet bombed or something.
The road seemed raised up and there were places chewed out of it from 500 and 1000 pound bombs.
Other areas looked like single bomb craters and others looked like a whole mess of bombs had been dropped.
I am thinking what on earth how will he get there how did it happen and where is it?

Later when I looked again it was trees and shadows.
I have no idea why I saw it the way I did but I did.
It was like one of those optical illusions you see.

Looks nice now that I dont see bomb craters.

Those shadows are very strong indeed making it look more closed in than it really is. I see the bomb holes in the road, there's a few big trees about 8' off the shoulder. 80% of the trees have 2-4" trunks but they are close together in places.