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<<back to index Installing bamboo barrier
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<<back to index Installing bamboo barrier
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We had bamboo to plant, but were looking at digging a 60-foot trench, 28 inches deep, by hand in order to install the barrier. Not a fun prospect, especially given our clay soil. (And I'd read about a guy in Portland who spent over six weeks hand-digging a similar trench.) We thought of maybe using a trencher, but it wouldn't have allowed us to get close enough to the fence. Then Aaron came up with a brilliant idea. |
| The plan uses the rototiller, which we bought last August. Aaron made a pass the length of the trench, after which Paul, Ben and Jenny hopped in with shovels and cleared out all the loose dirt. Then Aaron tilled the trench again. Here's the trench toward the beginning. |
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A number of passes later, the trench is nearly completed, except for the ramp areas at the end. All this was done in a little spare time over two days (when the area was shady, since it's been hot recently.) |
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Of course, trenching also gives you the opportunity to test your strength. It can be fun... as long as you don't over-swing and find yourself flat on your back. |
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Above, Ben digs the soft soil out of the trench where it goes behind the cottage. It's loaded into the blue cart and hauled off to the larger dirt pile. Paul and Cade 'supervise'. |
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Now there's just a little more to go. Con goes back to work... and then stops to grin (or is that grimace?) for the camera. |
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Jenny checks the trench depth and the work continues. |
| Finally, the barrier (that black plastic stuff) is in place and it's time to fill in the trench again. Paul, Cade and Jenny man the shovels while Con keeps himself busy with the little pick axe. He's convinced he's helping out, and he is... by not being in the way of the rest of the work. |
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Ben and Jenny work at untangling the mass of roots that had compacted inside the bamboo pots, so the plants will be ready to grow when they're planted. |
| Success! The bamboo is finally in. According to what i've read, it will probably take about four years for it to spread enough to form a continuous living wall. Eventually, it could be 30 feet tall. |
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All material © bardsmaid 2008
