Actually, what I’ve been building is much more than just eye candy. 

The thick bed of wood chips over landscape fabric that now surrounds all the boxes in my “Lower 10” also serve some good purposes:  

1. It keeps grass and weeds away from my garden beds.  
2. I no longer have to weed-whack between the boxes: always a chore and it sprayed plant bits and seeds into my boxes.  
3. It makes a cushy surface to kneel on while I’m working the beds.  
4. The landscape timber borders help divert rushing rain water around my garden so it doesn’t flood the boxes or wash away the mulch.  
5. I’m planting flowers around the perimeter that will draw beneficial bugs (bugs that eat the bugs that eat my garden) and add a splash of color.  
6. This should help maintain the moisture levels in the entire area.  

My berry house is also done.  It encloses a blueberry bed, strawberry bed, red and purple grape vines.  Bird netting over the PVC frame keeps the birds away from the berries.   

The door is the curved section with all the slats between the strawberry and blue berry boxes.  It’s a flap of bird netting that lifts up to allow me in and out, yet keep the avian fiends away from our berries.  I stabilized the edges by trapping them between two layers of duct tape (sticky sides together) and stapled the slats on to lay across the door frame to prevent the netting flap from falling through the opening.  A piece of PVC at the bottom holds the flap down and keeps it from blowing open in winds.   

We just bought some marigolds to plant around the high perimeter to brighten it up a bit and help repel rabbits.  They can chew right through the bird netting.  

The Middle 10 was completed just days ago.  This section required shoring up the lower ends of the paths between the boxes (the slope is steeper here), which meant some extra digging and timber work.  

For the most part, this work is very simply done; no hoopla.  Well, almost no hoopla.  I did angle the cuts when I made the timber pieces that went between the boxes so the ends of the timbers sit flat against the boxes despite the slope, and I could not resist showing off just a little by coping the ends of the timbers where they meet the curved face of another timber.  

Otherwise, it’s all pretty much plain-Jane work: timbers, pinned to the ground with rebar, on top of landscape fabric to keep the weeds out and filled with wood chips I make myself by chipping up tree branches from the spring trimming.  But it should ease my maintenance chores, make my knees happy, and it looks pretty nice too.  

Springtime in the Smoky Mountains means warmer temperatures, greener scenery and rain.  Lots of rain.  Some years we get a few weeks of heavy, almost non-stop rain, other years we get a couple months of lighter rains.  Either way spring time means we’ll be dealing with erosion and mud.  On the monsoon years the quarries do a lot of business with folks seeking rock to repair washed-out driveways.  We’ve had one area that has been a consistent problem for us every year, heavy rains or light rains.

There is a long, horseshoe shaped driveway that comes up from the hard road, loops in behind a mobile home, then goes back down to the road.  The mobile home and driveway behind it are on a shelf cut into the slope to provide a flat spot.  In spring, rain water runs down the mountain side onto the driveway and collects there, making the area really mucky despite a thick layer of gravel on the drive.  Some years, when the rains are heavy the ground saturates so no more will soak in, then water comes cascading over the ridge at the top of the cut-in and flows across the driveway like a river – often taking all the gravel with it.  Even on light rain years the area between the mobile home, which is now my workshop, and the embankment gets sloppy fast and stays that way for weeks.  This was enough of a problem when it was just me going to and from work, but now we are providing foster care for dogs, and the pens are in this area too.

This year I decided to do something to get us all up out of the muck.  I built a boardwalk.  This is not a piece if high-end architectural engineering, nor is it fine craftsmanship.  There were three criteria it needed to meet: 1) It needed to keep us out of the mud, 2) I needed to build it quickly, 3) It needed to be cheap.

The proper way to do this would have been to drill several dozen post holes, set short posts in them with concrete, determine height of the posts to get the decking flat and level and cut the posts off at the right heights, notch the posts to accept joists then lay planking across the joists.  Have you ever tried to use a post-holer in muck?  That doesn’t work so well, especially not in our red clay.

What I did was to lay landscape timbers in as sleepers, using pavers as support in the lowest spots, then cutting some old barn wood to use as decking.  This barn had been built by sawing whatever trees were at hand into lumber, so we have a mix of red oak, white oak, poplar, pine and a little walnut, but once it all silvers from sunshine it will match up closely enough.  The boards are not consistent in their thickness and are wildly random widths from 3” to 14”.

I did not want to take the time to plane the lumber to a consistent thickness, so I just watched to be sure I didn’t let it vary too greatly board-to-board.  I did rip at least one edge of each board to get the long edges reasonably parallel so the planks didn’t go angling off to one side or the other – especially in the long narrow walkways.  And I did buy a 5 pound box of decking screws to be sure they don’t rust out right away like most screws would.  I used screws rather than nails so I could easily replace planks if they rot or break.

Looking from the Guest Quarters (dog pen) out toward the workshop.  The metal steps lead up to where we store firewood under cover.  That hairy glob on the left would be part of my arm – I was up against the chain link of the Guest Quarters and taking a tricky shot without being able to see through the view finder.

 
 The one missing piece at this point.  I need to locate a board that will fill this 12" x 43" space to join the deck and the lowest step.  There are no more boards that wide in the stack I was working out of, but I have two more outside of the dog yard.

 
Standing on the boardwalk near the Guest Quarters looking back toward the shop.  All that lumber leaning up against the loading dock is rejected lumber that is too rotted or split to be of any use.  I'll chunk it up and store it for firewood next winter.  The pile I was working off is on the left at the end of the dock.  About 1/3 of what was there is left.  I'll move that out to the piles behind the house – some other day; I'm very tired just now.

Standing on the loading dock looking back toward The Guest Quarters.  The pen itself and an area in front of it are floored with 2" of pea gravel.  A gate at the end of this pad allows access, entering in front of the Guest Quarters then the boardwalk connects the entry pad (pea gravel) with the two sets of steps.  Beyond the loading dock the driveway rises a bit and has a good crown to it, so it is not a problem like this stretch is.

It took me two and a half days to build this project – some of it in the rain – and cost a total of just under $50 for landscape timbers and screws.  The end result undulates a little as it follows the contours below, but it’s not a problem.  The dogs love it!  As they go galloping along the board walk it makes a satisfying drumming sound that makes them sound even bigger and more powerful than they are.

Marie wants me to build a deck around the front steps of our home – THAT will be built with proper footings and construction, I assure you.

The latest Grit newsletter listed a bunch of articles about home remedies and old-school medicine and it reminded me that I’ve been meaning to write an article about common garden items that have healthful benefits beyond their vitamins and minerals.  

Growing herbs has many advantages and takes very little space.  You can grow 16 different herbs in a 4’ x 4’ raised bed garden.  You may need to pot some plants: like mint, which is wildly invasive, but you can set the pot down into your bed if you want to keep them all in one place.

Parsley

Parsley has been cultivated for 2,000 years, and was used medicinally long before that. In fact, in ancient times parsley was regarded as sacred and was used to decorate tombs.

This leafy green is not just an attractive garnish; it’s chock full of essential vitamins. Just two tablespoons of parsley provide over 150% of the daily recommended value of vitamin K.  It’s also rich in vitamins A & C, and is an important source of antioxidants.  But what it less known is that the oil which is concentrated in the leaves and roots of parsley is high in apiol and myristicin, which are natural diuretics.

A study published in the "Journal of Ethnopharmacology" in March 2002 gave rats parsley seed extract and found that this significantly increased urine flow.  This would benefit anyone fighting kidney stones.

Drinking a tea made from dried parsley leaves or root three times a day can help keep your kidneys clear.  Steep 2 grams (.07 ounces) of dried parsley in 150 ml (5.07 US fl ounces) of hot water.

Fine Print

Be careful when using large amounts of parsley if you are pregnant, as both apiol and myristicin can cause uterine contractions, and myristicin may cause an increase in fetal heart rate. If you are taking lithium, do not use parsley without medical supervision. Other possible side effects of excessive use of parsley oil include headaches, loss of balance, convulsions and renal failure.^[1] 

Herbal Teas

Several herbs that are essential seasonings for your cooking also deserve a place in your herb bed for their medicinal value. Physician Andrew Weil maintains a list of healthful herbs and their uses at his website, www.DrWeil.com.  In regard to dried herbs, Dr. Weil recommends:

• Don't buy whole dried herbs from bins or jars in stores. These loose herbs are probably worthless because dried plants deteriorate upon exposure to air, light and moisture and the more finely chopped the plant parts are, the faster they lose their desirable qualities.
• Avoid encapsulated powdered herbs because when plants are ground into powders, they're exposed to oxidation which causes them to deteriorate.
• Buy reputable brands that advertise the purity of their ingredients.
• The best herbal medicines are those you grow yourself. Maintaining a personal herb garden can ensure freshness and quality.

To brew a tea, add 1 teaspoon of dried — or 3 teaspoons of fresh — herbs to 1 cup of boiled water; steep several minutes, then remove the herbs.  This is much simplified if you use an infuser.

Here are some of my favorites:

Thyme Tea

Thyme tea soothes a throat which is sore from coughing and has anti-viral properties.

Chamomile Tea

Is a great before-bed tea because it calms and relaxes.  Parents report that it helps to sooth cranky kids when they’re feverish.

Lemon Balm Tea

Counters headaches and can be used to mask the undesirable flavor of other medicinal teas.  Steeped in a stronger solution, lemon balm can be used as a topical antiseptic for minor injuries.

Sage Tea

Can sooth and heal mouth sores and bleeding gums after dental work.

Mint Tea

Is good at soothing an upset stomach – peppermint is especially good at this.

Comfrey

 I grow comfrey as a compost accelerator, but it has healthful benefits as well.  Comfrey contains the small organic molecule: allantoin, which stimulates cell growth and suppresses inflammation.^[4] Scientists and physicians agree that the use of Comfrey should be restricted to topical use, and should never be ingested.  Comfrey salve or a strong solution can be used to treat diaper rash, eczema, psoriasis, and burns. Here is a recipe for making your own Comfrey salve.  She adds plantain, but you won’t need to cultivate those in your garden, just check your yard!

Pineapple

While most of us won’t be growing pineapple in our gardens, it is worth mentioning because of its great benefit in fighting inflammation.  Fresh pineapple contains bromelain, a powerful anti-inflammatory.  This is helpful in fighting the stiffness and pain of arthritis and reducing C.O.P.D. problems .  Taking turmeric with the pineapple increases the benefit in regard to C.O.P.D.

Only fresh pineapple will do – cooking or processing (canning) the pineapple kills the bromelain and its benefits.  The bromelain is concentrated in the pineapple core, so don’t toss that out.  Mix chunks with water and pulse it in your blender to make a healthy juice, or just sit and gnaw on a core chunk.  The fiber will do you good as well.

Considerations:

As noted above, you will get the most from these herbs by snipping off what you need and using them fresh from the garden.  If you must dry them for storage, dry the leaves whole, seal them into air tight bags or vacuum packs and store them away from direct light.  Some can be successfully frozen as fresh leaves.

As with any form of self-medication, consider your situation first.  If you are being treated for a serious medical condition, and taking prescription drugs, check with your doctor before taking herbal remedies.  “Natural” and “Organic” are not guarantees of being harmless or that they won’t interact with other substances.

I spent most of the day yesterday putting in my potatoes. Well... half of my taters. I planted two boxes in Yukon Gold as my early crop. Next month I will plant another two boxes in Russets as my main crop.  But before planting them I had to get the boxes ready.

To hold taters I need a double-depth box (2 2x8’s stacked) that I fill half-way with soil. To do this I have bottomless boxes that are used as the second level and are held in place on top of a regular box with pocket hole screws.  These screws can be backed out and the second level moved from box to box as I rotate crops each year.  I mixed 1½ pounds of composted chicken manure into the soil of each box to enrich the soil.

 
Then I used a modified Stout method of planting. The Stout method sows the potatoes on top of the soil then covers them with a thick layer of straw mulch. Regular planting puts them down about 3” then mounds dirt up around the stalks as they grow to keep the tubers covered. I plant my taters an inch or so deep, then 1½" of mulch on top -- as a start. As I plant them, I mark the locations with a craft stick just behind the seed-spud – careful not to stab it!

I planted the box in a checker-board fashion with 8 cells as potato and 8 cells as bush style green beans. I put 1½” of mulch over the potato cells – leaving a dimple over the potato for the shoot to rise through.  No mulch on the beans yet; there are 9 bean seeds per cell, I’ll wait for them to sprout and get a little size to them before mulching to discourage weeds and retain moisture - I don't want to discourage my beans.  As the potato plants get tall (12" or so) , I’ll mound up more mulch around the stalks to keep the tubers that will grow from them covered.  Sunlight makes the taters turn green and toxic. The mulch makes it easy to reach in and pull out young taters as they get to be golf ball sized. The deeper spuds will get large and be harvested later.   

The white grid-like thing is one of two planting guides that I made from PVC pipe fittings; this one helps me plant things 1 or 9 plants to a cell, the other is made to plant 4 or 16 plants per cell (it’s made as 4 quarters, 16 get 4 plants in each quarter – I just eyeball them).  These take care of all the common planting schemes in the square foot gardening method.

My late crop potatoes will be co-planted with black beans. The late crop will be allowed to grow undisturbed for larger spuds, but I’ll use the same planting method.

It rained last night, so I’m off to a good start – as long as the frosts are over with; that would hurt the bean seeds.  Since it is early April now the frosts should be done (here in Tennessee) but… ya just never know these days!

I arrived at work at 7:30 AM, following a grueling 150 foot commute.  The traffic was terrible.  Normally both dogs march along shoulder to shoulder at the ends of their leashes.  I tell Cochise, “Play yard,” or “Home” or “Mail box”, or (his least favorite) “Work” and he heads off in the right direction.  I tell Blondie, “Stay with Cochise” and she obediently strides along beside him wherever he goes.  Normally, but not today.  Today I’d started the pickup earlier to warm it up before Marie heads into town and her work and Blondie really, really wanted to go for a ride; so when we came down the steps she was intent on going that direction.  Cochise smelled something fascinating down in the yard and really, really wanted to go that way to check it out.  So they strained in opposite directions, neither one in the direction I needed to go.  We worked it out eventually, but it was a disorganized swirl instead of the usual orderly parade. 

Yesterday was the official first day of spring.  It’s cold and foggy this morning.  There is a possibility of snow.  I was wondering what happened, when I remembered something I saw at the Source of All Wisdom (Facebook), “The first day of spring and the first spring day are not necessarily the same, and can be separated by as much as a month.”  I’m glad now that I didn’t put my potatoes in their garden boxes last weekend, I’ll do that next weekend.  But I had planned on working at opening the garden for summer session this week.

The winter gardening session was disappointing; it was too wet and cold for much of what I grew.  Still, we did get a fair bit of lettuce (until it got crushed by condensation that froze into ice on the inside of the greenhouse) spinach, beet tops, onion greens, garlic greens, carrot tops, as well as the last of the summer’s carrot roots.  I got enough Brussels sprouts for one meal – but that is the best I’ve ever done with these sprouts; normally the looper worms gut the plants and kill them in days.  By using a greenhouse vented with window screen I kept the moths away in the fall so the plants had a chance to grow to maturity for once.  I had to cover the top vent with plastic after a particularly wet spell practically drowned them out as well.

The Swiss chard is just now getting any size to it.  I’ll get one decent harvest from that when I pull it up to replant the box with something else.

On the positive side, our local Lowe's store now carries composted chicken manure.  That will help in rejuvenating the soil in my boxes.  I used composted cow manure last year with disappointing results.  Slowly, very slowly, I’m learning what works.

For the Love of Dogs

Marie and I have always enjoyed the company of canines.  Trained to behave in a civilized manner and be indoors with us much of the time, they were more members of the family than pets.  Last summer we lost both of our pampered pooches.   

First was Zadie.  She was accustomed to heading up into the woods in the morning with her adoptive sibling Dolly and their friend from down the road, Boots.  That day was no different except that they did not return for breakfast.  It wasn’t like Zadie to miss a meal.  Any meal.  Ever.  And we became concerned.  Later in the morning Dolly returned, without Zadie (also unusual) and acted very strangely.

Dolly had been dumped on this mountain before we arrived.  When we moved into this home, she watched us for a while from a rocky outcropping above us, then decided she would take us under her wing (so to speak) and teach us to be proper mountain folk.  By this time we had been together for about 11 years.  Zadie arrived as a pup – apparently dumped as well – and Dolly took her in and mentored her in proper civilized behavior.  One of her most adamant tenants was that good dogs don’t “go” in their yard, but head up into the trees to do their business.  I particularly appreciated this personal habit.  But starting after Zadie's disappearance, Dolly would not go more than a couple of feet past the tree line for her personal hygiene needs and NEVER went off a-wandering or chasing small game as she always had before.

Boots was oddly absent as well.  He used to visit every morning, but for days we had not seen hide nor hair of him.  Finally I did catch a glimpse of him, waved and shouted “Hi Boots!”.  He tucked his tail and scurried off as though I’d threatened him.

Being a Border Collie/Rottweiler mix, Zadie was very smart – in terms of being clever.  She could open any door and would paw a spring clip until it opened and she was gone.  To tether her required a padlock.  She was nimble too: 68 pounds of canine ninja.

Dolly may not have been as clever, but was very wise.  She was also compassionate and an excellent mentor to Zadie and Cochise.

Shortly before this occurred there had been a fire on Hogback Mountain: the next mountain over from ours.  It had burned for days and the Forestry Department was using bulldozers and helicopters to fight it.

A while after this day my nearest neighbor and I both heard what we were sure was a bear snorting and snuffling in the woods above us.  We think the bear got Zadie.  Most likely The Three Pooches caught its scent and tracked it.  We did not hear barking that morning, but if they came up on the bear suddenly, they might not have.  Seeing a bear kill Zadie would account for the trauma Boots and Dolly exhibited.  Zadie would have been cocky enough to take on the beast, Dolly would have recognized the danger and stayed back.  Boots was all bark and no backbone.

A few months later, Dolly died of heart failure, with her head in my lap.

We were deeply hurt by the loss of Zadie, and devastated when Dolly passed on as well.  They were our children.  Rather than wallowing in our own pain, we chose to focus on the good times we had together and celebrate the fact that they had shared our lives at all.

When we abandoned hoping that Zadie would be found or come home, we were not considering adopting another dog but we did want to do something to help repay the joy they’d brought into our lives.  Marie found the Dogs In Danger web site, which works with the Rolling Rescue program to save dogs in kill shelters and relocate them to no-kill shelters or breed-specific rescue programs.  We were surprised to learn that our local Animal Shelter works with both programs and decided to see what we could do to help out.

Our local shelter’s greatest need was foster homes for dogs that were too sick to qualify for local adoption or Rolling Rescue.  Mostly this involves heart worm positive dogs.  Treatment is expensive and makes them very sick for a while.  If donations from the public pay for the meds, they require an environment where lots of attention can be paid to them and their activity severely restricted until they recover.  An animal shelter is not such an environment.

One of the dogs they had on this list was Cochise, an American Bulldog who had been there long enough that he was just 4 days away from taking the one way walk.  He had a sponsor for his meds, but no foster home. Something about him touched our hearts and we decided to help him.

We bought a 10’ x 10’ chain link dog pen and built a make-shift sleeping shelter out of wire fence and a tarp (we called it his wickiup).  It rained all that weekend, but he could not afford for us to wait for better weather, we put it all in and went back for him.

That was seven months ago.  Cochise turned out to be such an amazing animal that after nursing him back to health we adopted him.  He in turn has helped us help four others (so far).  The two that have completed the process went to facilities in New Jersey.  Marie says it’s like the witness protection program: a new name and off to New Jersey.  They must have a tremendous need for good dogs out East.

The first one, Curry, a traditional Mountain Cur has been adopted by a veterinarian who is also a professor of Equine Studies at a college and we have received photos of him with his new big brother (a Lab).  It makes us so happy to know that he is in such a good forever home and is so happy there.

The second, Ruckus, is a Labrador/Pit Bull mix and a really sweet boy.  He left just the other day to go to a Pit Bull rescue facility that will help him find a good home as well.

Bella, a Beagle / German Shepherd mix was not doing well at all at the shelter.  She was terrified there.  We decided that since Ruckus was crated, Bella could live in the Guest Quarters – which has been upgraded with a roof, wooden dog house and 2” of pea gravel as a floor to keep them out of the mud.  She immediately responded by becoming an affectionate and entertaining member of the group.  She went in for her treatment this morning.

As soon as Ruckus left, Bella moved to the indoor crate and we opened the Guest Quarters  to Faith, a hunting dog breed who came in from a highly neglectful environment: severely malnourished she was just skin and bones.  The Shelter pulled her through, but she tested positive for heart worms and we took her in.  Faith is such a sweetheart that we all just love her.  She is obviously grateful for being removed from that horrible environment and giving her a better life.

Because Faith will begin treatment before Bella’s recovery period is finished (typically 30 days) we have ordered another crate.  That means the Guest Quarters will be open and we can step up to three foster dogs at a time.

So far, Cochise’s only objection to any of this is that he just gets them trained to be good playmates and we ship them off.  I understand that feeling: I was an Air Force brat as a kid, my family moved every year, leaving all our friends behind never to be seen again. It was hard.  We might have to adopt one more – maybe Faith – as a steady playmate for him.  But that will be up to him more than us.

One thing though: none of the dogs are allowed to run loose anymore.  Cochise and I go for long walks up the mountain, but he’s always on a leash, and we’ve fenced in two large areas for the dogs to use as play yards, but no more running the mountain.  Aside from the danger that the bear may still be around, Cochise and I have encountered deer a couple of times on our walks and I’m sure that bull-headed dog would chase those things clear into the next county if he were loose!

Giving back by helping these programs snatch good dogs from the jaws of death, heal them and offer them to good forever homes is a very fulfilling venture.  We are volunteers; the shelter provides the medications, paid for through donations from the public, and dog food for the foster dogs. We provide all the equipment needed and of course the love and attention they need.  But you could not find a more grateful group of beings to help.  And because these programs are registered non-profits, our fostering expenses are tax deductible as contributions. If you have any interest in doing something similar, please visit Dogs in Danger or your local animal shelter to see what programs they have for you to be involved with.

There is a one-lane dirt road that runs from the hard road on Piney Mountain up past my workshop – at this point it has served as a driveway access for two other homes and my shop – then makes a hard right turn and winds its way up the face of the mountain, allowing access to a dozen or so undeveloped properties.  This one-lane dirt road is not maintained by the county; it’s up to the property owners to keep it passable.

It has been quite neglected for a couple of years now and the part above my workshop driveway has become overgrown with little saplings, blocked by fallen trees and rutted deeply by rushing rain water run-off.  It has become so bad that only Cochise and I have gone up there in the past year.  The fellow who owns the parcel immediately uphill from mine decided to do some low-cost road repairs to make it serviceable again.  This is needed because he accesses his property from the top side, not from down by my place.  He has a spot cleared up there where he once planned to build a house on a point that offers some magnificent views – especially in winter when the leaves fall.

He showed up with a couple of helpers, a chainsaw, machete and gas powered leaf blower.  They parked at my shop driveway – because they could not get much farther up the road than that – and started dragging limbs, brush over to lay into the ruts.   

 
 They cut the saplings off and tossed them in too.  This serves two purposes: by filling in the ruts with *something* they can get a 4 wheel drive truck up the road without ripping the transmission out of it in those places where it is not possible to straddle the rut.  And by clogging the ruts they impede the rain run-off and encourage the silt it carries to settle out and fill in the ruts.

The leaf blower was to blow the leaves from the roadway over onto the brush in the ruts.  It rained the next day and these leaves settled down in among the branches and such, further enhancing the filtering effect.

 Fallen trees were chunked up and either tossed aside into the forest to rot or loaded into the truck to be used as firewood, depending on whether or not it was hardwood: which burns clean and hot, or softwood: which burns sooty and can creosote up your chimney and cause a chimney fire.

The end result is a roadway that is drivable again and will get better through the winter and spring.  All for 8 hours or so of labor and the cost of a little gas/oil mix.