A blank slate
 

We had to have some septic work done ( Fucking Whiney ass Neibors that call the Health dept instedd of Talking to some body !!!!)

Annnny How !!! Our side yard was TOTALY dug up so we could have 450 ft of leech line installed ,
as in TOTALY !!!!!!
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/4...546ffb00_o.jpg

So I am working it ,
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/4...56a1ac2a3d.jpg
and working it ,
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/163/4...a2e9f76874.jpg

And I will keep you all posted , we have 3 raised gardens 8x16 planned with a possible seperate zuke garden planned !!!

Would the whiney ass neighbors be upset if you put in about a thousand pot plants now?

Probley especialy since the county sherif lives JUST down the road

Just plant roses around the perimeter. Nobody will notice the weed. Honest.

Or, you could try buchu. Maybe the "cat urine" trait would throw them off the scent, so to speak.

Plant dandelions, and share them with the whole neighborhood!

Looking forward to seeing more- I do love a work in progress (when I'm feeling blue I sometimes stop by UT's Garden thread and reread it).

Just one question - are those pictures current?
It's March for goodneess sakes - I thought I was the only person to consider March weather, t-shirt weather?! And even I would balk at shorts...

Ziipy's in Arkansas. Here's the 10 day weather forecast.

Here in Michigan, we can still expect more snow this year, but today the temps are in the 70s and we are all in shorts. Personally, I consider 15 Centigrade and above shorts weather. Some Michigandans consider anything above freezing shorts weather. It's all relative, you know. The Californians living up here are still in long trousers when the temps hit the 80s.

/yes, I like to mix and match my currencies :D

25 degrees!
Blimey - that's the same temp as my ridiculously overheated office. Damn, if I was doing anything even vaguely energetic I'd be in shorts too.

I do realise it gets hotter in America than the UK.... but... it's MARCH?! Can't get over that.

you gotta remember it's only called the united states. Arkansas is about the same latitude as sicily.

(I am making that up, it is probably the same latitude as Barcelona)

I'm no septic system expert, since our house is on the city sewer lines, but don't you want to plant just grass over a leach field to keep roots of larger plants from growing down into the pipes and clogging them?

Move down into Africa and you're getting there. 34 degrees is about the same as Morocco and Tunisia.

Here in Ann Arbor, Michigan we're on a similar latitude to Barcelona. Here, where temps regularly go below -20 centigrade in the winter and above 30 in the summer. Britain is so temperate it's very hard to believe that weather elsewhere can be so varied.

/I love my Michigan climate

(tis 29 centigrade here right now :D)

oh, and that's an impressive project, zippy. sorry for the hijack.

The difference in climate is more related to the landmass than latitude.

But it's more fun to compare by latitude :) Over here, the climate is also affected by the jet streams and the proximity of the lakes. We get huge thundestorms, tornados, lots of snow, lots of sun (to my mind anyway -apparently we're still one of the cloudiest states), lots of everything and a beautiful autumn to boot :D

Days like today are weird, though -hot, sunny and not a bud on any tree. If it had been a weekend, we'd've had the paddling pool out.

Just one question - are those pictures current?
Yes they were taken this last weekend ( 3/24-25/07 )
Mid to upper 60's at nite , upper 70's low 80's in the day ,
Oh I beleve we have a cold snap comeing , it may hold off till October though ,

I'm no septic system expert, since our house is on the city sewer lines, but don't you want to plant just grass over a leach field to keep roots of larger plants from growing down into the pipes and clogging them?
Yeppers thats why we are doing our guarden in raised beds ,
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/4...50e0d79e_o.jpg

Now the question IS ,
1) do we just fill with dirt and start planting
or
2) put down black plastic , a layer of rock ( for drainage ) and then fill with dirt and plant ??

Most info I can find is not verry specfic , they just want you to buy their raised garden products ( boards , corners , etc,,,,,,)

What purpose would the black plastic serve?

The black plastic would prevent interference between root and septic issues?

I'd say yes, the plastic, perhaps with a few strategic drainage holes, but raise the gardens by another plank otherwise you will not have enough depth for topsoils and fertilizer additions in years to come. I'm no expert, though and have never gardened in these conditions/Arkansas. Just a gut reaction to the pictures and issues mentioned.

The plastic sounds like a good idea, but damn if I know. I'm just guessing. Maybe it would interfere with evaporation from the leach field.

Do you have a county extension person you could call and ask? They have these Master Gardeners all over the country who volunteer and their sole purpose is to answer questions like this.

Edit: I bet Master Gardener Patty Sue Camp could and would tell you. Her e-mail address is listed in this University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture web page. You're in Greene County, right?

You don't need plastic. Be cautious about the type of wood you are using. If it is pressure treated lumber you don't want veggies growing near it. If anything you would want to cover the pressure treated lumber with plastic. As far as the ground over the leach field you need it to breath. The plant roots will not effect the leach field and may in fact help it breath. Here is a great book to get. I learned a lot about septics this way.
http://www.shelterpub.com/_shelter/ssom_book.html
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/09...1.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

And don't use blue toilet paper.

The leeching problem with pressure-treated lumber has been solved - they changed out the chem that was suspect. If you got the lumber in the last few years it'll be fine.

I am not sure I would trust any chemical introduced into lumber under high pressure and temp that may be picked up by veggies I am eating. It really would not be that hard to wrap those board in some thick mil plastic and not take a chance. JMHO. ;)

Nahh - if you cover it with plastic, you may accidentally encourage any chems in the wood to concentrate over time and leak out in a more concentrated form in one location. Worst case.

Well I would only cover the side in contact with the ground directly and the interior touching the dirt in the middle with a little fold over the top lip to keep rain water or watering water from collecting on the bottom. It would be a simple step to take for one's health.