Projects, Video, WP Migration

Danielle and Justin took care of the farm while we were on vacation!

Posted on by Farmer
We must thank Danielle and Justin for taking care of the farm which allowed Carl and I to visit his mother. This is the first time, in over 10 years, that Carl and I left the farm together for an entire week. Having a farm with livestock and pets can tie one down to the farm, because these critters need daily care, so for that one of us has always stayed on the farm while the other visited family.
Carl’s mom, Marge, and I. We visited Marge in Michigan where she has an apartment in assisted living only 5 minutes from Carl’s sister’s house. I must say, Marge looks just as good as she did 10 years ago which is the last time I saw her, and she claims to have no aches or pains! Carl said he wishes he didn’t have any aches or pains. Thanks Deb (Carl’s sister) for looking after mom each week throughout the year!
Carl’s mom, Marge, and I. We visited Marge in Michigan where she has an apartment in assisted living only 5 minutes from Carl’s sister’s house. I must say, Marge looks just as good as she did 10 years ago which is the last time I saw her, and she claims to have no aches or pains! Carl said he wishes he didn’t have any aches or pains. Thanks Deb (Carl’s sister) for looking after mom each week throughout the year!
You might think from our journal entries that Carl and Julie have gone into hibernation with Danielle and Justin are doing all the work.  It is pretty much true.  Carl and Julie have been spending a lot of time in the forest, mostly because Danielle and Justin have been keeping projects going down in the valley, those projects being: renovating the propagation greenhouse, weeding strawberries, organizing/cleaning the equipment barn space and building a greenhouse.  It is incredible how much we are accomplishing this winter, mostly because winter never arrived until February 11th, and we are pleased to finally have a little winter that hopefully kills off a few bugs.
The past couple weeks Danielle and Justin are spearheading Project Greenhouse #6, our final greenhouse, and I must confess that the greenhouse frame has been lying in the weeds for about eight years. This project has been on the back-burner while a french drain was installed along the greenhouse pad to capture water from a spring we encountered when leveling the pad. We are hoping (Say your prayers!) that we have captured all the water and re-routed it away from the greenhouse pad.
Carl first showed Danielle and Justin how one squares a building site (in our case a greenhouse), then how to install a batter board for each corner of the building, finally using the laser level to set the strings at the right height so our corner posts are all level with each other before they are concreted.  Many farmers’ don’t concrete their posts, but we think that the concrete adds extra strength, mostly keeping the structure from collapsing during winter snowstorms. Once one learns how to square a pad, this technique can be used for building a house, barn or anything for that matter. Click here for a video in regards to setting up batter boards. We have built a lot of batter boards here on the farm; a set for each of our 6 greenhouses, for our equipment barn/packing building, for the wood shed, and probably for a few projects I am leaving out.You might consider reading this article for more details in setting up batter boards. I think this is one job that is more easily learned during an apprenticeship because I think it would be difficult to comprehend from reading in books. Here is another article that may be worth your time to read.
This is a picture of the laser level in the center of the greenhouse pad for setting the level of the batter boards at each of the greenhouse corners. We like for all of our greenhouse posts to be level with one another because it makes for easier construction of the bows and end walls.
This is a picture of the laser level in the center of the greenhouse pad for setting the level of the batter boards at each of the greenhouse corners. We like for all of our greenhouse posts to be level with one another because it makes for easier construction of the bows and end walls.
Danielle and Justin using the auger for digging the corner posts. It mostly works; however, we have found that we spend a lot of time digging holes by hand because of all our rocks and the auger just can't dig through rocks!
Danielle and Justin using the auger for digging the corner posts. It mostly works; however, we have found that we spend a lot of time digging holes by hand because of all our rocks and the auger just can't dig through rocks!
Justin using the digging bar to pound rocks to dust or try and pry them loose so they can be removed from the hole. The digging bar is a very frequently used tool on this farm.
Justin using the digging bar to pound rocks to dust or try and pry them loose so they can be removed from the hole. The digging bar is a very frequently used tool on this farm.
After loosening rocks/soil with the digging bar, the post hole digger is used for removing dirt/rocks from the hole. Danielle is using it to clean out the hole.
After loosening rocks/soil with the digging bar, the post hole digger is used for removing dirt/rocks from the hole. Danielle is using it to clean out the hole.
Danielle and Justin setting the corner post to the correct height. To set the depth, we normally hammer it in a bit. If the hole is too deep, one puts a little dirt around the post, and then tamps the dirt down with the digging bar. The process of filling the hole with dirt and tamping is repeated until the post is securely set so that it can be concreted.
Danielle and Justin setting the corner post to the correct height. To set the depth, we normally hammer it in a bit. If the hole is too deep, one puts a little dirt around the post, and then tamps the dirt down with the digging bar. The process of filling the hole with dirt and tamping is repeated until the post is securely set so that it can be concreted.
Danielle and Justin plumbing the corner post. We like for our post to be about 1/16th inch from each of the strings. Here they are checking the post with the corner level and verifying that it is the correct distance from the strings.
Danielle and Justin plumbing the corner post. We like for our post to be about 1/16th inch from each of the strings. Here they are checking the post with the corner level and verifying that it is the correct distance from the strings.
Corner post plumbed and leveled. We concreted all the corner posts and allowed the concrete to dry a few days prior to setting the remaining posts. See our facebook page for photographs of Danielle and Justin setting the remaining posts while Carl and I were on vacation. It took them about 3 days to set all the posts, mostly because of dealing with the rocks, but now we are ready to concrete all the posts!
Corner post plumbed and leveled. We concreted all the corner posts and allowed the concrete to dry a few days prior to setting the remaining posts. See our facebook page for photographs of Danielle and Justin setting the remaining posts while Carl and I were on vacation. It took them about 3 days to set all the posts, mostly because of dealing with the rocks, but now we are ready to concrete all the posts!
Farmer

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