Couple of gardening related questions...

GervisLooper

LessImpecunious said:

GervisLooper said:

LessImpecunious said:

Wood chip for paths - often available cheap or free from tree surgeons if you have any local to you, and there should be a lot about at the moment with all the recent storms...

Even if they give it away free transport may be an issue no? Similar to how you can get free hardcore but the problem is shifting it! As I will want to lay over a couple of acre (not fully of course, just paths over that length/breadth) would probably be impractical to put in my van, which has very little space due to being living space.

Tree surgeons will have to dispose of their wood chip somewhere, and if your field is somewhere they will pass or can easily get to at the end of the day or after a job, and you're willing to "dispose of it" for them, or even pay a little for a tipper load full, that might be an advantage for them...

There is actually a sizable forestry only a couple of miles away that I can see across the other side of the valley and I often hear them busy with their chainsaw in the distance. That is a government owned one though I think so probably not going to apply?

Oh actually I just remembered I have 2 large piles of cut down brash already on the site which was the result of clearance before purchase,

They are both quite sizeable with the largest being several metres wide and a couple high. It has all been there nearly a year now but does not seem to have rotted down.

This would do the same as the chippings wouldn't it and a good use of otherwise unwanted biomass?

I have actually even started laying that down. I did only a few metres and got fed up as it is not easy to break from the pile since it is a big entanglement of small trees and smaller twigs and even some wire fence in there.

Still, if I had decided on wood chippings otherwise I might resolve myself to instead work through these piles first to put them to good use.

I am a little concerned what rodent will be living in there once I get deeper into the piles! I hope they would run away before I dug in and not attack me.

ArbitraryRandom

The other option, of course, is to address the underlying issue of why the area gets muddy - if there's a slope then digging a trench and putting in a french drain (with gravel) might help, for example. 

GervisLooper

ArbitraryRandom said:

The other option, of course, is to address the underlying issue of why the area gets muddy - if there's a slope then digging a trench and putting in a french drain (with gravel) might help, for example. 

Had thought about that too but it is a field on a valley hillside and very clayey. Seems like it would be a mammoth task to try and overcome that. I have planted willow on the top band, as well as elsewhere, in the hopes they might soak up the moisture as they are said to love it.

There is a trickle stream running right into the ground in the middle but that doesn't account for the whole couple acres being boggy. I think there will be veins all over the hillside draining through as I see another one in the field nextdoor as well and overall bogginess throughout.

Might look again into the irrigation options though as I abandoned the idea before really giving it much consideration, thinking it too difficult and/or expensive to even try.

At the same time I would prefer a 'light touch' to my man made intervention if possible and would prefer not do any drastic measures to disrupt the natural eco system too heavily. Perhaps gentle encouragement to a few channels, leaving some drier spots would be acceptable.

Btw if putting a shed on said land how will I deal with the floor to make it suitable to take the shed? The whole land is not the same level of boggy and I would plan to site it in a corner which receives most sunlight and in turn is less waterlogged than the rest but it is by no means dry. It just isn't squelch squelch under foot like most of the rest.

An example is I dug a few squares and in this area digging around 1 foot will not dig into immediate pools of water underneath however I noticed with a couple of small sections I cleared with a mind to make some plant beds soon I noticed the next days water would have collected in any recesses - not from any waterfall as it hadn't rain but accumulation from above.

So as such how would I make it suitable for plonking a shed down? Historically I was looking into how they made buildings on stilts, or pile buildings. Not sure if that would be easily achievable here? Again, I don't want to use any 'permanent' stuff which is otherwise common in these cases like putting posts in concrete, so not sure of my options.

Would the plastic lattice type underlays for sheds suffice of will it require complete raising of the ground? Latter is better anyway for keeping rodents away as well so would have dual benefit.

twopenny

Indeed raising it off the ground would help with moisture and rodents - but unless you sink the posts very deep (see medieval construction) they will move with clay.

You really need concrete for it to remain stable then have it raised too.

Remember the mushroom shaped stilts to keep the grain store away from rats?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staddle_stones

Would it be feesibile to dig small trenches to drain into a pond and thereby increase wildlife?

https://www.flowerpotman.com/garden-pond-builder/how-to-make-a-clay-pond/

I think with your situation you need to look to the past.

It worked for centuaries.

RAS

OK, let's start with your brash piles. They need reducing down to branches 10cm or less. If you haven't got a shredder, borrow or hire a petrol or generator driven one and reduce the pile. At this time of the year, also claim any Xmas tree you see abandoned.

And check out your local tree surgeons. Some charge to deliver. Our local one delivers to various drop off points within the allotment site, free of charge, knowing we'll "eat" everything he can deliver. 

The next point my father taught me. If you want to drain land, you have to start by draining the top of the slope. You may have to start by installing or renovating drains down the side of the field, starting at the bottom. As you move up the slope, you may intersect water running across the site.

I'd also suggest you have short tailed voles. What's the raptor population like?

GervisLooper

RAS said:

OK, let's start with your brash piles. They need reducing down to branches 10cm or less. If you haven't got a shredder, borrow or hire a petrol or generator driven one and reduce the pile. At this time of the year, also claim any Xmas tree you see abandoned.

And check out your local tree surgeons. Some charge to deliver. Our local one delivers to various drop off points within the allotment site, free of charge, knowing we'll "eat" everything he can deliver. 

The next point my father taught me. If you want to drain land, you have to start by draining the top of the slope. You may have to start by installing or renovating drains down the side of the field, starting at the bottom. As you move up the slope, you may intersect water running across the site.

I'd also suggest you have short tailed voles. What's the raptor population like?

Brash piles are probably 60%-70% or so smaller stuff anyway with mostly the kind of size you state.

Yes that looks like them, the voles.

Raptors well I hear what sounds like owls early in the morning but can't really rely on them just let them do their thing and they don't seem to be making a dent as is!

The staddel stones mentioned by @twopenny, which I had read about as well too very recently, seems two have a 3 fold benefit: Stop the rodents, elevate the structure from the boggy land and third, as the field is on a slop it could offer a way to level the base without digging down into the ground.

How would I go about making this though? The pictures on wikipedia are good and all but I don't think I will find staddell stones in the local b&m stores! How would I DIY those and also what would I then use as a base once the 'stilts' were there? All this though with a mind of it being possible to move in future should any occasion arise. Just in case, I would prefer to make it as modular as I can.

Postcrete is not that harmful to the ground or that permanent is it in that, while it will make stone like infills, they could simply be dug out and broken up and disposed if they had to be right?

Currently throwing around ideas I am thinking maybe postcrete x amount of posts with taller/shorter to make them equally level on the slope. What to use for those? I just thought scaffolding but as no power tools probably better to use wood? Making a dome on the tops should be easy enough to stop rodents being able to get over it. I don't see the it would need to be mushroom shaped, just anything flared and flat on the underside seems like it would do. Oh I just thought they probably do the mushroom in order to have a gap between the structure bottom and the flare bit. Still that will be a pretty easy part to improvise I guess.

What about the actual base? Not thought of what to do with that so far? Wants to  be strong but not unwieldy for one person to erect. Again no powertools or ac electrics but basic hand tool for woodworking. Suggestions?

twopenny

For the saddle stones you could build pillars with bricks as the Romans did. Bricks are made from clay and can also be reused.

The base is the compromise because of the land and what you want to do. Not sure if post crete will work. I tried it for some stuff because it's what I had to hand and it didn't have great sticking power. So perhaps some research.

The medieval remants were from wood that have lasted in clay. Ditto Venice.

Not everything in the past was bad.

People are trying to sell stuff now, regardless of it's real usefulness.

GervisLooper

twopenny said:

For the saddle stones you could build pillars with bricks as the Romans did. Bricks are made from clay and can also be reused.

The base is the compromise because of the land and what you want to do. Not sure if post crete will work. I tried it for some stuff because it's what I had to hand and it didn't have great sticking power. So perhaps some research.

The medieval remants were from wood that have lasted in clay. Ditto Venice.

Not everything in the past was bad.

People are trying to sell stuff now, regardless of it's real usefulness.

If I buy a high quality shed which strong metal it seems the extra faff of making it on stilts might not be needed if rodents are unable to chew through it anyway.

I am in two minds: either get a small shed just for tool/food storage now and then perhaps get another for use as a workshop later or get one larger one to fit both purposes.

I just read that the larger the shed the more accurate the base measurements have to be so maybe that is a tick in favour on a smaller one.

Also as for a workspace for myself 99% of the time I will be fine out in the elements with perhaps just a tarp or similar to cover from the worst of it as moving around will keep me warm. So maybe no need to shell out the extra for a bigger shed in that case.

Some of the better quality sheds I have been looking at state they have a strong by design metal base as standard so could perhaps just plonk it down onto some of those plastic grid bases I have seen for sale.

Oh and a smaller shed is certainly better to construct as one person and move around!

I had initially been thinking up to container type size of something 10x20ft for an all in one but now perhaps a more modest one of 8x10ft of similar.

FreeBear

GervisLooper said: I had initially been thinking up to container type size of something 10x20ft for an all in one but now perhaps a more modest one of 8x10ft of similar.

I see one can get shipping containers fairly cheap, although delivery could be a kicker.. Also possible to get flat-pack containers which would be easier to manouver in to a back garden (they claim assembly can be done by one person).

Tucosalamanca

I have a 4m long flat pack container (from PortableSpace), the heaviest panel is 153kg (total weight 421kg)
Two strong people struggle to carry each panel, I generally have four people available when moving them.
With the panels carefully situated, assembly can be done by one person (with some difficulty), two people make it far easier.
The roof however, really needs several people to complete the installation, 2-3 for the lift and one to guide it in to position.
It's a fantastic product and very well engineered but certainly at this size, isn't a one person job.
In total, it's around 50 bolts to secure, so not at all difficult.
The base is constructed from timber boards (with metal frame), which do need replacing every few years.

A used-once shipping container will likely be cheaper, even with delivery but might not be practical, depending on access and the intended site of the container (HGV with crane, less than an hour to off-load and site).

As mentioned above, Asguard sheds are also a great (if expensive) option.