Wheelbarrow

Went online and looked for a wheelbarrow. I wanted an all metal one, and they were pretty expensive. The cheapest one I could find was 25000 yen so I decided to go for that. Just before placing the order however, I did something very unusual. I called the local home center shop and asked if they sold any wheelbarrows. Normally I just assume, correctly, that home center goods are more expensive than those online. So their answer was very surprising indeed. They sold 2 different sizes and both costed just over 3000 yen. Hmm...

So, I bargained me the flatter, wider size and now I can move stuff around much quicker, and with less pain to my back.

Here we are next to the pile of bamboo

First load of wood

And after 3-4 wheelbarrow trips between the pile of wood on the west side of the plot and the ditch on the northeast corner, I think the progress is looking good. 

Let's call it a day

Going into lazy mode

Measured and marked the level of my paths using a rubber hose and some water. Turned out I was starting to dig too deep again, and my path was leaning down the further I went. Good thing I measured just 1/3rd of the length into my digging, or else I would have dug all that dirt for no reason.

I also filled in more wood and logs into the hole, up to my path level which I have now marked. Next will be to fill up with clay/soil, and distribute some oat/wheat seeds.

However, I am not sure if it is the cold or just me... I have gone into lazy mode. I feel less motivated and only spend like 1 hour before giving up for the day and going home.

Maybe buying a wheelbarrow will help.

Not bad for a total newbie huh?

From the other side

Excavating on

Two more sessions, and still on schedule. By the way I think I won't need to buy a laser level, since I can just check the slope of rows using a hose and water.

After second day

Each digging session is 1-2 hours of intense work and then I have to give up for the day because my arms have gone all numb. During one such session I will have dug the distance between two pins that I have marked the row with, that is almost 1.5 meters.

After 3rd day

So I guess I will have finished digging in 15 more sessions/days. 

By the way, when I dig I put the topmost soil to the right, and the clay/bottom stuff to the left. Later when I backfill on top of the logs, I will only use the left stuff.

I meant it all along

Yep, I didn't dig too deep. There was a plan aaall along. Well at least I can always pretend it was the case.

See, I went in to back fill the hole to be a bit shallower, and I was thinking that it was a bit sad because afterwards I will have to keep cutting the wild, deep-rooted weeds in the rows between the trees all the time. Plus where am I now gonna find all the dirt to mound up my tree rows?

Then the big pile of logs and old bamboo pieces nearby caught my eyes. Aha!

How about I fill the hole with old trees and stuff, and put a few centimeters of dirt on top where I can sow some weed of my own choosing? For example oat, wheat or something like that.

Said and done. Ehmm.... I mean said and started. I hauled over a couple of logs and threw in the hole, and it looks like it will work out fine.

Burying the evidence

After hauling a couple of logs and lots of dirt and bamboos and stuff back and forth all this time, I am starting to feel that I need to get me a wheelbarrow. Maybe a little late but there is still a lot of hauling to be done. Also, I need to get a laser level to make sure my rows are not extremely unequal...

Add a bit of bamboo

Believe it or not, that small amount of bamboo took me 3 trips to the pile of logs on the other side. So yes, definitely need a wheelbarrow.

So now the plan is to keep digging all the way to the end, and put in logs and stuff but not cover with dirt yet until I can make sure it is level and I have something to sow. Otherwise just more weed will come out.

Digging on...

I figured if I dig a couple of meters every day when it is nice and sunny, I may have my 2 first rows ready just after the last frost, so that I can plant saplings. Unless of course I break my toe again.

Too deep?

Spent a couple of hours digging out beginning of a swale... then it hit me, maybe I am approaching this wrong. It seems to get too deep a distance between the bottom of the swale and tops of the rows if I dig out and use the dirt to backfill the rows. It is almost 1.2 meters...

Started digging

A bit over a meter of swale done (well kind of)

Too deep, right?

So, I suppose I just dig a little bit to shape the swale, like 20 cm or so, and then backfill the rows like 30 cm. And if the dirt from swale digging is not enough, I will just get it from somewhere else. That way the top and bottoms will be half a meter apart.

I am not sure. I will try it out and see what it looks like...

Root barrier

Next step was to finally put in the 20 meter long root barrier sheet in the border to east. It wasn't that hard.

Unfold the sheet

Put it in place

Cover it up before the rain comes

You may have noticed in the last picture the ditch that is forming in the middle of the plot. Here it is from a different angle

First row...?

That ditch marks the base of the first swale, i.e. the mid-line between the two northmost rows. My next thing to do is to start digging out and making that wider and my rows higher and narrower. Then I shall cover each row with 2 mulch sheets which meet on top of the row, so that I can plant on top of the row just between the sheets (huh huh)

To make sure the distance between the rows are same, I am going to use a plank or something, as wide as the path between the rows.

Spot the difference

 After my foot had healed, I went and started cleaning out the north neighbor's bamboos. That was the only day when I forgot to wear a helmet, and what do you know.... I was hit on the head by a falling bamboo. It was a pretty thick and heavy one that had broken and hung on other branches, and when I started clearing those branches, it got its chance to fall and hit me right on the head. 

It took 2 trips to the hospital and over 3 weeks to get over the injuries, pain and constant dizziness. Still I was very lucky I suppose. After that, I did not forget my helmet. Plus every time I push or pull a bamboo or a tree's branch I check first what may be hanging on it. Also I reevaluated my plan to cut down that leaning tree on the north west side. It's not really that bothering, and the risk of it breaking off because of its extreme lean and hitting me while I am cutting it is simply not worth it.

Anyway, after a few weeks I was back and spent a few days to clean the north side. I think I am done with those bamboos now. The remainder are leaning away from my plot and even if the fall they won't bother me.

Here is before and after pictures. Can you spot the difference? Hint: The difference is about 50 bamboos between the pics.

Before

After

In the "after" pic, there are still a few dry, broken bamboos tangled and hanging on the left side. I cleared those out too.