Soil is fucking heavy.

[errantember]

After bagging and moving 700 lbs (literally) of soil today by hand, and after hand-digging-out 200 square feet of Bermuda grass (the scourge of Austin gardens!) and after laying a 4-block high wall including foundation with limestone bricks weighing an average of 25 lbs or more all over the past week, even my advanced forms of personal denial can't prevent the conclusion that Permaculture involves work.

I don't recall them mentioning that in my design class.

There is only *one* possible reason why I could be doing this.

Work Now = Laziness Later

Further Landscaping Drama ensues:

My original calculation for how much soil I needed was about 8 cubic yards.

Reality Check #1

The Natural Gardener's Hill Country Garden Soil is $40+ per cubic yard.

Reality Check #2

Each cubic yard weighs 1400 lbs. That's right, 0.7 *tons*.

Reality Check #2 Correlary

Maximum loading for the CR-V is 800 lbs, including passengers.

Conclusion:

Following my original plan would require 16 trips with the CR-V, each one loading the vehicle to capacity, plus cost $320, not including gas costs. It would take a *minimum* of 45 minutes of back-breaking labor per per trip.

Solution:

Buy precisely one cubic yard, take only half of it on the first trip, then continue building the inside wall until I actually have a place to *put* the new soil. Cut everything with my existing compost to about 50%, and see how much shit I can actually get in the ground. Repeat until finished, broke, or permanently disabled.

Most of which will have to wait until after Poly Big Fun.

Stay tuned later for the Mystery of the Pod People!

Comments

[adam rice (from livejournal.com)]

I suppose all your hard labor is a tolerable excuse for skipping fire practice last night.

[s1ren.livejournal.com]

Good to know, especially since I also have a CRV. So...would they not just deliver your soil in a truck?

[dj-warhammer.livejournal.com]

If I lived closer I'd gladly help you out with my giant gas-guzzling BFT (big effin' truck). It can carry roughly 1250 pounds, or two Wal-Mart sized adults and a sack of cheeseburgers.

[austingoddess.livejournal.com]

I spent last week doing nothing but moving dirt around, too. (Also sacking some of it up that contained mulched construction waste - carpenter ants' favorite!) I got a lot more left to do as we basically remodel the entire front yard and part of the back. Whee, I tell you. When is someone going to invent a dirt vacuum that can switch between suck and blow?