What did Brent "weld" up this time!

Brent Dowell

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Reno NV
Lest play a game. What do you think this is?

I 'welded' it together. In quotes because, well, because I can stick the metal together, but to call it welding would be a stretch.

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Nice touch covering up the welds with that black paint. Now we're only gonna know if they are bad when the shelf collapses under the weight of the CNC computer stuff:rofl:
 
Nice touch covering up the welds with that black paint. Now we're only gonna know if they are bad when the shelf collapses under the weight of the CNC computer stuff:rofl:

As Stu once told me, "A grinder and paint, makes a welder what he aint"!

Still, not related at all to computers or CNC's.
 
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:)

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Nice touch covering up the welds with that black paint. Now we're only gonna know if they are bad when the shelf collapses under the weight of the CNC computer stuff:rofl:

Or when the paint peels off with all the slag that he painted over. :D

I'm guessing it's not a dining room table. :rofl:
 
I'm planning on waging all out hand to hand combat and chemical warfare on weeds this year.

I've got a 24 gallon electric spray tank. It was just too much for my little lawn tractor to haul around. Filled, the wheels would come off the ground. It also wasn't quite robust enough to go everywhere I need to spray.

The tank didn't fit quite right on the back of the quad, and there was no way to empty the tank with it on the quad.

So, I welded up this bracket to mount it just behind seat area.

The sprayer has a hand held wand, as well as a broadcast sprayer.

Thanks for playing!

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Cool beans......but .......isn't everything in your enormous yard weeds??? Those what are they juniper bushes??? They not exactly "not weeds" are they? Lol.



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Well, There are weeds, and then there are weeds.

The iconic tumbleweeds, or russian thistle is an invasive weed, as opposed to the native sagebrush and other plants. It has very sharp and sticky seeds that are a real pain to deal with. As I found out this year, it really loves 'disturbed' ground. I couldn't have had more of them this year if I tried to grow them.

The other main weed I'd like to control is cheatgrass. It's a grassy type of weed, also known as foxtail. It can be a hazard for dogs because of the shape of the seeds. The seeds can work their way into a dogs skin, and due to the bargs do not come out backwards. The same if they manage to 'snort' some up their nose.

Both of these weeds are an incredible fire hazard as they dry out and become very easy to catch on fire. A couple of years ago a fire on the other side of the valley started due to a bearing on a trailer going bad, becoming red hot and spinning off into the desert.

I'm not wild about the juniper bushes either, as their nickname by the fire department is 'green gas cans' due to the flammable resin in their foliage and the dry tinder that collects underneath them.

So a big part of this effort is to maintain what they call defensible space around your house to keep it easier for the firemen to try and protect your house should their be a fire.

So, I think it will be easier to prevent the tumbleweeds and cheat grass from growing, than it is to deal with their mature form. So this year I'm going to try really hard to keep them from growing, and if they do grow, to attack them while small and young.

I'm also planning on yanking out the junipers as well.
 
Nice. Maybe weld up a wheely bar to put on the trailer hitch. Having visions of my 4 wheeler I had growing up going up a small incline flipping on it's back with extra weight on the back and it trying to roll over me. :eek:
 
Nice. Maybe weld up a wheely bar to put on the trailer hitch. Having visions of my 4 wheeler I had growing up going up a small incline flipping on it's back with extra weight on the back and it trying to roll over me. :eek:

Not a bad idea, actually, LOL
 
Our dogs have the yearly run in with cheat grass here as well. Usually in the ears (and gets in deep enough that it's often a vet visit) or the paws where it's often easier if I cut them out from the top when they go in the bottom. As to tumbleweeds, they burn nicely is about all that's good about them.

Good luck with your eradication plans. I still think you might be better off trying to get still some sparse bunch grad growing in the long term, but see how this goes.
 
sparse bunch grad

Whatever that is, LOL. The whole point is more one of defensible space, so don't really want anything to grow. I have a feeling I'd have a hard time getting anything I wanted to grow to grow, just as I have a hard time keeping things I don't wnat to grow from growing.
 
Whatever that is, LOL. The whole point is more one of defensible space, so don't really want anything to grow. I have a feeling I'd have a hard time getting anything I wanted to grow to grow, just as I have a hard time keeping things I don't wnat to grow from growing.

Bleh. Stupid auto typing phone thing, lets try this on an actual keyboard "Sparse Bunch Grass" (sparse being the key word here and bunch grass being synonymous with some other sparse growth desert plants). The idea is that if you have nothing the erosion will end up clearing the topsoil exposing which then allows more weeds to get ahold which ends up making the problem worse. If there is something to break the wind a bit, it'll help hold the dirt in place even if sparsely placed just because it breaks the wind a wee bit and stops the topsoil disturbance. You might be able to get a similar effect with carefully placed rock piles or something similar. I'm not sure, but I think you're to cold for some of the more southern plants like Yucca that often fit into that niche..

To further my argument I resort to the classic appeal to authority..
http://nsbla.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/nsblanvgov/content/home/features/CommunityDefensibleSpace.pdf
"Many homeowners sometimes clear a large area around their homes as a defensible space buffer. While this does offer initial protection , the cleared area is then subject to flammable weed growth such as cheatgrass, Russian thistle and medusahead grass . The area is also highly subject to both wind and water erosion, creating additional problems. A better a pproach is to thin the existing native shrubs (fuels reduction) and plant ornamentals in a 30 foot zone with rock mulch surrounding the home. The best plants in this zone are herbaceous, such as lawn, annuals and perennials. Plants with a high moisture content that are green and actively growing , and plants lacking flammable chemicals are the best selections. Shorter deciduous shrubs less than 2 feet tall are a better selection than taller evergreen shrubs ."

A short list of plants: http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/resea.../Horticulture/GardeningGuideForHighDesert.pdf
Notice that some of the coarser bunchgrasses do maintain moisture through the summer in the their core, but depends on the year, etc.. so its often worth cutting them back late spring anyway.

These guys are semi-local and have a lot of interesting information including another possible plant list:
http://www.moananursery.com/fb_files/IF-12 Defensible Space & Fire Resistant Plants.pdf
from: http://www.moananursery.com/expert-tips-and-info/high-desert-fact-sheets.html

More here:
https://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2007/sp0712.pdf
bud sage looks promising, as does Ephedra viridus, Spiny hopsage, Apacheplume - Desert peach and Smooth sumac (although that one has other issues) might want to much water but are close.

You can likely get some of the borderline plants to grow and make a reasonable windbreak if you chop up the brush you're taking out and put it in a trench along the windward side to make a small hugelkultur bed (http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/, http://www.permies.com/t/12150/hugelkultur/hugelkultur-hot-arid-climate) possibly enhanced by a swale or two to retain what little water you do get (http://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/11/discovering-oasis-american-desert/, https://www.permaculturereflections.com/water-catchment-strategies-for-drylands-swales/). With some planning and gare there you could probably get serviceberry, dogwood, and bitter/choke cherry as well as the desert currant/gooseberry variants to grow on something like that.

To be clear I don't think anything you're working on eradicating is worth keeping... but driving around the 4 wheeler will disturb the soil more and total plant eradication has similar issues so basically my concern is that you're creating more work for yourself than a somewhat more holistic approach would in the long term (ultimately I'm pretty lazy and will do a lot of work to avoid doing work.. yeah.. that's it :rolleyes:).

Once the soil crusts back over the tumbleweeds just won't grow.. but for that to happen the soil has to remain undisturbed and stable (takes about 2 years from what I've seen in similar climates). The cheat grass is a somewhat harder problem but I've had some luck with planting around it and doing spot applications to kill it back. The other desert plants collect the water and effectively starve it of moisture - they don't have to be that thick, but some do appear to help.

My experiences with dirt bikes and 4 wheelers impact on desert landscaping has been pretty universally negative, even at low rates of speed and careful usage they still break up the soil and then it goes down hill.

Anyway, I've said most of that before as my $0.02 so I'll shut up now.. carry on :D
 
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