While the succeeding days are still dry there is one project that must be completed before the arrival of the rainy season. There's an area along the dirt road that needs a retaining wall to hold the ground on one side and keep it from eroding into the road.
This path along the row of black bamboos need a retaining wall to prevent the soil from sliding.
My original plan was to use stones for the retaining wall. But as I found out while on a visit to the farm last February, it's impractical to use stones as they turn out to be very expensive. In our place, how stones are sold depend on the size. The big ones are sold by piece, smaller ones are sold in bulk and priced per square meter. Unfortunately, the stones we need do not fit in the "small" category so they are sold by piece and the price per piece is not cheap.
The area getting prepared for the installation of the wall.
Budget, the number one factor in any of our projects, prompted me to think of other options. Thus I decided to choose reinforced hollow (cinder) blocks instead. It may not be as good looking as natural stones but the price difference is very significant. Stone veneer could be used later on to cover the surface of the wall.
For height comparison, our garden helper working near the edge of the area that needs a retaining wall.
Since part of the area that needs a wall is over seven feet tall, Dad said that it would be better and safer to build a two-tiered wall, in a terraced-like form. This will stabilize the soil better and reduce the pressure exerted by the ground on the wall, minimizing any possibility of damage.
A two-tiered retaining wall will also create a planting area between the walls. And I already know which plants to put there. This will be a two part project, the lower and upper walls. The lower wall project has already been funded so now it's a go.
7 comments:
oh that sounds good - I wonder what plantings will go in there? a two tiered wall will also look less imposing i think - great plan.
I am finding it hard to imagine... Perhaps you will show some photos later.
Just wondering out loud, if I may, would plants and trees also do the same job like the wall, holding on to the soil to avoid erosion? That will take a long time and not be practical, right?
great job!!!
Oh it means a lot of money again coz it's a long and tall area! BTW, why can i not send you an email just like One? What appears in my inbox is just your link not the e-add, i don't know how to reply directly to you. Can you send my your e-add. It is somewhat awkward to put these things in the comment section here. Anyway, about your questions, i also dont know the common name of the anole, i just see it in their blogs. We call it 'bangkalang' in Tagalog but there are many types i see at home in Batangas. Definitely it is larger than gecko but much smaller than 'bayawak' or monitor lizard. An anole which climb the tree with something expanding in the throat we call 'anga-anga'. Raintree is 'acacia' natin dito sa Pilipina, but its genus is not Acacia although both are legumes.
Maybe you can also use coconet to prevent soil erosion. I'm not sure about the cost though.
Looking forward to your pictures of this side of your land as your project progresses.
Hello Africanaussie,
There are several Birds of Paradise growing in the nursery still in their black plastic containers. These are the plants that immediately came to my mind when we decided to do a two-tier wall. I'd like to make them the dominant plants in that area.
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Hello One,
Imagine how rice terraces are constructed. It wont be as grand as that though :)
Yes trees and plants do help prevent soil erosion but on this particular situation where the soil is on a vertical slope, a wall is better suited, at least I think...LOL
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Hello Ely,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. Let's see what becomes of this project :)
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Hello Andrea,
Hmmm... I dont know why you cant send an email directly to me. One was able to do so a couple of times already.
Oh, so the raintree is what we call acacia. Thanks for the nugget of info. I've seen the bayawak, we have those in the farm too (I dont mean my brothers though), they raid the chicken coups at night... LOL
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Hello Bom,
I started researching on coconet after I read your comment. I'm having a hard time looking for info though on how to use it, not much online write-ups about it yet.
Good thing I read your comment twice, I thought you wrote coconut.
I'll definitely post pictures as the project progresses.
You just lay the coconet over the soil. It was initially produced in Bicol so you may want to start looking there. It is best for vertical slopes if I am not mistaken.
Have you seen these? The 1st website says it is cheaper than cement and stone. The second site has something like cocobricks/cocoblocks which you might be able to use as replacement for your big stones. Plus it is allegedly 80% cheaper.
http://www.laspinascity.gov.ph/home/article?cat=ls&sub=Coconet+Livelihood
http://www.cocogreen.net/challenge.htm
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