All right, budding Village gardeners! (Pun marginally intended.)
Well, maybe the Village community garden is, until we have our own community space for it, an amalgam of all our little disparate plots, connected by ideas and shared fruits. And vegetables. And herbs...
At the McCulley garden, we are hoping to plant kiwi and grape vines. They probably won't be producing for a couple of years, but the varieties we are looking at are prolific. The kiwis are actually not like the fuzzy guys you buy at the store. They are "hardy kiwis": grape-sized, sweeter, and though not fuzzy, every bit as cute and lovable and edible as the originals.
Currently, however, our dreams of a hardy-kiwi production facility (our pergola) are beset by the evil forces of caliche lurking in our soil. I have dug 6 of 10 footings, but the remaining four have caliche about 3-6" below grade. Anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of this highly unjoyful, unimpactable substance? (It is so unimpactable that I'm sure there's a great sermon illustration somewhere.)
I have my hammer drill and I'm not afraid to use it. But I wonder if there is a better way... I've heard suggestions of soaking the hole with water or vinegar (something acidic - maybe Starbucks Extra Stout?). One friend even told me that there is some kind of non-toxic chemical which, diluted with water, will dissolve it overnight. The Desert Museum's Web site denies the existence of any such magic chemical, however... hmmmm, perhaps to prevent some of the more environmentally challenged among us from dumping CLR or Lime-Away down a hole? |