Intern Project: Fixing and Repairing an Assortment of Areas Around the Farm
My intern project evolved a bit from my original plan, which was to create a garden space. Instead I decided that I would take the time to fix and improve a couple features around the office tea field that required repair, in order to make the space more accessible. The specific tasks I completed were repairing the loose steps leading from the driveway to the field, straightening and repairing the footers of the original tea club member board, rebuilding the access ramp from the driveway to the top of the field with a retaining wall, trimming the chestnut tree that was taking over the driveway, spreading mulch around the picnic table, and planting a bit of Setcreasea along the rebuilt ramp and wall to hold the soil in place.
The Steps, Tree, and Picnic Area
I removed the surrounding foliage, pulled out the loose blocks, reset the blocks, and added a bit of cement to the reset steps to ensure they would stay in place.
I also used a hand saw and trimmed a large branch that was hanging across the driveway and pulled out some old ground cover to spread some tea stem mulch to make weeding the office tea field easier.
The Leaning Tea Club Board
I reinforced the back of the sign legs with an additional piece of wood where they had begun to pull apart, I dug out the footers which had begun to shift, causing the above issue, added some new cement around the footers, tamped the new cement with some moistened soil to ensure that they would hold the sign upright, added braces to hold the sign steady while everything dried
The Footpath
The foot ramp leading along the side of the tea field to the top where the tea club boards are located was severely eroded.
I dug down to find a good base from which to begin the small retaining wall.
Framed up the ramp with some plywood,
Laid a cinderblock wall with oulets to allow adequate drainage,
Backfilled the wall with some gravel and rock to ensure it would drain properly and not push the wall down,
Added and tamped dirt over the rock to form a footpath,
Relaid the ground sheet to hold everything together while the newly added soil settles,
Added some discarded Japanese roof tiles to channel the water where it should go,
And included an additional step at the top of the ramp to allow another access point into the field.
After the wall was completed and the ramp rebuilt, I planted some Setcreasea along the base, to help prevent future erosion and hold everything together. Setcreasea is a low maintenance plant that requires little attention, has beautiful purple leaves, and tiny pink flowers.
The Setcreasea should fill in nicely with a bit of time, and keep the area looking beautiful.
It was really great to be able to work with my hands and contribute something to the farm that I hope will last a very long time, and be usable by everyone who needs easy access to the tea field.