Re: New house, new chapter
 

Yes, those are Rainbird STS (simple to set) controllers, 9 stations per box. They really are simple to set ... so easy a child could do it (Dr. McCoy in "Spock's Brain").

Each station can have a separate start time and schedule, and a lot more features. No menus to go scrolling through -- its all right there on the panel.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Sounds good. Mine is a Hunter and the only thing wrong is that if it gets too much rain the display starts breaking up. Have replaced the main module twice in 8 years. The best thing I did to upgrade the system is replace the centrifugal pump with a jet pump. It's running 50 5gal/hr Netafim emitters with no problem. And those Netafims are so easy to clear when clogged.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Mine are indoors for that very reason!

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Now he tells me! lol

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Today I separated these pups from the mother plants. There's one Pisang Ceylon, and two "Banana from Temple".

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Earlier this week I had a very nice visit with crazy banana. I gave her the 3 extra plants from my garden, and she gave me a very robust Namwa pup from her mat. Here it is potted up in a 25-gallon container for the coming winter.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Interesting looking potting mix Richard. Please give composition?

Re: New house, new chapter
 

What you are seeing is about 1.5 inches of orchid bark on top of the potting soil in the pot. It serves as mulch. This particular orchid bark is 1/4" to 3/8" cubes of conifer bark manufactured by Sequoia Bark Sales in Reedley, CA. It is available in 3 cu.ft. bags for $10-$15 at many agricultural supply stores (not garden stores) in the western U.S.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Looking good! I am sure with your exceptional care and the new banana fuel fertilizer it will grow and fruit fast for you. You are always welcome to get more plants to fill the 1/4 acre.
Thank you so much for our new banana plants. They will stay in the pots until spring.
BTW: I love the orchid bark mulch a lot, too.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Today I started work on landscaping my yard. Here's what the front and back yard looked like at the end of the day!

Re: New house, new chapter
 

I would be scared to operate the bobcat on such an incline.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

I'm installing a retaining wall around the property so that my lot will be almost level with a 1% overall grade. Then I'm planting 60+ fruit trees and other edibles around the property.

I would have used my EX 8000 but the yard is too small. :)

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Construction progress. Almost done with the "rip out the old" phase.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

The base of this palm tree had been encased in cement. We finished removing the cement and now the tree can come out. It was an 80 footer!

Re: New house, new chapter
 

While construction has been raging on the outside, I've been ripping up the inside too. Nearly every room has strips and squares of wallboard removed while I pull out the old (1960's) 2-wire electrical and install new wiring and circuits.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

With the aid of an industrial metal detector, I found the all-important metal stake marking the NE corner of my property.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Hi, Richard
I would just like to wish you a easy-enough fun time with your awesome project and progress. I hope everything can work out to your obvious good appeal. Want to mention NC building and landscaping codes/rules are very lenient compared to what you have made me aware of in Cali :P Your house has a interesting roof/wall design for something built that old. . . . has anything been added-on?

Re: New house, new chapter
 

In that photo of the living room, you can see the vaulted ceiling was artificially dropped (slopes down) to the right. That appears to have been done a few decades ago. Then about 10 years ago, the owner upgraded the kitchen, baths, and all the windows, plus built a 14' by 24' family room on top of an existing patio slab.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Decades ago, someone foolishly installed a brick flower bed along the front of the house. When I bought the house this April, I knew I'd have remove it. The bricks were glued to the stucco and of course moisture moved through the bricks over the years and damaged the wall. Miraculously, the wood had no evidence of rot. Just to make sure, I sprayed it with Kocide. Here's the wall now with new paper and hardware cloth.

Also in this picture you can see damage on the left side of the roof where my new electric power line was routed. That will be patched next week. Over on the right side of the roof what looks like more damage is a palm tree frond -- left over from the tree I removed last week.

Re: New house, new chapter
 

Here's my draft of how I will plant out my bananas, veggies, fruit trees, and vines