Relocating to Puna

[Nate SC]

What ever happened to the "old dirt road" ???..lol..just a thought..

[pslamont]

Nate: I asked the same thing. Apparently it;s more complicated than that. Although one can simply drive a jeep or truck over a path and make ruts, knocking down the grass te problem here is that with 150 inches of rain a year and 9 feet of soil septh, what you get is mud. deep,, sinking quagmire of mud. You can wakk those paths but a vehicle weighs too much and will sink. A neighbor lost a tractor to a mudhole and after several days of trying to extract it (and nearly losing another vehicle) the insurance company settled and said "let it stay there".

The very top of the ground.. maybe an inch or two... crusts from the baking of the sun over the years. however, if you scrape even the very top off, you get mud and you sink. I didn't believe it, so of course had to try... Believe it!

Even laying in the base rock layer, one has to put weed mat down... mesh with little metal interweavings... 12 ft wide and contiguous for 300 ft to keep the base rocks from sinking. I guess as a bulk they slowly settle, so long as individual rocks can't sink down. It all goes back to Roman road building and depends on terrain. In Fern Forest, just 5 miles south of me, the lava layer is less than 6 inches under soil; terrible for growing things but great for buidling dirt roads... which they have everywhere!

It's all a learning adventure, and taken as a whole, I would rather have the expensive road and the soil for my orchards and such than not.

Mahalo for your interest and comments; you guys keep me going, my spirits up, my thinking cap on.
Pam

May you live in interesting times.

[Nate SC]

Hey Pam,
Thats just for a "rock" road,,,I wonder what it would cost for a "paved" road ? I was wondering if your "orchard" is going to be just for yourself or are you doing it for "commercial" purposes ? Every time we visit I plant a few fruit trees just to attract wild pigs but I never considered an orchard. Are you folks thinking about livestock too ? With 30 acres you could have a herd of cows or goats. In fact, goats keep the weeds down in orchards and eat the "drops" so you dont get all the "pest". Anyways, keep me posted and post some photos so we can all "share".
Smiles,
Nate

[pslamont]

I don't know where to post photos or I would indeed share. As for livestock, we plan for goats. Cows are too much care and we just don't know enough. Goats are harder to kill! It will be 4 or 5 years before the goats can roam free in the orchard; otherwise they will eat the trees.

We plan the orchard essentially for our use but realize there will be overages of everything so will either make a roadside stand or do farmers market. Nothing extravagent.

Can't even imagine trying to do a paved road up here. I haven't seen anyone do it except the county. Even the private roads are mostly dirt/rock.

I missed your request r/t birds of paradise... sorry. However you should be able to phone
Plant it Hawaii and get a quote. They are nice but will only sell to you if you havea GE reasle #.

When will you be here next?


May you live in interesting times.

[pslamont]

I AM THE PROUD OWNER OF A NEWBORN ROAD!

I was stranded without wheels today, but my workers got it on! The road was finished today. Seems that the "other" job that the trucks were also doing met with a mishap. The other builder laid in the thinnest road possible and it didn't pay off. He is just down Gelnwood Road from me. Same issues with rain, deep soil and drainage. One of the trucks nearly flipped today and they flat out refused to continue. He has begun construction on his home at the same time as his road, tried to lay inthe quickest cheapest one and just got bit in the butt. No trucks would go in... rock, construction.... nothing. So they all teamed up and delivered my rock and finished mine in a day. The neighbor tells me tht the rock haulers marched the owner of the other property over to mine (less than half a mile) and showed him what he would have to build to get his construction started back up.

Anyway, it pays to do it right I guess. Now to get the fence finished and the gate up to keep the locals from all driving down to see what's going on in the property; I am more private than to have people crawling around that I never know about.

So, we drove over in the dark, used a car to light the way and walked it all tonight. I am so thrilled I can hardly stand it. I am waiting for a quote from Plant It Hawaii for the 40 trees I want to begin with for the orchard. My ranch hand will be putting the gate up in the morning. I will be purchasing 20 Mandevillea to distribute along the fence... it;s getting pretty!

May you live in interesting times.

[David D]

Hi Pam,

WOW! It must be really great to see every thing come together. And it does pay to do things right the first time, as your neighbor has probably figured out by this time.

I am very interested in finding out more information about your fencing. Are you using the standard 48” field wire with t-stakes and having posts set every 2 or 3 hundred feet? If they do a good job let me know who they are.

I really liked Plant It Hawaii when we visited last January. Did you see my Post on Hilo Web?

I can’t tell you how much I “live” through your posts on this forum. I feel as though I’m there working on my own property!

David D

[pslamont]

to combat the daily rain spurts, we have put up one of those 10 x 20 foot covered portable shelters, tossed weedman down on the ground and put tarps on the sides. I filled it with a childs table and chairs (I care for a 2 1/2 year old) and a table and chairs for me too. I am told that I can get free pallets, so I'll do that then put plywood over them for a floor. Anyway... my point... the neighbor and her children with their friends (ages 8-12 ish) cameover to see our new road. I had the remains of a picnic lunch which all the kids devoured. Mom and I sat and chatted while the kids took 2 1/2 year old Nick out into the rain to "be jungle rainforest children". What a delight to be in a place where children use their imaginations, can go exploring without a parent's watchful eye every moment and have FUN. We sat listening to their squeels of delight as the rain became nearly brutal. The winds picked up and they ran back to us, only to run in and out of the storm laughing and playing. My heart was opened up with delight. Sure beats So Cal, where you drive the kids to a park to play outside, pay a fee for the skate park so they can skate.... everything controlled and entertainment designed. I can already see why locals cherish their lives here for so many reasons. I am blessed to share in this joy!

May you live in interesting times.

[Nate SC]

Pam,
Your "saga" has given me an idea about "road fill". I once saw crushed glass used as road fill and even combined with asphalt for top coats. In fact, Hollywood Blvd. is paved with crushed glass in the top coat so it "glitters" in the sun. I bet the glass is free from the "recycle depot" too, it's just a matter of crushing it. I'm always thinking of "non-traditional" materials to use in construction.

[pslamont]

A little off subject but.... my sense of things coming together is wonderful today. Suddenly the road is in, my Jeep is finally here so I have my own wheels, I pick up preliminary plans from the drafter at noon today for our custom home, tree order for the orchard has a quote; just waiting for hole to be dug by the ranch hand and we'll put the order thru.. fence and gate should be up by Saturday (we had to take some fencing down and replace it for the large trucks to get in with rock). The three pastures for orchard, barn and home are all mowed and walkable. I have purchased Mandevillea to climb the entry fence along the road for both prvacy and just pretty flowers... gosh, it sure is looking good! This weekend is plant, plant, plant time... Anyone wants to dig holes or weed whack for fun, come on by! LOL...

May you live in interesting times.

[David M]

Sure sounds like it's all coming together. Who did you get for your drafter?