Incorporating lava rock in your landscaping

[Thronester]

Ok kind of a stupid question try not to laugh but I'm curious. What is the best way to go about clearing/ grubbing away the top layer of soil and revealing the natural beautiful pahoehoe underneath. I see it a lot driving around HPP and think it looks cool when small sections have been unearthed and there's plantings in the pukas. Is it best to grab a shovel? Can a skid steer do it, or would that scraping cause damage. Obviously my lot hasn't been ripped!

[Carey]

We learned from a friend down by the ocean in HPP....propane weeder... fire nicely clears the plants, esp. if your lot is near the ocean & not way over jungle grown...

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

As Carey said, start with a propane weeder. There may also be a layer of soil that's developed over the years from decayed plant material. If that's the case you can try and remove it with a high pressure garden hose nozzle, or better yet, a power washer. It takes some time by this method but it will leave the natural lava mostly intact.

You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.

[MarkP]

I think the only practical way to separate the soil from the lava is with a hose. Wash it to a low spot and dig it up from there. While digging holes in lava for fence posts I have used a wet/dry shop vac to vacuum up soil and muddy water to clean a hole. Rinse (literally) and repeat until desired results are obtained. That's after the weeding, whacking, and burning described above.

There is no way you can use a bulldozer, excavator, or bobcat and still leave behind anything like natural lava formations.

[leilaniguy]

I've used a bow rake and Japanese grass knife in HPP, pulling the grass off the Pahoehoe, then cutting the turf with the knife and dumping it in the occasional crack to grow things in and leave the lava clean. Of course that was over 12 years ago, but it worked well.

[MarkD]

How long does it take for the lava to lose its lustre? Curious because we recently uncovered some in our property. Driving around, I see some outcroppings look faded, while others look fresher (like lava by Pahoa dump), even though I know both are same age because they are in same area in Volcano.

[Thronester]

Thanks for all the great advice, time to break out the firehose!

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

time to break out the firehose!

And speaking of firehoses, please, be careful if you use a propane weeder. We've had one or two fires in our neighborhood spread out of control over the past few years that started with a propane weeder.



You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.

[Thronester]

quote:

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Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge

time to break out the firehose!

And speaking of firehoses, please, be careful if you use a propane weeder. We've had one or two fires in our neighborhood spread out of control over the past few years that started with a propane weeder.



You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.

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Absolutely. I think I might try the rake/pressure washer before I break out the fire power

[kalakoa]

Pressure washer works great, either by itself or as a final cleanup.

Side effect: concrete sticks to fresh clean pahoehoe, so can "glue things down" without a jackhammer...