SHORTCUTS TO SPRING CHORES

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COUNTRY LORE

How to sink a pipe and make it stay... almost forever.

It was with a great deal of interest that I read the piece submitted by Ms. Carol S. Larson of Harvard, IL dealing with the utilization of discarded carpet as a permanent mulch in the garden ["Country Lore," #152]. During the early and mid 1960s, I assisted my grandmother in her garden, where carpet was utilized for just the purpose Ms. Larson speaks of.

As a resident of the Blue Ridge foothills here in Northwest Georgia, I would add one enjoinder to Ms. Larson's suggestion. Any one who would utilize carpet remnants for mulch in an area inhabited by venomous members of the crotalid family would do well to forego any carpet of a pattern or coloration resembling that of the indigenous reptiles. My Cisco, Georgia, garden is located next to a hollow that harbors a spring and a creek. The extremely dry summer we recently experienced witnessed many a copperhead and an occasional rattlesnake utilizing the garden for provender. I have been more successful in avoiding contact with these fellows since using the polypropylene type synthetic backing-a material that allows passage of water and fairly good weed suppression. This material has also allowed me to rapidly identify those members of the crotalid family touring my garden and humanely remove them back to the hollow from whence they came (As a silver medalist in the Southeast Asia War Games of 1960 through 1975, I am reluctant to dispatch any creature for merely being itself.).

Thank you for an extremely informative publication.

-Joseph R. Dombroski
Chatsworth, GA

Setting a Lean-proof Post

The usual technique for planting fence posts is fairly standard, whether for 4x4s or 6x6s or round posts. Dig a hole and throw a little gravel or concrete in the bottom. Then insert the post, plumbing it while adding more gravel or concrete to the hole. Easy enough.

Sometimes, however, a post needs to be especially rigid and well-anchored, able to resist a lot of lateral stress. These might include lone gate posts, corners and some sign posts having horizontal, load-bearing arms. Here's a sure-fire method of installation that adds a new wrinkle to the usual procedure, and will prevent a post from eventually loosening or leaning.

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