Make Your Own Pressed-Earth Blocks

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The soil for your blocks is screened through 1/4-inch mesh.
The soil for your blocks is screened through 1/4-inch mesh.
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Add the proper amount of water.
Add the proper amount of water.
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Dirt: the raw material for pressed-earth blocks.
Dirt: the raw material for pressed-earth blocks.
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Moist earth is packed into the press.
Moist earth is packed into the press.
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Properly made blocks lift out easily.
Properly made blocks lift out easily.
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The bricks — set with mortar — form a wall.
The bricks — set with mortar — form a wall.
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Four hands speed up the blending.
Four hands speed up the blending.
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Then ocotillo is added.
Then ocotillo is added.

Several seasons ago, my wife and I were looking for a place of our own where we could fill our lungs with clean, fresh air, keep ourselves in good physical shape and — in general — live the good life. We found what we were looking for when we bought a small ranch near Nogales, Ariz., right on the Mexican border.

Unfortunately, there was one small catch. “If you want to live here,” the former owner advised us, “you’ll have to get used to the idea of scores of animals — cows, burros, horses, coyotes, dogs and rabbits — going across your land every day en route from feed to water.”

We certainly had no desire to harass any animals, but when we heard that the land we’d bought (including the site of our future garden) was situated in the middle of a veritable expressway for wildlife traffic, we knew immediately that something would have to be done to reroute the local critters.

A chain-link (or comparable) fence would have done the job, of course, but would have been too costly to erect and ugly once it was up. We also ruled out the idea of erecting a massive wall as too expensive and too confining: who wants to live in a prison?

Ultimately, we arrived at a compromise solution: We decided to put up a combination wall/fence made of alternating sections of pressed-earth blocks and ocotillo poles.

  • Published on Jul 1, 1978
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