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Stretching New Barbed Wire Off an H-Brace Corner With a Ratchet Wire Stretcher: Pull Hard to Set the Barbs, Ease Off to Working Tension, Then Staple

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. New barbed wire has stretch built into it. If you staple it up the first time it looks tight, it sags by fall and the bottom strand ends up in the brush. Tie the strand off at the far brace, roll it out along the line, and hook a ratchet stretcher to it at the near corner. Pull it well past working tension to take the stretch out and seat the barbs, ease it back to working tension, then staple it loose to the line posts and tie it off. What the numbers say The British Columbia four-strand barbed wire fence specifications call for pre-tensioning barbed wire to 600 pounds, releasing it, and stapling at 250 to 300 pounds. They say all the stretch must be taken out of the wire, and the wire is wrapped twice around the end post with no spaces. The British Columbia factsheet on dispensing, stapling, and joining fence wire says new barbed wire is ...
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Hoeing Puncturevine Seedlings Off a Gravel Driveway Edge With a Stirrup Hoe: Cut at the Taproot Before Flowers, Sweep the Burrs, and Repeat for Years

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Goatheads love the hot, bare edge of a gravel driveway in the high desert. One plant left alone through July means flat bike tires, sore dog paws, and a fresh crop of burrs next year. Hoe puncturevine while it is still a seedling or small mat, slicing it off at the taproot no more than an inch below the surface. Do it before the first yellow flowers, sweep or rake up any burrs on the ground, and walk the same strip every week or two from late spring through summer, for several years. Why timing is everything The UC Statewide IPM Program's puncturevine page says the plant may start flowering within 3 weeks of germination. It says a typical plant produces 200 to 5,000 seeds in a season and seeds can stay viable in the soil for up to five years. The same page says the main control in home landscapes is removing seedlings and older plants by...
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Raking Pine Needles Out of the 5-Foot Ember Zone Around a Mountain House With a Steel Bow Rake: Down to Bare Ground, Under the Deck, and Never Thicker Than 3 Inches Anywhere

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  Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. On a pine-covered lot, needles pile up against the foundation, behind the propane tank, and under the deck faster than anyone expects. That strip right against the house is where a wind-blown ember finds its fuel. Rake pine needles, dead leaves, and old mulch out of the first 5 feet around the house, decks, and outbuildings, down to gravel or bare soil. Haul the material off rather than piling it nearby. Keep needles from building up thicker than 3 inches anywhere on the property, and recheck after every windstorm. Why the first 5 feet The Colorado State Forest Service Home Ignition Zone guide treats the first 5 feet from the home as Zone 1, the area that needs the most vigilant work to stop ember ignition and direct flame contact. Its checklist says to rake and dispose of pine needles, dead leaves, mulch, and other organic debris withi...
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Converting a Barbed-Wire Section to a Lay-Down Fence for Winter Elk Passage With Fencing Pliers: Wire Loops at Each Post, a Stay at Every Post, and a One-Person Drop

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Where elk and deer cross a fence line every winter, the wire takes a beating and so do the animals. A lay-down section lets the whole fence drop flat on the ground for the months the cattle are gone. A lay-down fence hangs its wires on wood stays, and each stay sits in two wire loops stapled to the post, one near the top and one near the bottom. To drop the section, flip up the top loop and lift the stay out of the bottom loop. Fencing pliers bend, cut, and staple the loops. How the design works Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' landowner's guide to wildlife friendly fences describes a lay-down fence as a standard 3-wire or 4-wire fence that can be laid on the ground as a unit. Posts go at 16.5-foot intervals, with one or two stays between posts plus a stay lined up with each post. The guide says wire loops stapled at the top and bot...
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Digging H-Brace Corner Post Holes for a Barbed-Wire Fence With a Post Hole Digger: 44 to 48 Inches Deep, Gravel in the Bottom, and a Lean Away From the Pull

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Every barbed-wire fence on a dry, rocky place lives or dies at its corners. The line posts just hold the wire up; the brace posts take the whole pull. For an H-brace corner, dig the anchor and brace post holes about 44 to 48 inches deep, keep them barely wider than the post, drop two or three shovels of gravel in the bottom, set each post in the center, and tamp the backfill in thin layers. Lean the anchor post slightly away from the pull. What the specs ask for The British Columbia four-strand barbed wire fence specifications call for corner and gate brace posts 8 feet long and 5 to 6 inches thick, set at least 44 inches deep with a target of 48. They list a 10-foot horizontal rail for corner braces. Virginia Cooperative Extension's guide to constructing high-tensile wire fences says to set anchor posts at least 3-1/2 feet deep, put t...
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Lifting Late Carrots With a Spading Fork Before the Ground Freezes Hard: A Dry-Soil Dig, Tops Cut Short, and Cold, Humid Storage Near 32 Degrees

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. At altitude the ground can go from soft to frozen solid in one cold week. Carrots still in the row when that happens are stuck there until a thaw, if they make it at all. Dig storage carrots in late fall before the ground freezes, on a day when the soil is dry. Loosen the row with a spading fork instead of pulling by the tops, cut the greens to about half an inch to an inch, skip the scrubbing, and store them as close to 32 degrees as you can with high humidity. What extension says about timing University of Illinois Extension's carrot growing guide says summer-planted carrots can stay in the ground until a killing frost. Some gardeners mulch the row with straw to keep harvesting until the ground freezes solid. UMass Amherst's fact sheet on storing vegetable crops says the carrots best for winter storage are the ones harvested in l...
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Grubbing Out Russian Olive Seedlings With a Cutter Mattock After a Rain: Every Root Out, Nothing Left to Resprout, and Years of Follow-Up

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Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Russian olive seeds itself along every ditch, fence line, and wet spot on a dry Western property. A seedling you can pull today becomes a thorny tree with a deep root system in a few seasons. Dig Russian olive seedlings and small saplings after a soaking rain, when the soil lets go of the roots. Use a cutter mattock to sever and lift the main root and its side roots, get as much root as possible, haul off the cut material, and recheck the spot for sprouts for several years. Why the root matters more than the top University of Nevada, Reno Extension's publication on identifying and managing Russian olive describes its roots as deep and well developed. It says regrowth from the crown or underground lateral roots is common in cut trees. The same publication says live seeds persist in the soil for many years and disturbed plants can regrow ...
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