Making An Outdoor Terrapin Habitat for Spike and Hermine !

This is the first of at least 2, and probably 3 short videos about my outdoor turtle habitat construction project. 

I have 2 Diamondback Terrapins (legal in Florida) that I have owned since they were only a little larger than a quarter.

Hermine is a few years older than Spike and both were found in the street by students of mine, who of course, brought them to me.

They have now grown too large for their current abodes, hence the "Project".

I will be adding predator protection, backfilling the pit seen in the video, landscaping, and aquascaping to include an island or two so they can exit the water and soak up some rays. Basking is important for their shell's health.

There will also be filtration, hoses, a pump or two, and if all goes as planned... Solar Power.

Enjoy and stay tuned for the next installment.

Cheers!

Raymond

Moving A 10 Year Old "Flexible PVC" Garden Irrigation System

Now that I'm retired from teaching 5-6 DIFFERENT science subjects every day, I have time to rejuvenate and redo the garden. 

Changes are happening and this video covers one major change along with the side effects. 

Years ago, I turned a 16' x 16' FFA hog pen into my Datil Pepper nursery and grow-out area. By adding some higher fencing, I had a deer-safe spot to start and grow my Datils.

Fast forward to my installing DeerBusters deer fence around a much larger garden area (that includes the old hog pen area too), and now the old irrigation system needs to be repurposed.

So, I dug up the old flexible PVC pipe with sprinklers attached and wrapped it around my raised beds.

To do this, I had to trench around the beds to lay the pipe underground.

Unfortunately, this meant I had to remove the paver stone walkway that I had installed not too long ago along one side of the 25-foot-long raised beds.

Also, after the trenching, pipe install, and backfilling was done, I needed to tamp down and relevel the walkway path, BEFORE reinstalling the pavers.

It was a classic example of one thing leading to another, but in the end, it all worked out.

Now with one turn of a faucet, I can drench my raised beds.

As I write this, I am doing just that. I'll be planting turnips and other fall-winter crops in those beds today after everything is nice and moist.