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Seeing the need for keeping the patch soils loose for the mass of roots these "freaks" put out and now dealing with the constant moving of the walk boards I'm wondering if some of the veterans of the AG wars have developed favorite methods of placement, lengths, widths, etc for our little access walks.

Any of you math wizards ever figure out the PSI compression factor on various sizes and the impact to the beds?

Hearing that some of the HH's have actually developed "reach in tools" for harvesting males and covering females, spurred some thinking here.

I have a hairbrained idea for using a different technique. Hopefully making this important but time consuming method easier for all of us. I know that growing a couple of plants and using a few boards doesn't seem like much of a chore,,but anyone that is dealing with multiple plants must have thought "there has got to be a better way" at some point when constantly bending and moving these "gang planks"

Unlike a previous post concerning tea that I entered on a dare (tyvm Deb/Don,,lol) this is a serious query any and all input will be appreciated.

6/22/2006 7:11:59 AM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Come on Dan. A few hundred feet of Cable, a harness and you can peter pan it in the patch.

6/22/2006 7:58:43 AM

Puyallup, WA

I seen seen all kinds of boards and ladders used in the patch to walk on. I have used two foot wide by 8 ft. long plywood pieces, 2 X 8,10,12" planks, and even used scrap wood to piece together ladders of various lengths.
I discovered that loose soil speeds root growth and that roots always come to the surface of the soil underneath the boards.
Regarding the moving of the boards....I just do it. This is a very "labor intensive" hobby!

6/22/2006 1:27:25 PM

Salmon Arm, BC

I like Shannon's idea. I could play all day in there and not mess up anything! "Wheeee...look at me the pumpkin fairy!! Seriously Dan, I was thinking the same thing the other day....has to be a better way. I thought of a permanent floating board raised up on sticks of rebar that holds it an inch or so off the ground? Just throwing it out there....will probably make one to try anyway. Deb:)

6/22/2006 1:51:54 PM

Billerica,Massachusetts

i usually have some long boards that i either keep in the same spot or move slightly over the season i also use smaller boards say 4-5 footers that i use to manuver into places i need to get so i can prune,weed,pollinate ect.
Glenn

6/22/2006 2:30:56 PM

Halifax, Nova Scotia

1" thick pieces of styrofoam insulation about 1 square foot in size. Two of these placed one at a time in front of your feet will allow you to walk all over your patch with minimal compaction. And they're light enough to be easily moved. I use these to travel off of the main boards as the plant gets bigger so I don't have the patch completely covered in lumber. Also prevents compaction from always using a board that sits in the same spot.

6/22/2006 2:56:10 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Deb Break out the Snowshoes....

6/22/2006 3:09:21 PM

Little-TON - Colorado

Anybody see Honey I shrunk the Kids? My wife laughs at me.....I tell her Im still working on the levitation Spell

6/22/2006 3:18:46 PM

Snowshoes is the basis for the idea Shannon,,I know a manufactor of the new stlye shoes that is pretty creative,,if any of you have used the new hi-tech snowshoes,,they ain't "tubs" anymore. Something 24" or less in length and whatever width,,new style bindings that slip on and off and allow for kneeling,flat nose,your aren't treading powder,,,starting to get the picture?

I like that syrofoam idea, maybe prototypes could start there, add some form of slip in strap, modify some kneepads,,hmmmm

Forget moving the boards,don't worry about roots surfacing,our neighbors all know we are nuts for growing these things so the hell with fashion comments !

Yes Stan, I know all about "labor intensive",,I also know that when it can be avoided,with as good or better outcome,it will be around here !!!!

6/22/2006 4:03:46 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Ahhh How about golf shoes?

6/22/2006 4:42:08 PM

Rhode Island

I don't know a single farmer that walks in thier feilds!!!!

I think its because they're driving their tractors through them!!!!LOL

6/22/2006 6:38:51 PM

Minnesota([email protected])

Transplant and unkadan,
The thought of strapping the styrofoam to the feet sounds like a fine idea. Using a 1' X 1' board may work as well. It could make for a good workout. Does the 1' X 1' material cause more compaction than a large board lying down? Seriously, this idea could become commonplace in A.G. growing, if it's as effective as boards lying all around the patch.

6/22/2006 6:59:50 PM

Pennsylvania

Hello all! Hay Unkadan....I use about 12" X 8' also....because I am using the X-mas style, I have the boards in a "V" shape about a 12" away from the secondaries and main tip. The wider the board the better it distributes weight. I also try and stay out of the patch while the soil is wet......It is awesome that the roots of these "Freaks" are well ahead of the plants

6/22/2006 8:35:17 PM

Rhode Island

get a used boom truck with a 60 ft boom. end of problem.
OR
screw some 1x10 boards about a foot long to the bottom of your oldest pair of shoes. it works well and does not compact the soil.
or
do like jeff in little rhody. he walks around the patch in just his underwear with nothing on his feet.

6/22/2006 10:22:47 PM

Napa Valley, CA

Leonardo Urena experimented with "walk board/pumpkin shoes" in 2005.
I posted a few pics in the bp Photo Gallery.

They should show up in about a day.

6/23/2006 5:25:53 AM

[email protected]

The "walking shoes" are released & they are COOL! Great for Patch Tours too. You won't need to worry as much about soil borne pathogens being introduced from feet.

6/23/2006 8:20:47 AM

Utah

along the same lines:
I know of a grower who glued a pair of old tennis shose to some plywood. Each piece of plywood was abou 1 x 1.5 ft. I think you'd want to round the corners.
personally I'd rather move boards than take a chance of stepping on something with wooden shoes.

6/23/2006 9:51:04 AM

Trumbull, CT 06611, USA

I honestly believe that walking on the soil is really no big deal. I do walk on boards and it makes the patch look a lot cleaner, but my son is in there with me, trying to walk on the boards, but runs through the patch occasionaly....I am not going to ban him from the patch. These plants are so verocious and so vigourous they can handle a lot.

Wearing home made shoes from whatever material people are using is pretty funny....lol Come on guys, you are still walking in the patch....

6/23/2006 9:59:41 AM

Trumbull, CT 06611, USA

and using a wider shoe made from the material people are using is causing a bigger compaction than your regular old shoes.

6/23/2006 10:01:11 AM

Syracuse, NY

...but in the meantime until someone
devises some PUMPKIN-NIKES (nye-kees),
i am using 16"-wide, 1/2 inch thick
or thicker plywood X 4' long.
makes it easy for the dimensions, a 4 X 8
cut into, i think, 6 pieces, about right.
aaaand,
"permanent floating board raised up on sticks of rebar that holds it an inch or so off the ground";
thank you BCDeb for that idea which i have thought of and we could perhaps drive a few stakes a foot long each made from a 2" X 3" x 8' into the ground maybe staggered at
about 2 feet apart lengthwise (left, right, left, right)
with foot-wide by 8 foot long pieces of board or plywood
attached to them on the top by drywall screws. the reason for the staggering might be to distribute the stakes a little better and the board/plywood should be strong enough to handle a person's weight...the main issue might be that the drench water from above might not get to the ground under these walkways, but holes can be drilled into the
boards for irrigation. i wish i had done something like this along the edge of my main patch in the "greenhouse, as the soil along the edge is becoming compacted---eg

6/23/2006 12:40:23 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/NTE_AdditionalImages?storeId=6970&langId=-1&rfno=12800

Yep these will do...

6/23/2006 2:13:42 PM

central Missouri

Been using "snowshoes" similar to those in the pics posted be geo in the photo gallery. This is my second year. I love them, I can walk anywhere in the patch I want, anytime I want, without compacting the soil. Walking is much easier if you cut out a space near the front for your toes to go down into when taking a step. Oddly enough the part I had the most trouble with was how to tie them to my feet. Here are some good suggestions on very simple ways to tie the boards to your feet.
http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/winter/gear/snowshoes/bindings.htm
The boards go on or off in about 30 seconds.
Mark

6/23/2006 3:01:59 PM

Shannon you are hopeing that with blind luck you will step on your gophers???

6/23/2006 3:43:54 PM

Thanks for all the replys and ideas,,I knew some of the more creative growers had to have come up with something better than lumber to constantly move, teeter on, and cuss at for this necessary evil in the patch.

I'll do some tinkering and get a pic up with what I come up with.

Actually no one offered a psi compaction ratio, surprisingly enough.

6/23/2006 3:51:12 PM

Utah

Ray I think you are slightly confused…
Yes either way you are still walking in the patch but …
if you put 200 lbs on a 1 ft x 1.5 ft piece of ply wood in the patch and another 200 lbs on a ... lets see how big is my shoe... about 4 inches x 1 ft. which do you think is going to compact the soil more?

It the first case the 200 lbs is spread out over 216 square inches… so the stress on (or compaction of) the soil is less than 1 psi (pounds per square inch) (200 lbs/216 sq in).
In the second case the 200 lbs is spread out over only 48 square inches … so the stress on the soil is just over 4 psi. (200 lbs/48 sq in) That's 4 times as much stress/compaction.

Another way to look at it is…
step on your wife’s foot wearing a pair of your loafers … and then have her step on your foot wearing a pair of high heals with a skinny spike on the heal… whose foot will hurt more?

regardless I know that I'm a klutz in the patch and I think I'll stick to the walking boards...

6/23/2006 4:17:06 PM

Trumbull, CT 06611, USA

lol....totally agree with the calcs Gordan. The point I was trying to make is everyone is making these extravagant items to walk on, float on or whatever they are doing to try and not step in the patch, where I do not think it is that big of a deal to do this. I do use boards and such, but when I need to bring in the compost to cover the secondaries or my 3 year old wants to check out the patch, I am not worried about a little dirt compaction.

6/23/2006 4:26:55 PM

Montoursville, PA

I use pieces, of boards, so that they can be moved if I need, to move them. Otherwise they become part, of the mulch while maintaining the walkways. Once placed they mostly never need moved all season.

6/23/2006 4:50:51 PM

Wood River, IL ([email protected])

Does it matter if there made out of treated lumber?

6/24/2006 5:18:35 AM

Long Island,New York

Now theres an idea that gives me the heebie-jeebies.....rebar stilts holding up walking boards. One miss- step and the board goes flying, the body lands on the rebar and you're doing an Uncle Fester bed-of-nails sideshow act. The headstone reads: Impaled by rebars while weeding. Wow...I haven't slept since Mike"s bamboo-in-the-eye story.....now this.

6/24/2006 10:09:44 AM

Washington

We have 2 8' long 2x6's between each plant and use 3' 1x 6's that we move as we go. Since we trench ahead of the vine it is easy to move the shorter boards with the hoe or to just pick them up. We have 4 of the 3' boards at each plant so we don't have to truck them all over the patch. Jack has developed a cutting tool to remove flowers without having to go into the middle so we very rarely need to go into the plant. If we do we use boards so the boards are mostly used for pruning and burying and around the perimeter for weeding. Sherry

6/24/2006 11:23:28 AM

Sort of Sunny Sometimes, WA

Geneva Emmons has a pair of shoes she has fixed to a pieces of plywood. She used them for a while, don't know if she's given them up for better ideas. On a patch tour I saw a grower who had cut up pallets in thirds (I think) and lined them up as walk boards. Disperses the weight, less board on the ground.

6/24/2006 5:14:44 PM

Ohio

I just started using 2 concrete blocks and placing them on both sides of my plant area and then laying a board on the blocks,,,wala! 'no compaction but slippery traction'.

6/24/2006 7:17:28 PM