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The ground is very rocky in the corrals near the house.  Too rocky to plant vegetables as I wanted to.  So, I decided to gather up all the loose rocks and make my own elevated and raised-bed planting boxes.  We built them high enough to fill in with about 10 cm of dirt (4 inches).  I was blessed to find a spot on the ranch that was wonderful read dirt.   I've got tons and tons of it, but just have to haul it up to the front to use.  The Mayans are very superstitious about the red dirt and believe it to be specially blessed by God and magical for growing anything.   Below we've started building the beds.  They are each 2 meters wide and about 15 meters long.  (7' x 50').  We have not added the red dirt into them yet.  And then there is 2 meters between each bed, and we're planting the fruit trees there.  In future years, as the trees mature, they will give some shade to the planting beds and help against the high heat of Yucatan.




 I took advantage of the masonry skills of two of the construction me to have them come and replaster a water trough I had by the windmill that wouldn't hold water.  Now it's as good as new.


 

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