September 3rd Update – Ivy is planted!

A quick update!  I have still been trying to stay productive as much as I can, James has also been helping/doing a lot of work with me!  This weekend we got some stuff done so I want to update, it’s exciting!  We got ivy Planted!  The design is such that, eventually these planters will be self sustaining AND a constant source of portable shade, making my house very efficient.  Right now however it still looks pretty sad… I wanted to hurry up and get the ivy planted so that by the time we could get the trellis on it would be fairly well established and can just grow.  I am hoping that at least half of this ivy makes it through the transplant and can start to take over the whole side of my house.  Realistically it will be a couple years before it all fills in but by then it should look pretty sweet!  The house is designed so that when it rains the water will all run off this side of the house, down the wall and right into the ivy pots.  Ivy is a weed here and is really hearty so it will be pretty much self sustaining once I get it trained correctly.  Maybe not a ‘perfect’ system but I think it’s pretty cool.  I also like that it will be a natural material when it’s all said and done, it should accent my house very well!  This is about the only ‘green-roof’ system I could think of that would make sens on a tiny house because the weight is actually very minimal.  You will notice the two spots on the end don’t yet have a planter for ivy, I am deciding what to do here, the one to the front of the trailer will have ivy but I am thinking through a design for some garden planters on that back section (by my kitchen) where maybe I can grow my green beans and/or peas… we will see.

Next weekend is my birthday, I am hoping for my birthday maybe I can get some more work done.  There are some little things I need to get caught up on for my electrical system and the framing in the bathroom ceiling that I think I can manage in my braces etc., or get some help from James on.. and I still need to get some insulation up in the ceiling.  After that I am ready to go with the drywall.  I will try not to push it too hard (but I can barely start to walk again on my foot, before I am rudely reminded it’s still broken… (: ) but I want to get back at it ASAP!

Here are some photos:

I am officially handicap... This tag helps me out SO much though... I have always been irked at how many handicap stalls there are in some places and it makes others part WAY far out... I find now though that it's amazing how often all those spots are filled... I will never complain about that again.

James was amazing enough to help me out this weekend and we got [most of] the ivy planters on and planted!

Here are the planters [gutters] right after being installed on the house. We installed these just like a typical gutter only onto the very bottom of the subfloor. These do make my house wider than the required 8'-6" which is important to note. Originally I had been intending to install these where they would be removable but instead I opted for this for a couple reasons... First, if the ivy grows up the side and is rooted in these it isn't really very 'removable' anyway. Second, it is easier this way. Third, the tire STILL sticks out further than the gutters and the tire passed inspection before... I thought it was worth risking. Worst case scenario I need to pay a few bucks and get a permit through the DMV each time I need to move which won't be too bad, I don't plan on moving it a whole lot.

The last planter needed to be cut around the trailer where it started to dovetail down. It worked out pretty well and we were able to just do a quick cut and seal this area so it keeps water/soil in while allowing a consistent look from the side (not being hung on an angle)

Now for the dirt! I got some potting soil and some extra peat moss to hold in moisture better for the ivy, especially since this stuff is on the super sunny side right now.

Even gimps can work! 😉

All dirted up, we [James] drilled holes through the bottoms of these to allow for drainage then we filled the gutters/planters with dirt/peat moss.

It's pretty sad looking right now and I expect that half of this ivy probably wont make it but we got it all planted. I was able to get some ivy cuttings from my work before they rip all of it out. It grows like a weed hear and they are not the biggest fans of how it is taking over the flower beds, I on the other hand will be very happy about that! once it starts to root out it should be in much better shape. This of course means I need to get the trellis built pretty quick too but it will probably be a while before then, it's a two man job and I'll be a bit of a gimp for a few more weeks...

We had the balloon festival this weekend (for a while it was the second largest balloon festival in the country). I had nearly forgotten about it because it's just better to forget about all the fun things you have to miss out on but we were woke up by a balloon right out the window! It was within a hundred yards of the bed and lit the fire, AWESOME way to wake up. Turns out a lot of them were landing in a field right by the house so we hurried to the car and did a little balloon chasing on our way to pick up breakfast. It was an amazing weekend! I hope you all had an amazing holiday as well!

With my new found 'downtime' I have found several other hobbies to pass my time. I SHOULD be studying but really the drugs I'm on don't allow me that luxury, I am so spacy! (Spacy Macy??) So instead, I am braiding together a ton of old shopping bags and an going to make a hammock out of them. I always hate that there are so many of those and nothing to use them for so there are just piles of them laying around waiting for me to think of some way to put them to use... Maybe, if it's a success I will post a 'how-to' about it. My thought is that it should be fairly simple and really weatherproof... we shall see...

And a link I love HERE.