Recently lost our job, our home is our last hope

[Bull Moose]

My wife and I are both currently out of work. We live in an area of New York State that has been going through an economic recession for longer than the rest of the country. Job prospects are bleak.

We have taken drastic measures to reduce our monthly expenses. Fortunately, because we bought out home less than a year ago, we are getting a decent return on our Federal Taxes. With unemployment and savings we should last for 5-7 months.

As our new home is the one valuable asset we own we are looking for the best ways to leverage what we have. We have 1.33 acres but about 2/3 is wooded. Nothing is flat. We have a problem with water from rain and melting snow causing pits and ruts in our back yard. Our property lines are not clearly indicated.

What I plan to do, hopefully with the advice of this community, is to plant a vegetable garden that will provide for my family at the same time as increasing the equity in my home.

I originally sketched out a plan that included 11 individual raised beds. I planned to use 2"x10"x8' wood for the beds. Each bed would be 4'x8'. Our winters here are severe however and I expect to replace the wood in the beds every few years. An alternative is to use stone or concrete blocks like people use in retaining walls.

Using the wood will be cheaper initially. That is good. Using the stone will last longer, and if I do it right, may increase the value of my home. That is very good.

Please offer any advice you can. I am open to your suggestions. I am willing to do as much work as necessary to get the job done and done right. After all, the one thing we have in spades right now is time.

[Bull Moose]

Here are some pictures of our land to give you an idea of what I am working with;

[Bull Moose]

The first two pictures show the east side of my home. The water from rain and snow melt tears through the lawn. Some of the holes are 8"-12" deep. You can hear water trickling in some spots underground.

The area is directly between my land and an undeveloped plot next to me. There is approximately 50' of space between the trees in the picture and a small row of trees behind.

One thought is that I would try and level the land, but cut a sort of trench for water to flow through at the very end of my property. I would fill it with small rocks to make it look like a riverbed.

Behind the "river bed" I would build a 4'x45' planter bed built from some sort of retaining wall blocks.

The final picture is the front of my property. The strip farthest away can support a second raised bed of 4' x 25'. The trick there is that the land slopes sharply down towards the runoff ditch. The ground is also riddled with roots and old stumps.

[sedge]

feel bad for ya man.......

personally i would not throw good money after bad.

with bleak job prospects, unfortunately your probably going to lose your home. if you just bought your home, your probably in it upside down. if your not, then you may as well be, as with the housing market, it is going to be really hard to sell for a profit NO MATTER what you do......

raise your garden, but just hill it, no wood or concrete/stone needed. buy some flower SEED, not plants and plant some flower beds with out borders.

the ditch bank plant some wild flower seed, scatter it heavy and it will cover up the ugly ditch. you will have some hand weeding, but since your not working, you can do it.

[sedge]

The first two pictures show the east side of my home. The water from rain and snow melt tears through the lawn. Some of the holes are 8"-12" deep. You can hear water trickling in some spots underground.

The area is directly between my land and an undeveloped plot next to me. There is approximately 50' of space between the trees in the picture and a small row of trees behind.

One thought is that I would try and level the land, but cut a sort of trench for water to flow through at the very end of my property. I would fill it with small rocks to make it look like a riverbed.

Behind the "river bed" I would build a 4'x45' planter bed built from some sort of retaining wall blocks.

The final picture is the front of my property. The strip farthest away can support a second raised bed of 4' x 25'. The trick there is that the land slopes sharply down towards the runoff ditch. The ground is also riddled with roots and old stumps.

just buy some cheap flexible drain tile, dig out the trenches by hand and install some drains with the tile. run the tile to the ditch. use some rocks around the discharge area of the tile. plant the flowers as mentioned. the extra dirt from the tile might be enough to level the ground enough, but don't raise it to high as you want the water to drain into the tile areas. make sure the tile has a sock around it, so sand/dirt doesn't get inside the drain tile. this tile is pretty cheap. just your labor to install it and a shovel......

leave the stumps, plant flower beds around them, looks kinda nice.

[Bull Moose]

As for the discharge area... how far down would I go. The water continues down the grade all the way to the ditch. That's maybe 100' or more.

Here are a couple more pictures to show the water's path.

[sedge]

not sure, but i would say 3 or 4 inches below surface. you don't want it to deep so it thaws out early in the spring. also, if it is just barely below surface the grass will show a dry spot all the along it.

but it have to runs all the way to the ditch. i would have it come out maybe 6 inches from the bottom of the ditch, so you can still cover the discharge with decorative rocks, but not too much.

[Smallaxe]

The best raised beds I have found is to raise the in the bed by digging a trech on either side, then filling in the trench with straw or whatever else is available. In a year or two the mulched in trench should become the center of a new plot.
I agree with sedge, in that, boxed in beds are a waste of money.

[Bull Moose]

Thank you for the idea smallaxe. I didn't consider raising the bed by lowering the ground around it.

I'm not sure though that I am settled one way or another yet. I want to grow the vegetable garden and limit costs, but I also want to raise equity in the home. Or, given the situation with the housing market now, something that will inevitably raise it down the road. I have some faith. :)

[mattfromNY]

I dont think vegetable garden boxes are going to raise the value of your home. You may like them, but the next guy to buy your house may not want them.
Save money with a vegetable garden, yes, but do it inexpensively. You can buy lots of tomatoes and peppers for what a pressure treated 2x10 cost. Right now you need to think about save, save, save.
Your focus is on building equity, when it should be save in case of the unforseen. What if your roof develops a leak or the washing machine breaks?

[Toy2]

I would not waste money on drain pipe, fittings, etc........it appears that no matter what you do, water always wins.......

Find rocks around your place, street, etc... and create the rock river look, its free.......

[Bull Moose]

I dont think vegetable garden boxes are going to raise the value of your home. You may like them, but the next guy to buy your house may not want them.
Save money with a vegetable garden, yes, but do it inexpensively. You can buy lots of tomatoes and peppers for what a pressure treated 2x10 cost. Right now you need to think about save, save, save.
Your focus is on building equity, when it should be save in case of the unforseen. What if your roof develops a leak or the washing machine breaks?

Well mattfromNY, I like many folks spent loosely when I was younger. We also carry a bit of debt from my wife's MA. The idea here is to grow equity so that we can consolidate debt under 1, lower APR, lender. Over 5 years it could save us $12,000 (based on our current debt and APRs).

Point well taken on the perspective of the buyer in regards to the raised garden. What do you folks recommend is the best ROI for someone with a pauper's budget?

[Newt*]

BullMouse,

Consider a rain garden for the wet low spots. It will look nice and 'hide' the fact that water collects there.
http://www.dof.virginia.gov/rfb/rain-gardens.shtml
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/pdf/63490.pdf

This might also be helpful.
http://www.michaelholigan.com/departments/tvshow/seg_index.asp?ts%5Fid=5256&mscssid=MABLH6DWVXMX8NR0CASGNT9PBV4N9512#

I agree with the others to use a mounding approach for your raised beds. Don't forget to start a compost pile too.

Newt

[topsites]

One thing I might mention...

Hard times require adjustment, even without the loss of a job.
The one thing I have learned to do, is for when times improve...
Which they will, one day, some day.

But when they do, is don't fall back into the old habits.
Instead, since you'll have grown accustomed to doing things a hard but thrifty way?
Keep doing things that way, and squirrel aside all the money, save, save, and save.

Then, when times get bad again, I find myself a little better prepared to weather the storm.
And I realize this doesn't fix your current problem, but I thought I'd mention it.

[Inspira]

Sort of off topic, but if you haven't already, contact the company that services your mortgage - I'm sure you'll qualify for the new government loan modification program. They're really working with people right now to keep you in your home.

Good luck.