The concrete floor in the DIY POLE BARN is done and garden update.

[@richardnusser7023]

You have one Beautiful Place my Man! I would love to be 40 again and do what your doing. I was very blessed to be able to retire at 51. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. You do awesome work.

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

I wish I was 40 again too..lol. Thank you so much. Ive been trying to put out more videos since that majority asked for it.

[@albundy1956]

Whow, nice floor! Another thing to mark off the "to do list". Great job.

[@BulletproofPastor]

Give that floor ten days to cure up before you drive the tractor on it. Can't tell you how many green floors have been ruined because too much weight was added too soon. Looks really good. They did a great job.

[@maryallen6334]

My opinion also. I think it needs to cure for at least a week before you start with the heavy stuff or you might be getting some texture in the way of ruts in the floor!!!

[@DossFarm]

Beautiful out there sir. Floor looks great! Agreed on leaving some texture for sure.

[@gregcram7975]

GOOD PROGRESS IN THE RECENT VIDEOS !!!

[@sianbentley1527]

The concrete pour in the barn is a major pivotal progress in your journey. Let it set In a timely manner. Working on the food plot will be fun to watch especially with the bears. Please put up some cameras if you can to watch the invaders. Thank you for sharing. From the UK

[@bettinah.7429]

The floor looks great! My dad built me a barn for my horses when I was 16. The guys that layer the concrete made it way too smooth for the horses. Had to be careful and creative in the winter especially,as we get a lot of snow and their hooves can ball up with ice. I think they should have used a shop broom on my floor to make small grooves instead of floating it smooth as ice. Ahhh I survived and so did my horses. 🙂

[@timliggett5088]

run a 2 wire hot ground +/- along the top of your fence to keep bears out and off

[@g.s.7022]

Wow, your barn is looking good now and you can keep working in and around as you planned. It will be interesting what the garden will look like, good luck with all your planting plans👍💫☘️

[@PointerNation]

Barn & floor turned out great. Excellent work! So glad you're gonna get goats. Nothing cuter than baby goats and baby chicks! And piglets... 🐐 🐥 🐖

[@AnnieFarmerFarm]

You have done such a excellent job!

[@timadams1994]

Barn floor looks great an the fence

[@evalinawarne1337]

Barn floor looks GREAT❗💯 You have waited LONG enough.. I LOVE 🍑 peach trees. Apple 🍎 Trees and pear 🍐 trees.

[@mrrs8118]

Beautiful concrete job!

[@billbutler9122]

You're a hard working man & have an interesting KZbin post.

[@mmanut]

Getting the barn floor done is big. That makes one bad ass shop. NICE JOB‼️👍👍. Vinny 🇺🇸

[@joecallahan3379]

The boys on the concrete crew could still be on seasonal layoff, good idea from gunsmith-45 on the gate add another brace.

[@alluchterhand746]

Floor looks great, build some racks on them walls for your lumber.

[@shelleyyates6855]

Hi there, it's ok to speak to yourself as you work alone at least you can call it a staff meeting, lol, that barn floor looks good, you work so hard, you'll soon have your home finished and be doing lots in your garden, there's always plenty to do and be done, anyhow hugs and thank you for sharing x

[@yvindascanius6061]

Bears can easily climb that fence. Put an electric fence around the top of the wooden fence for added protection.

[@sandravanlankvelt7975]

It's important to SPRAY your concrete FLOOR with a SEALANT before you put anything in it. When we had our triple car garage done the concrete guys said it was important to spray the floor to save the concrete in the future from oil spils, etc. and boy are we glad we did it. Hubby did have an oil spill and the sealant worked for sure.

[@archieball3770]

seal the barn floor 1st

[@catcolbert9044]

Wow! They did a beautiful job on the floor. Your homestead is looking wonderful.

[@evalinawarne1337]

Gate LOOK - GREAT

[@cherolynwolf5913]

Well done on the barn

[@judyrosy]

Awesome...you might want to consider putting the fruit trees in the corners to minimize shade~ Another thing....the deer will jump. What we did was take about a foot and a half stakes and attached those to the fence posts every 10 ft or so and run a wire around the top. It works.

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

Thats what I was thinking about.

[@estellaknox4488]

Wow slick looks great,

[@judyedwards7239]

Looking really good. Have a good day!

[@Im-Carley]

Congrats on the new floor, it looks amazing! I like what you have achieved doing your homestead and I respect your perseverance. Your home is growing steadily and I love the way you work. Everything you've done so far is very impressive, and you can be proud of your work. A big thank you for sharing your journey. Stay safe and God Bless.

[@johnpiegzik298]

Thx for the update, the floor looks great! I guess I don’t get why the gate is such an issue. I didn’t go to gate school and learn the do’s and dont’s!! LOL! John 😎👍

[@maggiesue4825]

I was very surprised at how little information there is out there about keeping bears away from fruit trees. Some kind of electric wire strung over the top of the existing fence may be a deterrent, but once bear gets a whiff of something they want, nothing short of a bullet will stop it. Good luck!!

[@danielhitchcock3817]

I agree

[@beverlysmith5658]

I was working outside all day getting my garden and strawberries ready and came and you are one hella man that concrete looks awesome garden fence does also maybe think about electric wire across top of fence for the bears ❤️

[@tinadunaway1737]

great job your doing , your place is awesome, paw paw trees would be good, turnips , taters , lol , stay safe , lotsa love from Indiana, USA

[@PlanetMojo]

The floor looks fantastic! Another animal that can really mess up a fruit three -- cherry trees to be exact -- are raccoons. The very day our cherries ripen the raccoons will strip our tree bare in one night and break branches in the progress. We may take the tree out this year if we cant find a way to stop them.

[@julieivers7375]

Wow! Barn is looking good! They did a great job.

[@gregganderson1454]

Looks great. Deer love fruit trees too.

[@rebeccaallsteadt8590]

Looks really nice❤

[@bobjoncas2814]

..great job, good vid..

[@amoore8761]

Floor is great. As for the garden, Cog Hill has 'banner flags' above his garden fence. They flap in the wind, might deter the bears , deers, critters, and any other bares from jumping fence into garden. Not that there is anything wrong with bare.

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

I love the banners that Jason at Cog Hill uses!!

[@eddiesparks782]

Concrete work looks good brother. It does look a little too slick could have used a light brooming

[@deannaoverstreet4146]

It looks great!

[@HiddenPinesHomestead]

Cool video. You have inspired me to do a bigger garden and better fencing

[@nightsong28540]

Looks great...yep, not too slick but how about painting/sealing the concrete so in case something does get spilled it doesn't soak in? Everything is looking great, pace yourself that's what we done. We were building on the mouth of a river going into a lake and we'd go fishing every day for a bit. Just enough to get out, get fresh air and gather thoughts...so it wasn't just work, work, work. Stay safe, be careful, take it easy and keep warm and dry.

[@pinkywilliams8063]

Barn looking ready for new life...love the layout with the chicken pen attached, real nice setup... raised beds is what I'd like to do in my tiny backyard in my suburb-oasis...

[@tkcookingvlog536]

Get some of the electro fencing so if bears or deer cannot get your crops or trees

[@timliggett5088]

seems to me the diagonal brace is done right it is connected to the top of the hinge side of the gate supporting the free swinging end that's always the way we did it but if that's wrong i've seen a lot of gates done wrong it would look odd done the other way to me so just run a brace on the other side going the opp. angle to form an x

[@melhowell2906]

That really made a differet it looks so good, and love your fence

[@remushaynes2693]

please consider what the diagonal is for before you change it. to support the gate, the board (or wire brace) has to attach at the high point and lift up or pull up the lowest point (this is what you have). changing it will have the board pulling the swinging end down towards the bottom hinge and the weight of the gate already is doing that. draw it off and determine where your strain is and what is needed to offset it. my take.........g

[@kennethmarlow2731]

When i bult gates i put a diagonal both ways

[@virginiareid5336]

The floor looks very nice. You will finally be able to put things in a permeant place and organize it. Maybe you can add a shelf or two, or even a workbench.

[@fancybrooks3156]

It could have been free publicity for them. Their loss. The garden area is beautiful. That fence is really doing the trick. You may have to electrify the top and bottom of it to keep the bears and other predators out.

[@elizebethstribley9292]

It's all looking so great, can't wait to see the baby chicks. Maybe you could electrify the fence. Keep up the great work.

[@brendasmith5937]

Deer didnt care about my electric fence.

[@DebbiesHomeplace]

Great update Stephen, the pole barn floor looks awesome and so much better than a dang dirt floor. They did a really good job! Your place is looking dapper for sure. Nice plans for the garden, I love raised bed gardening, the Eden Garden method from Paul is what I did and I can testify it works. Maybe putting some solar electric by the fruit trees will deter those pesky Bears. Have a great day...

[@kmarch6630]

I know it's overkill but I built my raised beds out of dry stacked cinder blocks. They're not going anywhere unless I move them.

[@mountainsage02]

Thanks for keeping us involved in the progress. I love the feeling of permanence of the barn floor. Now you can store and organize your equipment.

[@pamkaufman3662]

The barn floor looks great! I love your garden fence. Very nice! Have you considered running an electric wire around the top and maybe the middle? Also, just a thought, I put chicken wire around the bottom of my fence to keep out rabbits, chickens, etc.

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

I will put something around the top for the deer and bottom for the chickens

[@dianecharles881]

Concrete looks nice, know it feels great to be able to start putting things back in . How’s the baby chicks?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

The chicks are doing ok. She moved off the nest today for some reason so I hope I didnt lose the other ones.

[@ericjohnson1008]

Looking great.

[@hartleyhomesteadmichigan6041]

Nice work!

[@charlottesmart750]

You mite have to hot wire the top so the deer want come in

[@mbsloop1272]

Adopt a dog to help keep the deer and other varmints away, also makes a nice companion that won't complain!!!

[@mikemarriam]

It won't keep the deer out once you get shoots up. Do you have groundhogs? Might need to put wire mesh around the bottom. It'll keep them and rabbits out too.

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

I can put streamers up around the top during the spring and summer and I dont have any groundhogs or rabbits. Just chickens.

[@sarapulford5957]

🇬🇧 You are doing really well Stephen. How are bears about barbed wire if your put a couple of rows around the top of the fence or another electric fence a short distance from it ? Or does their thick fur protect them against wire and electricity ?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

They don't even notice barbed wire and electric fence is hit and miss but it is the best solution.

[@monirep5359]

😍😍😍

[@SpringRiverHollar]

Goodmorning Stephen 🙋

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

Good evening..lol

[@woundeddove]

Use a solar electric fence to keep bears and predators away.

[@jfinnall]

Maybe too late now but would a stiff broom provide the texture you desire? Add electric wire to the fence to keep animals out. A row on top and a row on the bottom outside edges. On your gate design does the direction of the cross brace make any real difference? The design does not have a frame to put the brace inside. A brace inside of a frame I can see where the pressure would be better to push into the brace rather than pull on the brace. Since there is no frame all the pressure is just on the attaching hardware. Or just add another brace in the other direction on the other side.

[@janfrench4691]

Hi Stephen. Have you got any bats in the bat house?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

2 so far. Im thinking bout moving it this summer to the garden.

[@suenorton873]

The barn floor looks great Steven. They did good...anymore babies?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

Just a couple of chicks so far.

[@suenorton873]

@@hickoryridgehomestead9177 do you think some might not make it because of the cold weather?

[@OffGridFromTheGroundUp]

Once that food starts coming in and putting out an aroma, those deer are coming over that fence. That's when the garden turns into a "food plot". What do you grow in your garden? Venison. :)

[@dragonflyhill5748]

Wood Life I have seen in Arkansas where I live some folks put tall orange plastic netting fence around their gardens and it keeps out the deer they say. I don’t know if that is truly right. But I see a lot of it.

[@OffGridFromTheGroundUp]

@@dragonflyhill5748 As long as it's 8' tall and is slanted in a bit, that would work. A deer can jump over an 8' fence. However, they cant jump 8' up in the air, and at the same time try to cover a slight distance. So, the "lean inward" will stop them from making the jump.

[@dragonflyhill5748]

Cool. What keeps the bears from getting your pigs? Which is your favorite animal you own?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

Now that the pigs are big enough the bears aren't a problem. We have black bears here and not brown bears. That would be a lot different. I like all the animals but I cant wait to get goats.

[@dragonflyhill5748]

Hickory Ridge Homestead cool- Arms Family Homestead has Kiko goats and they swear by them.what kind will you want. Goats would be cool.

[@kerrybaker4512]

Are you going to build work benches and stuff for the barn that would be good to watch..tfs

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

yes I will eventually

[@jefferyschirm4103]

Don't forget to cut your expansion joints in the floor while it's still green.

[@johnpiegzik298]

Jeffery Schirm they don’t do expansion joints up in the hills here! If you use the vapor barrier and expanded metal and some rebar it doesn’t require it! I thought it was strange too, I’m use to seeing that! 😎👍John

[@loda9510]

did you put your handprint in a corner with the date?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

No, I didnt even think about it.

[@vickiulrich6694]

Stephen...I won’t preach but I will tell you that greens is where all the healing properties are. I am a 3 time back surgery recipient and that is one thing I do know for certain...you heal faster when you are eating greens. I also prescribe to the benefits of licopene...so I make sure we eat ALOT of tomatoes as well, fresh, fresh canned and yes my husband really likes his ketchup. He is now pushing 73 and is the ONLY family member of his that has not had cancer. Due to that...I don’t know but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it is my philosophy😄. Please don’t let the negative nellies get you down and to thy own self be true!!! I have said it before and I will say it again...I truly enjoy watching you as you build your little homestead, every aspect of it and it is hard work on a good day especially when you are pretty much on your own. My husband Jack and I spent 14 years remodeling our retirement cottage with very little help from the outside but we did it our way and blocked out any negative commentary. Now we look back with pride and joy...and a bit of shock at all we accomplished. You will one day be just as excited and happy with all you were able to accomplish even with the commentary from the peanut gallery!!!:):):)

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

Most of the criticism is very constructive and welcome here. It doesn't bother me at all. My old boss always said that if you weren't screwing up you weren't learning anything.

[@donnadunlop]

put your chickens on the garden space they will turn it over or the pigs will dig it up and fertilize.

[@ohske]

👍👍👍👌☺️

[@brendasmith5937]

Deer wont stay out. Believe me!

[@johnisley1285]

Can you post a floor plan for the house?

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

When I get time I will . It has changed a little since I first designed it. I will have to redraw it.

[@chefsteve3853]

Put the pigs in that garden area, let them clean that cover crop out and turn up the dirt and poop all over. Win win!!

[@gregcram7975]

TO BAD THE CONCRETE GUYS DIDN'T BROOM THE CONCRETE TO MAKE A TEXTURE IT !! DID THEY TELL YOU TO KEEP WET FOR 3 DAYS TO CURE IT BETTER AND HARDER !!!

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

Its so cool and inside out of the sun so it will take longer to cure. Its still dark grey like its wet now.

[@brendasmith5937]

Talk to the camera and yourself all you want. Just dont answer yourself.

[@kmarch6630]

What's the use in talking to yourself if you dont answer, lol!!

[@nurudinjafferji]

Have a raised bed garden. Fruit trees maybe avacado tree

[@paulinelarach938]

Modern farming cost a lot of money.

[@skyz3160]

If time or desire allows, this might be helpful to look at for the longevity of your raised garden beds. On You Tube: "Self Sufficient Me" Published: Nov 30 2017 Title: Where to get round raised corrugated steel galvanized garden beds. You will see how these beds don't leach out chemicals and can last a long time. His property is beautifully organized, pleasant to look at and he puts out great tutorials all the time. There are oblong beds also. You have the knowledge in how to adapt anything to your own visual concept on what is appealing to you even to add wood to the outside.

[@johnahern770]

Whose the experts on diagonal braces on gates ???????? A Diagonal will work in either direction. the principal is that as long as both ends are firmly attached, being a solid piece of wood, it will not sag. Maybe you should tell the armchair trolls, who have never built a gate to save their life, to got to hell !!!

[@hickoryridgehomestead9177]

On this gate it really makes no difference because its so light but on a larger gate with more hanging end weight it makes a difference over time. A heavy gate will eventually sag if the diagonal brace is in tension instead of compression. I was in a hurry and hung the gate upside down.