Just some comments regarding advice posted in the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet on
radial installation:
> "Go mow the yard! Spring is a good time of year to play "Hide the
> Ground Radials". If the thought of trenches in the sod raises the
> blood pressure of you or your spouse, here's a time-tested,
> no-digging procedure. Get out the mower, sharpen its blade, and cut
> the grass as short as possible. Yes, that short! Scalp it! Then
> lay out the radials and hold them down against the crew-cut blades
> with short U-shaped pieces of wire placed every couple of feet or so
> along the radial. (Cheap iron wire will do nicely and rusts away
> fairly quickly.) In a couple of weeks the grass will have completely
> covered the radials and you'll never trip over them or hit them with
> the mower! The grass will continue to work the wire down until it
> hits the soil. Grass clippings and earthworm activity will contrive
> to bury it."
This technique works well if the ground is fairly level and even.
Unfortunately, on uneven and sloped ground this doesn't work as well as
one would hope. I've already torn up radials this mowing season that were
installed this way.
If you find yourself in such a situation, the best course of action I've
found is to determine the high spots and slit them, then bury the radial.
You can use the above method in between the high points, if warranted.
The best time to slit is when the ground is moist and will stay moist for
a while. That's springtime for most of us. This give the roots a chance to
seal the slit. I bought a used metal bladed edger to make my long slits,
for smaller slits an old knife will work fine. It's all labor intensive.
Something else I've noticed in our Tennessee clay is that enamel coated
wire does not stay put as well as bare wire unless buried.
Also, I use a variety of jacketed wire that I find cheap at yard sales or
surplus auctions. I've also noticed that darker colors (Black, Blue, Dark
Green) seem to get grown over quicker than White jackets. All I can figure
is that the darker colors absorb some heat in the colder months and that
makes them more plant friendly. Possibly, it is the chemical makeup of the
jacket material.
Hope this helps someone out.
73,
Julius
n2wn
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