Using Free Culverts

[TriciaStringer]

I was able to get some free culverts and used them to make shady spots for our two sulcatas. We built a frame around them and filled them with dirt. This helps keep them cooler and we can grow things in them for more shade. I planted a hibiscus and a cutting from my Althea tree in one and I’m trying some grass and broadleaf weed seeds in another. The seeds aren’t doing well from the heat. We have two others like these and I planted banana trees in one to add more shade. Probably going to plant more banana trees in the other. If you want to do something like this against your fence, make sure you bury something behind the one that is half of a culvert. In my area the dirt under the culvert stays moist and our sulcata likes to dig a little bit deeper to cool off more.

Also, I went shopping for banana trees and the large ones were expensive and unsafe to eat for at least a year. So, I drove around and found a spot where they were spreading in someone’s yard. I stopped and asked if I could dig some up. They didn’t mind at all since they had so many and had them for 15 years and never treated their yard. I haven’t given any to our tortoises yet just to be safe, but they provide shade for now. We did buy cheap bags of fill dirt to put in he holes of the nice people’s yard.

Also, you can build something cheaper to go around them. I had gotten a bunch of free cinder blocks and used them for one of the shady hides, but we are working to get our house ready to sell bc we need more land and my husband wanted something with more “curb” appeal. Maybe we can find a person to buy our house that already has tortoises. That would be extremely unlikely but one can hope.

Oh and our two sulcatas use them all day long.

 

[wellington]

Nice idea to build around them and to be able to plant on top. Just wondering if it wouldn't have been better or just as easy to leave the culvert out and have the whole wood structure be for them to go into?

 

[NorCal tortoise guy]

Cool idea

 

[Maro2Bear]

Nice idea.... maybe try some trailing veggies like pumpkin, squash, zucchini, etc that would produce some nice large leaves,,,on a vine that your Sully can nibble on as they hang over. Might get lucky and have a tasty squash blossom or two as well. Even some leafy lettuce and kale, or trailing Nasturtium but too hot now to plant the lettuce n kale.

Good job on the banana trees. We have a large group of banana trees...and our Sully loves the leaves!

 

[TriciaStringer]

Nice idea.... maybe try some trailing veggies like pumpkin, squash, zucchini, etc that would produce some nice large leaves,,,on a vine that your Sully can nibble on as they hang over. Might get lucky and have a tasty squash blossom or two as well. Even some leafy lettuce and kale, or trailing Nasturtium but too hot now to plant the lettuce n kale.

Good job on the banana trees. We have a large group of banana trees...and our Sully loves the leaves!

View attachment 245724

I had been looking for squash and cucumber plants for that very purpose with no luck. I think I looked too late. I’m waiting for the banana trees to get a little more established before cutting off leaves. They are still a little shocked with the digging up and replanting but still doing great. One even bloomed a few days ago and had put on lots of new growth. The banana tree hide still has cinderblocks around it. We haven’t built it’s wooden box. We are pooped. In the last three months we’ve built the new fences, a 3x8 indoor closed chamber for yearling, a 4x8 outdoor enclosure for a Russian, a 4x8 night box for two sulcatas (dividing wall between them), three shady hides, and almost finished dismantling the old tortoise fence. This Louisiana heat is about to kill us. My husband wants to kill me. He likes the tortoises but I love them and keep getting more. We are DONE, unless we get more land.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Nice idea.... maybe try some trailing veggies like pumpkin, squash, zucchini, etc that would produce some nice large leaves,,,on a vine that your Sully can nibble on as they hang over. Might get lucky and have a tasty squash blossom or two as well. Even some leafy lettuce and kale, or trailing Nasturtium but too hot now to plant the lettuce n kale.

Good job on the banana trees. We have a large group of banana trees...and our Sully loves the leaves!

View attachment 245724

Beautiful banana trees by the way. I can’t wait for mine to get over the move and be that pretty.

 

[Maro2Bear]

I had been looking for squash and cucumber plants for that very purpose with no luck. I think I looked too late. I’m waiting for the banana trees to get a little more established before cutting off leaves. They are still a little shocked with the digging up and replanting but still doing great. One even bloomed a few days ago and had put on lots of new growth. The banana tree hide still has cinderblocks around it. We haven’t built it’s wooden box. We are pooped. In the last three months we’ve built the new fences, a 3x8 indoor closed chamber for yearling, a 4x8 outdoor enclosure for a Russian, a 4x8 night box for two sulcatas (dividing wall between them), three shady hides, and almost finished dismantling the old tortoise fence. This Louisiana heat is about to kill us. My husband wants to kill me. He likes the tortoises but I love them and keep getting more. We are DONE, unless we get more land.

Yes...don’t cut off any leaves on your new banana trees until they are fully rooted, growing and pushing out new leaves. Water daily, don’t let them dry out. Nice work down there. I love the log cabin type houses too.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Nice idea to build around them and to be able to plant on top. Just wondering if it wouldn't have been better or just as easy to leave the culvert out and have the whole wood structure be for them to go into?

My concern would be the inside rotting quickly with all the moisture from the dirt. I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to replace any of the outside wood. They have a wooden house too.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Yes...don’t cut off any leaves on your new banana trees until they are fully rooted, growing and pushing out new leaves. Water daily, don’t let them dry out. Nice work down there. I love the log cabin type houses too.

Thanks. I water a few times a day just to be safe. I think I found a new person in my neighborhood to ask for my next banana trees.

 

[Tom]

Tricia, you pass the test. My test is this: If I died and came back as a tortoise, would I want to live there? That looks like tortoise paradise there with all that green grass, warm weather and humidity. I love the new hides and planting over them just adds another level of awesomeness! If I died and came back as a tortoise, I think I'd rather live at your place than mine!

Your list of projects sounds just like mine. I can't get one thing done without finding three more things I want to do. I'm constantly building new tortoise boxes and rearranging things to optimize everything.

 

[Jay Bagley]

WOW!!! Looks great!! I know my tortoise is jealous.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Just beautiful! How do you get all this free stuff? You got connections or something?? LOL!

 

[TriciaStringer]

Just beautiful! How do you get all this free stuff? You got connections or something?? LOL!

Sometimes just asking gets you things. My brother-in-law has an excavation business, and I knew that he would sometimes put in culverts. I asked for him to keep an eye out for a left over piece of culvert. It took him a day. He gave me the smaller one. I cut it into two pieces and made two hides for our smaller tortoise. The huge one that we cut in half was from a state drainage improvement project. I passed by the construction site many times and just stopped and asked if I could have one of the leftover pieces. They loaded it in my car for me. You would be surprised what you can get.

 

[MichaelaW]

I had been looking for squash and cucumber plants for that very purpose with no luck. I think I looked too late. I’m waiting for the banana trees to get a little more established before cutting off leaves. They are still a little shocked with the digging up and replanting but still doing great. One even bloomed a few days ago and had put on lots of new growth. The banana tree hide still has cinderblocks around it. We haven’t built it’s wooden box. We are pooped. In the last three months we’ve built the new fences, a 3x8 indoor closed chamber for yearling, a 4x8 outdoor enclosure for a Russian, a 4x8 night box for two sulcatas (dividing wall between them), three shady hides, and almost finished dismantling the old tortoise fence. This Louisiana heat is about to kill us. My husband wants to kill me. He likes the tortoises but I love them and keep getting more. We are DONE, unless we get more land.

Just buy a squash from the store and plant the seeds. They grow like crazy. Mine is taking over the yard from seed that sprouted only a couple months ago.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Just buy a squash from the store and plant the seeds. They grow like crazy. Mine is taking over the yard from seed that sprouted only a couple months ago.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll try that! Do I just cut out the seeds and bury them or dry them first?

 

[MichaelaW]

They should be fine right from the squash. Butternut variety grows well in high heat.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Just beautiful! How do you get all this free stuff? You got connections or something?? LOL!

We had a huge flood in 2016. 90% of our city flooded. Many were provided trailers by FEMA as temporary housing while they redid their homes. When FEMA picked up all those trailers, they left behind the cinderblocks. Some people sold them, but I had a friend that had lots she just let me have. Her mom, aunt, mother in law, brother in law, and herself flooded. They had lots of cinderblocks. After we finish using them, I’ll offer them for free as well.