I have to install a ground stake to mount one of these purple Martin nesting gourd sets. About 15’ tall, lightweight aluminum.



https://www.troyergourds.com/Gourd-Racks_c_58.html

Instructions say the hole to set the ground stake should be 36” deep, 12” wide, square aluminum ground stake projects 2’ above the ground, pole base slides down over it. I’ve put up several of these things in the past, but the last one was 12 years back.

This weekend the highs are forecast to be in the 50’s, lows in the 30’s. Obviously the ground stake has to set exactly vertical.

How long does it take Quickcrete to set at lower temperatures?

Tks.

Gets down to freezing before it cures it might crumble later on. I've heard of masons using a calcium solution with success.

Go ahead... you will be fine on temp.

Lay plastic over the concrete after it has set. 6" or more of pine needle, leaves, mulch.

Concrete will be hard enough in a week, but I would still give it 3-4 weeks personally... especially if you get it too wet when mixing.

Calcium Chloride is a product I refuse to use... for any reason. Some will argue it's OK, but I will not use it.

Where did you get that Purple Martin house? I like the idea (oops... missed the link... thanks)

I agree with the above Comments, and a little warm/hot water will accelerate the drying time,
and the plastic will keep the heat in! Calcium Chloride is used a lot up North!
If you choose to use the Cal. mix it in warm water first, to dissolve it, and activate it properly!
If your worried about the cold a little straw on top of the plastic will help to further keep the heat in,
and dry, and set up quicker! Maybe a little over kill, all depends on Temps.

It will be fine as is. Cover with a little insulation. The chemical reaction will create enough heat to do the job . You are not running 80000 pounds trucks over it.

If it makes you feel better, the batch plant in prudhoe bay makes concrete at -20f and they truck it in insulated trucks and pour it.

Warm water and a blanket will take care of any weather in your area.

As long as it's not below freezing you're fine. Keep in mind that most of this stuff is below grade down in the ground. The temperature of the dirt is probably 50*. Even if it gets down to 32* at night for a short time, it's not going to freeze the concrete. Concrete takes about 28 days before it is close to fully cured. I would wait at least a week before attaching the bird house. If you're worried about the temperatures, throw a piece of plastic over it at night. You don't need to use calcium.

35-90 degrees F. Cover if it's going to be below freezing at night. Concrete will make it's on heat the first couple of days as it's curing. You can walk on it in a few hours. Give it a couple of days, and it'll be good to go for your bird pole.

A note on purple martins: Once they move in, you won't have any mosquitoes, but everything you own will be covered in bird chit.

my brake lines wish they had never started spraying it on the roads..

Hi Birdwatcher,

I just put in 2 more ground stakes here in Western PA about 4 weeks ago when temps were in the 40’s.for a day. I drilled 4’ holes, inserted a 12” tube, tamped in dry concrete mix, pounded in the ground stakes, squared and filled in the rest of the ground stakes with mixed concrete. I have 5 total poles and have done the same thing for all of them. I had my first pole in for at least 10 years without issue. I have 1- T-14 made with Spanish Cedar, 2-gourd racks, and 2-T-14 poly wood houses. I have a very nice colony and if I had more time and gumption I would have 5 more. Purple Martin landlording is fun and I meet a lot of nice people.

Last count Florida has 27 adults, we won’t see our birds until the end of March. Good luck, have a great season.

Gary U

Cool looking rig BW. Wife and I looked at those in Canton a couple of months ago. Let us know how the Martins take to them.

might consider tamping in with crushed gravel instead

Temps for SA won't matter enough. Do it Saturday in the morning when its still warm, will be midnight before it even gets close to worry.

as noted if it bothers you cover plastic and toss a blanket on it. Our forecast temps are not low enough to make me worry about your project.

I'd not add the weight for a week or more though if possible. Longer is always better IMHO. Couple weeks if you can manage it. It might not need it. In now way can waiting hurt.

Good Luck with your project, Mike.

First off, thanks for the responses all, I appreciate it.

The mosquito thing? Actually there has never been a mosquito found in a martin’s stomachs or any evidence they feed on them. Purple martins are dragonfly specialists, they prefer dragonflies, dragonflies however do eat mosquitoes.

The Indians started out hanging empty gourds in their cornfields for martins to nest in. Martins chase away crows from around their nests, Indians didn’t need scarecrows they had purple martins.

Your temps aren't cold enough to bother thinking about it.

Just keep the concrete from freezing for 7 days. It reaches 3/4 of it's strength in that time. After that the frost won't harm it. Concrete makes it's own heat during curing. Covering it with a poly sheet is all you need to do as long as the ground isn't frozen to start with. Add a little straw if you really want to make sure. Sometimes the poly blows away in the wind so throw a few shovels of dirt on top.

Do it in the AM, no need to overthink it

As long as your ground temp below the surface is above freezing you should be fine don't mix it too wet and put some firm of insulation over the top. I've used concrete bags with grass clippings or even some of the dirt you dug out over tge top.

I put in hundreds of the old big satellite dishes all over idaho and Wyoming 30 years ago and it was usually a 4" steel pipe in a 36" hole. We only worried about it during real cold spells and when the frost level was down deeper than a foot. In 91 we had -40 degree Fahrenheit weather for about a month and that slowed us down but it was far too cold to be mixing mud anyways.

Bb

I was wondering why I had some lower back issues this evening, then I remembered lifting bags of concrete into the truck at Home D into the truck this morning.

My digging bar has lain unused under the back porch since 2010, got it out this evening, it seems to have grown heavier during that time 🙂

I put up ten of these things back then in about as many Saturdays, I’m really glad I only have to do one this time around, it might take a while.

Hi Gary,

I believe I started in ‘97, got em the first year, leveled off at around thirty pairs now.

Purple martins are in decline around San Antonio, it’s a generational thing, the Greatest Generation and their Boomer offspring put up housing, after they passed on or moved the aluminum houses they left up, even if not taken down by later householders, are steadily falling apart.

Twelve maybe fifteen years back we located more than 200 Martin houses or gourds within a four mile radius, most of which were old and failing, about half of which hosted martins, most often 2or 3 pairs. I’d guess at least around 2/3,of those houses are gone now.

Cooper’s hawks are rapidly increasing here, that ain’t gonna help any either.

Exactly. You will have a tiny fraction of the concrete mass exposed to air temps. I’ll bet you ground temp is warm enough to not have a problem.

A local road had bike path railings set in concrete last year in November. It was around zero degrees. Regular mix and they just put concrete blankets on top for a week. Zero issues.

Ya, would forego the accelerant, I opt for warm water and some extra portland in the mix before I use chorides. Your temps are just fine as mentioned and would still cover with some type of barrier for insurance as it never hurts. All good advice here.....

A little more expensive than concrete.
Definitely more convenient.
Utility companies switched to this years ago.
(different formulation obviously, but still expanding poly foam)
I have only used for mailbox, worked fine.

Hi Birdwatcher,

Every year after my first year I had all full compartments. I have to say here in W. PA we have many landlords, lots of Amish. Birds Paradise is only 40 minutes away from my farm and I interact with them on a weekly basis. We have major late summer roosting areas (Presqule Isle in Erie, PA and Portage Lakes in Ohio) within 1 hour drives. In our area Purple Martins are in high concentrations if you have the correct setting (pond, no trees close by, open fields, and close by large lake). I am lucky I have the perfect scenario and I just love them. On a summer evening we have 20-30 cars cruise by to watch and listen to the birds.

If you are ever in PA or OH, please contact me, I will take you on a tour of the area and you will see hundreds of colonies both public and private. Very nice talking to you, take care and good luck with your Gemini Gourd Pole.

Gary

Tks Gary,

Whereas up in PA cold snaps in the spring are probably the major weather-related worry, heat and drought are our concerns down here. Our martins first show up in late Jan/early Feb and commence breeding second half of March/early April..

In a bad dry year fledging success approaches zero, 103 degree heat in late May doesn’t help the nestlings either.

I figure just about now, somewhere above the Brazilian rain forest, a few martins are starting to get the urge to return to that specific place on the urban West Side of distant San Antonio, TX 🙂

Good luck with your martins this year 😎

Thanks again everyone for the input 😎 I set the ground stake this morning.

I also discovered that while I thought I was getting old in my fifties, there ain’t any lingering doubts about that here in my sixties.

So I got it done this morning, and if I wake up without sciatica tomorrow morning it’s all good 🙂

Don’t let the old man in, Mike.