It's worth mentioning, I think, that only the phloem tissue (the inner bark - that brownish layer between the outer bark and the cambium) is capable of carrying material downward to the roots. That is why basal bark applications and the "hack and squirt" method work, ie the herbicide easily enters the phloem tissue. Painting the entire cut surface of a stump is wasteful, as the sapwood, or xylem, only carries sap upward from the roots, and of course the heartwood is dead tissue that doesn't carry anything anywhere. I've had great success over the years painting triclopyr on the phloem of freshly cut stumps with a small paintbrush, or by pouring very small amounts with the cap over the same. A little goes a long way. The cheapskate in me gets pleasure from having maximum results from minimal input, and I've never had any nearby plants show damage. I used to use Ammate (ammonium sulfamate, I believe it was) in the old days, if anyone is old enough to remember that stuff. Yellow crystals.

Purchase seed here www.pawneebuttesseed.com I did....purchased 25 pounds of sod quality KBG Curious to know what you purchased. Fertilize with starter fertilizer or spread Milorganite 1 week prior to seeding...OPS! guess I'll have to use normal starter fertilizer because I plan to over seed this holiday weekend and have not even found Milorganite....I'm I correct? Go with the starter fertilizer. Unless you manage your lawn organically, I wouldn't worry about Milorganite at this time. It would warrant additional amendments you won't have to worry about with the starter fert. Cover new seed with mulch, compost or straw.....I've decided to use compost. However my supplier will not guarantee its weed free. No one around my town will. Is this ok? You don't really have to worry about weed seeds in compost. Apply a 1/4 inch layer over the seeds. Water, water, water water......3 times per day first week, 2 times per day 2nd week as necessary until grass is 2-3 inches high.....each day I should collect 1/2 of water in tuna can.... Here is irrigation schedule for new seeds. water 15-20 minutes twice a day for two weeks water 20-30 minutes once a day for one week water 30-45 minutes once a day every other day for one week water 30-45 minutes once a day twice a week for one week move into deep irrigation, increasing the time to provide 1 inch of water all over and decreasing the frequency to just once a week. Starting off, the schedule supplies roughly 1/4 inch of water, then increases that amount while decreasing frequency of application at the same time. Like practically everything that concerns lawn care, this schedule is a general guideline and should be modified to accommodate your specific conditions. The lengths of time should be modified if you have an automatic sprinkler system since that will not take as long to provide adequate moisture. So, decrease amount of water (time) but maintain frequency as is. The tuna cans test is recommended. If it is still especially warm, you may want to irrigate 3 times a day (10-15 minutes if necessary) for that first couple weeks. Your objective is to keep the upper 1 inch of soil moist and not let the seeds dry out. Baby the grass for the rest of year. Once the seeds begin to sprout, don't walk on it if at all possible.

There is a more proper way to lasagna compost as I understand it, which includes making it a foot high, and leaving it to decompose for a season. This I'm sure is awesome but I've never done that. I've simply cut the grass low, covered the appropriate section with about 3 to 6 thicknesses of newspaper. Wet it down, and then make sure you cover it well (the newspaper is not pretty if not covered with mulch). Then I dig holes through this. Since it's pretty much unamended clay I make a good sized hole and will put manure, mushroom compost, whatever, and mix with the clay--this helps the plant. I don't put too many amendments for shrubs because I've read that creates a bowl effect and is not a great idea. Improving this Ga. soil is an ongoing effort and so every year I add some of my homemade (somewhat chunky!) compost or bought manure all over and cover with mulch (county and/or storebought). This all has succeeded in improving the flower beds quite a bit in just about 2.5 years but it's not by any means like "Victory Gardens" dirt yet, where you could stick your hand in up to your elbow! But it supports the plants pretty well and clay has a lot of nutrients in it, we don't want to supplant it, simply amend it. Hope this helps. Thanks, Rose

I'm not saying how you should go about doing your yard, as it is ultimately up to you, but some things you might want to check on, especially since you said you wanted to eliminate lawn and you seem to be somewhat environmentally conscious, are these sites that I have found as I have been delving more and more into gardening/landscaping in Florida. Plant Real Florida - A site about keeping it native, noninvasive and fairly lawn free. This site can give you a list of landscapers and nurseries in your area that specialize in Florida Friendly yards. Unless you're in Marion county. Marion county seems to be devoid of environmentally minded people. University of Florida Lawn and Garden - An indispensable source of information provide by UF. I have learned to always cross-reference plants here because they provide so much more information. You can also find a website for your local extension office here which tends to be full of information specifically for your area. I don't know about the other extension offices, but the Lake County one also has the Discovery Gardens which is demonstration garden where they have 20 different garden types that have been localized to Central Florida. A great place for ideas or to just find some quiet. Plus they keep a Master Gardener on staff to answer any walk-in questions. UF Guide to Plant Selection and Landscape Design - Same people, but this is a direct link to an older version of their handbook (in PDF form) that is chocked full of tasty information. Florida Native Plant Society - Not so much a site for information, but a site to find gardening events around your area. You can also find your own local chapter of the FNPS which should have it's own page. Some chapters seem to be more active than others. They also have a very small selection of native wildflower seeds in their Store. Hoe and Shovel - A blog that is one part inspiration and one part informational. There's even a few blogs about using newspaper to kill off parts of the lawn for garden beds. Florida Native Plants Database - A web-based application that lets you provide certain basic information and will give you a list of plants suitable for your area. Despite it's name, it is not restricted to JUST native plants, but noninvasive plants as well. WARNING This was the first site I found and used, and while helpful it can be misleading. A lot of information it provides is very generalized and might not apply to your area. For example: It told me I could grow Elephant Ears in my area and that they enjoy full sun. But... for Zone 9a, Elephant Ears actually prefer partial sun. My poor Elephant Ears that were planted in direct, full sun got baked and sunburned. Now I always cross-reference plants it suggests with the UF/IFAS site. Garden Web Forums - Florida - A good place to get in contact with some generally nice and helpful individuals who live in Florida and have real world experience and wisdom to imp... uh... nevermind. There are some other websites that I tend to use, but I'm still fueling up on coffee and my brain hasn't kicked into high gear yet. But these few will provide a lot of information and ideas.