Repairing a lawn with 'buried rock syndrome'
girlfromthegarden
17 years ago
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yarddoctor
17 years agogirlfromthegarden
17 years agoRelated Discussions
casual rock garden? possible?
Comments (17)I see what you're asking. Once you've gotten to the point where your proposed area is plotted out and you're ready to actually start putting the garden together - any soil you add to create topographical features (little hills, valleys, etc.) will settle and stay in place. How you place your rocks in or around the hills and valleys will also keep the soil from either blowing or washing away. Rocks should be partially buried - think of ice bergs floating in the ocean; there's a lot of the berg under water that you can't see. This also keeps your rocks from looking like they were just dropped into place. The final step would be putting plants between the rocks, behind or in front of the rocks, in pockets in the rocks - the plants will also keep the soil in place....See MoreHow do I turn old farmland into a healthy lawn?
Comments (12)I agree with most of what has been said. However, RoundUp will not work against any of the remaining soybean plants. Unless your previous owner was stuck in the stone age, all the soybean seed sold now is RoundUp-Ready. That means you can spray RU on it all day long and nothing will happen. Does your builder have anything in the contract where he has to prepare the surrounding land for a garden? If so then you don't have to worry about anything. If not, then... The only tool necessary is a box blade on the back of a real tractor. You will definitely be able to find someone with that rig. It will take him about 2 hours to run your entire property unless you have lots of obstacles like trees, buried electrical or piping. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN TO MAP THE LOCATIONS OF ANYTHING YOUR CONTRACTOR BURIES. And DO NOT let him bury construction material. Almost all of them will do that to some extent or other. Get a trash trailer onsite and make sure everything is cleaned up at the end of the day. Painters will want to clean up their brushes and rollers in the yard. Go ahead and let them do that. It really does not seem to harm the soil or plants. I also agree that 2.5 acres of grass is too much. I have a 1-acre lot out in the country and having half of that in grass is a LOT of grass. Start shopping now for riding mowers. If there is a guy in town who repairs them, ask him for advice on which ones need the fewest repairs. What are the garden restrictions you have to adhere to? Does the entire place need to be landscaped? Can you have a small orchard of citrus or nut trees? A rose garden? A statue garden? A gazebo? I have a long list of garden alternatives to grass but need to see the restrictions. Where are you located? Easton, MD (wild guess) Assuming you are in MD, then I would start researching Kentucky bluegrass as an ultimate turf type. I like it because it is very dense, spreads by itself, and never needs to be reseeded. It takes very well to organic fertilizer and does not need copious amounts. Still, if you want it to be extraordinarily nice, copious amounts or organics will do that for you. The drawback to KBG is that it will turn brown during the winter if it gets too cold. That can be minimized to a few weeks with some effort on your part, but it can be done by normal people without special equipment. The other popular grass for your area is fescue. These do not spread quickly and should be reseeded in the thin spots every fall. The fescues do remain green throughout the year so many people mix fescue with KBG to get the best of both grass types. It sounds like you will be moving in and doing grass no earlier than next summer. That could be perfect. If you will be putting sod down, that is good timing (not great but good). If you are going to seed, then the heat of summer is a really bad time to do that. I would propose waiting until late August for seed. For a first step in seeding, once the land was prepped with the box blade, cover the (small??) area you want in grass with a load of mulch until late August. If your construction goes like most, you might not be moving in until then anyway. Then you won't be needing the mulch and can go straight to seed. What an adventure! Glad you wrote in now rather than writing in July to say you just seeded and nothing happened. I would suggest keeping an eye on this forum and others during the spring and getting a feel for the general nature of the issues. Lawn care is very easy if you simply water and mow correctly. With proper watering and mowing you should not need herbicides, preemergents, insecticides, or fungicides. Watch and learn. Repetition helps you learn....See MoreNeighbor buried his dog fence on neighbors property
Comments (32)For the life of me, I couldn't understand why anyone would even be motivated to move their wires so far in to adjoining properties, because that would allow their animals to be in somebody else's property and if those adjoining homes had any problems with the animals being there, it negates the reason to even install one. I Googled around about those underground fence systems, and found some manufacturers state the perimeter area has to be at least 500 feet, or they may not work properly. On a smaller city lot, I can see where some people who wish to use them don't have enough ground to do a proper installation. OK, so that's probably why they trespassed their system so far in several directions. If they got permission, that's one thing. If they didn't, I wouldn't trust them any further than I could throw an anvil. What else would they do, to make life more convenient for themselves? There are wireless systems they could have used, but those are more expensive. So, they save a few bucks by using somebody else's property? It's a danged shame when folk have to worry about what presumptive people like that think, or worry about feuds or retributions. You shouldn't have to pussy foot around and send anyone anonymous letters to inform anyone. If the folks who laid the line were forthright and honest, it wouldn't make a difference if you told the other property owners because they'd already know. It's called consideration in a social situation. Without permission it's also illegal....See MoreHow to create a beautiful lawn?
Comments (5)Glyphosate (an easy word to misspell) is the active ingredient in RoundUp, but it is also available in more generic branding. It kills everything eventually. Since you have 3 acres to work on, you might start slowly on the 1/4 acre nearest your house. Practice there this fall and keep the rest mowed down to 4 inches. If you try to seed now, the seed will die from the summer heat while the summer weed seeds will thrive. So if you want it green, just watering should do the trick. I wouldn't waste money on grass seed now only to watch it die in July. Then in the fall, do what becky suggests. And you can rake up the leaves now, compost them, and water any bare spots left under the leaves. Just treat the lawn like it's a perfect showplace. It's surprising how nice well watered and mowed weeds look. Do you have a preference for Scott's type of synthetic fertilizer or would you consider organic? Three acres is a lot of land to be just grass, Here are some alternatives to consider to reduce the amount of time you spend on lawn care... accent lighting in trees arbors (for vines) bamboo beds (perennials, annuals, bulbs, herbs, ferns, roses, hostas, container plants, rock, and fruits). bee keeping benches butterfly garden decks decorative gates (may be free standing) dog run or kennel edibles (veggies) fences (accent) fences (privacy) fountains fragrance garden gazebo greenhouse ground covers hedges herb garden hot tubs hummingbird garden Japanese garden jogging track moon garden (plants and lights for night time viewing) orchard ornamental grass garden other groundcovers out buildings (like sheds) outdoor theater overhead sunshades parcours (exercise stations) parking area party room (free standing for games, theater, pool table, etc.) patios picnic or barbecue area play yard for children ponds or garden pools pools potting bench or shed putting green rock garden rolling hills rose garden screened rooms (free standing) screens (foliage hedges or growing on a wire mesh) sitting or reading area sports courts statuary steps storage buildings sun room (free standing) swimming pools tool shed topiary trees (shade) trees (accent or decorative) tulip garden vining plant garden walkway (formal paved) walkway (informal path) walls (retaining) walls (accent or decorative) wildflowers Zen garden...See Moreyarddoctor
17 years agogirlfromthegarden
17 years agolevans_brocade_com
15 years agorsalsawins_verizon_net
15 years ago
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