Keep grass and replace deck, or go all pea gravel?
nikkimo11
6 years ago
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no mulch, no pea gravel. what else is there?
Comments (17)The symptoms of skin allergies for my dog was excessive scratching, licking, dandruff (with no fleas), not wanting to be petted... tests showed he, too, was allergic to many things, including grasses, our cat, various pollens and dust. (My dog's allergies are exacerbated by water, which is a drag because he's a Lab and obviously likes to swim.) Not much different than a human, and I don't think your situation is unique. Since you can't afford pea gravel (a real obvious and good solution)you probably can't afford the rubber playground mulch (although I have no idea what the price might be, never having used it). You seem to want your dogs to have the use of the whole yard (as opposed to just pathways and small areas) so I think the suggestions aimed at getting the grass growing are the ones you should look at. Thinning the canopy to allow more light for grass, improving drainage, perhaps improving soil conditions in general (aerating and fertilizing and/or top dressing). Good luck with your lawn and with the pups!...See MorePea Gravel...good idea or not?
Comments (14)Pea gravel just around the foundation is a dumb idea. It will make the ground around the house more porous,and water will drain to those areas, rather than away. So water drains into the porous soil you've produced, but can't drain down or out because there is heavier, less free draining soil under and round it. You are creating a reservoir of water to seep into your house. But if you have a way for water to drain through the pea gravel and soil and out away from the house, that would be good. In most cases, the best thing is to grade the soil surface away from the foundation, without changing soil consistancy, so that water drains away from the house naturally. (Grading the soil surface away from the house means the soil is higher at the foundation and lower as it goes away from the house.)...See MorePea Gravel...
Comments (3)Leave the gravel and build boxes for raised gardens. They are easier to work in and you can just add great soil without having to deal with the pea stone or the clay. more kid ideas... 1. Sunflower Houses: This is my number one pick. You can use sunflowers to create a rectangular or square section for the house. Once the sunflowers grow to almost full height you can take string and tie the tops together to form a string âÂÂroofâ then morning glories can be grown up the sunflowers until they reach the string and fill in the roof. 2. A garden tee-pee: This is similar to the sunflower house in concept. You put wooden poles in the ground and angle them to form a tee-pee. Make sure it is big enough for kids to pay inside. Then plant vines like morning glories, beans, and gourds so that the walls will fill in with vegetation. Guide the vines at first to make sure that an entrance is left open for little bodies to crawl through. 3. Try a Moon Garden: Instead of making a tee-pee with plants that flower during the day, you can also grow a moon garden and use plants that flower at night. Then the kids can spend some evenings outdoors looking at the stars and fireflies. Moonflowers would be perfect to climb the tee-pee walls and for around the perimeter you could plant evening primrose and four-o-clocks. 4. Grow some unique and whimsical plants. What kids wouldnâÂÂt like to grow some bleeding hearts, sunflowers, or gourds that can be hollowed out to make bird houses and musical instruments? Let them pick out the plants that appeal to them. 5. Make a rainbow: Have the kids help you pick out flowers or herbs in the 6 different rainbow colors⦠red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Plant them in curving rows with gravel or rocks between each row. When they bloom you will have a rainbow! 6. Create a fairy garden: Use twigs and sticks that have fallen from nearby trees to make fairy houses and furniture. Use tempera paints to give them color and texture. You can even use one half of fallen nuts to make little boats for them too. 7. Make a Pizza Patch! Carve out a circular section for this one and divide it into sections or slices. In each section grow a different pizza ingredient like tomatoes, garlic, onions, oregano, basil, rosemary, etc. When harvest time comes go out together and gather your ingredients and make pizza from scratch together. This can be cooked or raw pizza. 8. Build a worm box: Worms are an important part of any garden. They help us recycle waste into compost and by building a worm box or house you can get lots of wonderful compost and feed the worms your kitchen scraps. You can build your own worm box or buy one and it is a great scientific experiment for kids to be a part of....See MorePea Gravel Patio Help
Comments (28)Doesn't seem like it's necessary for any more people to cast a vote against pea gravel as a walking surface, but I will chime in with complete agreement that it is one of the best ways to wrongly use a material. Just looking at the slate chips has me casting a vote against it, too. It will be a tiny bit better than pea gravel, but far inferior to other materials. The key to getting a good walking surface of granular material is that, a) none of the materials are larger than about 1/2" to 5/8"; b.) in addition to the largest sizes, there are all sizes smaller all the way down to sand and dust; c.) the material shape is angular, not rounded like pea gravel. (The slate chips fulfill only one of these criteria.) There are many crushed rock materials that work well and they vary with the different regions. One just needs to visit the yards where such things are sold and see what's available. Another consideration if it will be used during the daytime is that darker materials are not as glaring in the sun. (This is important to many people.) As one example though it is hard to find, crushed brick is about as nice as it gets. It's dark, pretty colored and packs down hard. Cinders, if not too large, is good too. In the end, a good surface should be almost hard enough to bounce a basketball on....See Morewoodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
6 years agonikkimo11 thanked woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canadal pinkmountain
6 years agoEmbothrium
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoYardvaark
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6 years agomad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
6 years agolittlebug zone 5 Missouri
6 years agoJudy Mishkin
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agocarladr
6 years agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
6 years agoHeatherInOR
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoK Laurence
6 years agoSolusLumber.com
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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