new homeowner, old yard

6 years ago

So I've entered the endeavor of home ownership. I have also inherited an 83 yr old lawn. The home was refurbished and brought back to life. Unfortunately they didn't try as hard on the outside. Before the property was a jungle. A crab apple tree in the front yard and a plethora of random out of control shrubs and weeds. So the renovation people clear cut everything, chopped the fence down at ground level and didn't uproot anything. We moved in during the peak of winter so now were finally able to get outside a start up on some things. So far we've had the crab apple tree removed and a few others. They laid a seed carpet down on top of everything with that plastic mesh for erosion control which wasn't needed. the leaves weren't raked before the snow fell on top of it all causing a rotting layer of leaves. So the grass is trashed and we're working on raking up the leaves as weather permits and to boot the plastic mesh didn't decompose making raking really fun. Now there are random bulbs and scattered perennials popping up everywhere. What can I do to start repairing years of neglect? I understand Thinks wont be completely fixed this year but I don't want to waste money throwing seed or fertilizer that wont help. Thank you in advance. I am in Wisconsin Zone 5b.

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Comments (4)

PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
6 years ago
some ideas
Jeff thanked Dig Doug's Designs
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
6 years ago
Start by IDing what you already have. Then you can ask for advice regarding removing, rejuvenating, or relocating. If you need help, you can post pictures in the Perennial forum, theShrubs forum, or the Name That Plant forum.
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Didn't get back to this thread for awhile... Darthtrader, have you used the "3 sisters" method? It will produce a lot... but it is meant for field corn, not sweet corn (sweet corn won't support the beans), dry beans not snap beans (you might trample the squash while picking the snaps) and winter squash, not summer squash (ditto on trampling). Essentially, it was a "plant it & forget it" arrangement; the heavy growth did not enable frequent entry for the harvest of immature crops. I have used several variations of it with sweet corn, substituting cowpeas or soybeans for beans, and using indeterminate tomatoes as ground cover in place of squash. I heartily endorse the use of cowpeas within sweet corn, as they are mostly weak climbers, and won't overload the shorter, weaker stalks of the sweet corn. Regardless of the method & varieties used, the corn & squash require a lot of space... which is what I was referring to when I mentioned that it might not be cost effective for those with smaller urban lots. CynthiaH, I once lived & gardened in the Bay area, also on borrowed land. My garden was on a utility easement near the NASA/Ames facility, and was limited in size only by how much time I chose to invest in it. In exchange, I agreed to clean up trash left by a BMX organization (bike racing) on other parts of the property, and to keep the weeds down. Except in the inner cities, there is always empty land somewhere. I gave more detailed advice on OPP gardening (other people's property) here.
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New homeowner, old lawn, Zone 5
Q
Comments (4)
Welcome to being the latest of the Lawn Whackos. You're in great company...with the rest of all of us here. You're not clueless, you're just starting out. As you learn, this will change. $150 for 500 square feet works out to $0.30 a square foot. For that, I'd come up there and install it for you. :-) All you need is a good rake, several hours, and seed. Kill off the crabgrass (this may take several tries with Roundup as that stuff seems to be able to survive nuclear war). Once dead, rake the whole area clear and get the soil scratched up well. Perfectly-workable-case, get any good seed mix off the shelf. Best-case, listen to Bestlawn or others for suggestions. Seed. Reverse your rake and lightly cover the seed. Water two to four times daily for short periods. There you go, lawn, in one to four weeks, depending. The same kind you'd've gotten from TruGreen. Cost...about $8 for the seed if you buy way too much for overseeding purposes. $20 for the rake. And you get to keep the rake. You'll get weeds, that's assured. You would have with their seeding as well. REALLY horrible section between the sidewalk and the road of which maybe ten feet by thirty feet needs to be re-done. That's called a hell strip because it's just hell on lawns. :-) That area frequently requires some help, extra water through the year, and reseeding. It just doesn't flourish too well under most conditions. Once all this works, we'll be glad to wean you off TruGreen and get you a much nicer lawn. :-)
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New homeowner, new to the valley, new (to me) plants
Q
Comments (5)
I agree with the others, wait until our short frost season is over before trimming any damaged growth. For the bougies, just wait until they start re-growing and cut above a nice fresh green shoot. Unknown #3 is a white flowered trailing lantana (L. montevidiensis). I'd use a hula hoe to keep those weeds under control. It's basically a scuffle hoe that "shaves" the weeds off at ground level. Do it on a warm sunny afternoon and they'll croak right away. Plus it's kind of fun. Getting some type of mulch around the lantana will help control weed seedlings too. Unkonw #4 is a Ruellia, sometimes call Mexican petunia. They bloom spring through autumn. You can trim them if you like, or leave them be. Again, I'd wait until after the short frost season is over. Keep us posted! Happy gardening! Grant
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New homeowner in need of yard advice
Q
Comments (4)
First of all, thank you to your husband for his service. Okay, as far as your lawn -- the good news is that you didn't put anything down. I "thought" I had grub worms several years ago and put down grub poison. It got rid of all the beneficials and it took me the longest time to "beef" up the soil again. Unless you know for certain that it's grub worms, don't treat it at all. If it does turn out to be GW, look into Milky Spore. I've never used it myself, though. Is it possible that the bare spots are in a heavily shaded spot? If so, trim the trees or work to give it more sunlight. St Aug will tolerate some shade but doesn't like full shade. It is a very robust grass that will grow back and fill in those bare spots. My advice would be to feed the soil with compost or corn meal or alfalfa pellets or mulched leaves or whatever you can get. Mow the grass as high as your lawn mower will go. Water it deeply when you water (rule of thumb is 1" per week). Also, check out the Organic Lawn Forum for more advice. I started doing their recommendations (mow high, water deeply, feed the soil) several years ago and I have the best St Aug lawn on my street. And it takes me very little time or money to care for it now. Good luck. Carla Rowlett, TX
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Jeff
Original Author
6 years ago
Holy crap. Now i'm looking at things in a whole new way. That's awesome!
Sigrid
6 years ago
Mowing will get rid of a lot of perennials. It won't get rid of the worst, invasive weeds but your lawn will be green and just don't get on your knees to examine if it's made of identical grass blades or something else.

You may have a collection of perennials you might want to plant in a planned garden, but you probably have a lot of thugs. My neglected garden was overrun with Hostas and Daylilies duking it out and smothering everything else. Some things like Peonies are pretty, not thugs and long lasting. If you know a gardener, ask for help with ID.

Early bulbs can, depending on the bulb and your climate, come up and flower before your grass starts growing. By the time they are done, the grass is ready to be mowed.

Leaf blowers, while noisy and obnoxious, make leaf removal a hell of a lot faster than raking. You can blow the leaves onto a tarp, tie it up (put rope through the grommets before you start blowing), stick it in the back of your car and haul it to the dump. Another option is using a lawn mower with a bagger.

However, some trees don't drop their leaves until very late. Beeches will often not drop them all until it leafs out in the spring, dropping leaves in snow storms all winter.

Many plants, including bulbs, can be dug up and moved at any time of the year. You might lose some, if you dig them up as they start growing, but if you were just going to mow over them, no harm done. You can do this carefully, not wrecking the grass and put the grass back down.

new homeowner, old yard

Comments (4)

Dig Doug's Designs

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

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Jeff
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Sigrid

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new homeowner, old yard

Comments (4)

Dig Doug's Designs

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

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JeffOriginal Author

Sigrid

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Jeff
Original Author