Starting over with a yard/ground cover
Nobody Cool
6 years ago
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Nobody Cool
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Do I got this right? Kill yard and start over!
Comments (18)Wow. Just...wow. See - when most people say "my yard is infested!" and then we see a picture - there's usually a respectable amount of grass, and some obvious weeds that just need to be pulled or sprayed. You, my friend, were being modest when you said "heavily weed and bermuda infested yard"! I'm going to take the liberty of extending sincere condolences to you from every member of this forum. :-) But before you get too depressed - I'm sure others on this board have seen worse (well, I haven't, but I'm sure others have - right? [insert chorus of agreement here]) To answer a few of your questions: Rolling seed - Once you spread your seed around (use a broadcast / rotary spreader - don't do it by hand, it won't be even [voice of experience speaking!]), a roller is just what it sounds like - think mini-ashpalt roller you push by hand that you first fill (probably no more than 1/2 way) with water. This ensures good seed-to-soil contact, prevents run-off when watering, and is theoretically more important than covering the seed with any sort of topsoil / mulch (the reasoning being that when nature drops seeds, they don't wait for a nice fluffy layer of 1/8" peatmoss or hay to sprout). I rented one for $20 a day from the local rental center. Weed-b-gon is a selective herbicide. The main active ingredient (2,4-D) kills just about everything EXCEPT the grass. Round-up (RU)is a non-selective herbicide. The main active ingredient, glysophate, kills pretty much everything. The exception, of course - is dormant bermuda (could be dormant anything, but in your case, we're just talking bermuda). While dormant, the bermuda isn't sucking up any water or nutrients from the surrounding soil or off its leaves. Thus, it doesn't suck up the RU either. Which, as you've probably already figured out, is why spraying the BG NOW will do nothing to kill it. Having now seen the pictures, I agree with you - you don't need WBG, as there's no grass you're trying to save. Before I go further, I wanted to address your one comment of "why weed-b-gone vs a strong batch of roundup". I may be reading too much into that - but please please please don't over apply any chemicals to your lawn. The mixing instructions (if using a concentrate) are EXTREMELY accurate - please don't play backyard chemist and double the dosage - you'd just waste the chemicals, and introduce more into your yard then is necessary. Plus - a stronger dose may actually keep the plant alive. A higher concentration may work too quickly - you may kill the top 3 inches of a weed within a day, but b/c the section shriveled and dried up so quickly, the RU was never transported to the roots of the plant, so it's free to keep growing and invading your yard. This is why labels say "repeat applications may be necessary" - the first will significantly weaken the plant - the 2nd and 3rd doses, 1-2 weeks apart - will kill it. For what you have, I'm pretty sure one application of normal strength RU is all that's needed. Unless you're going after poison ivy or similar weeds, you won't need the "extra-strength" version. For compost, IIRC, the amounts suggested by dchall should provide a 1/4" layer across the whole lawn. Fling it around, brush it in with a push broom (or landscape rake, as you're not going to be concerned about smothering anything), lightly water, and let the microbes do their magic. I suggested aerating b/c that would allow the compost and seeds to penetrate deeper into the soil. Many forum members have also had good success with renting a slit-seeder, but that may be overkill for a yard your size (a slit-seeder deposits the seeds in a mini-trench it scrapes into the ground, providing that seed-to-soil contact I mentioned before). As far as pH, I believe compost helps return it to neutral, regardless of whether your soil is acidic or alkaline, but I'm out of my comfort zone here, so I'm willing to be corrected. So here's my revised suggestion: 1. RU the yard now - this will kill whatever's growing. The other benefit of RU is that it goes "inert" pretty quick - you can overseed within a few days - WBG forces you to wait at least a week or more. 2. Take a de-thatching rake, and go to town on the dormant bermuda - no - it won't kill it, but it will thin it out significantly. This will also scratch up and loosen the top layer of soil, not as good as aerating, but it could be good enough for now if you want to save the heavy machinery for the fall. 3. Spread compost (side note - sometimes, a predominance of a single type of weed also signifies a particular pH level - so adjusting pH may help with future weed issues) 4. Seed with Perr. Rye (PR) 5. Keep mowing high throughout the summer - the PR won't "crowd out" the BG, but should co-exist for the first few months or so. If you fertilize, do it before the BG starts growing - this will help the PR, but not the BG. 6. In June/July, start using Bayer BG Control, or wait until late Sept / Oct to RU the whole yard again, then proceed with a full-scale reseed in the fall. Related to the last point - Tiemco was suggesting a complete reseed come fall, as it's easier to start from "scratch" than to have any existing lawn compete with the seeds for water and nutrients, plus having extra-long grass (having been watered 3x a day) that you can't mow b/c the seedlings aren't high enough yet. Thanks for the afternoon diversion - I better shut up and start looking productive....See MoreNeed help starting a back yard lawn
Comments (6)If you start now you might get rid of the stumps in 2 years by natural processes. The only trick is to get just the right amount of moisture on the stumps to get the fungus started. For that I suggest a misting nozzle like this one. I had a stump that was 15 years old. I buried it under compost thinking the compost would rot it away. Instead of rotting it away it preserved it. Why? Because the fungus that rots wood must have full access to the air. The compost cut off the air. I got the idea for the misting nozzle and it worked great. The nozzle ran continuously for 2 weeks until I noticed a fungus growing on the wood. Then I turned off the nozzle for a week or so and turned it back on. Guess what I'm saying is play this by ear. I watched carefully as the fungus spread, mushrooms formed, the surface of the wood softened, more and more softened. After about 18 months the stump was completely rotten. Stepping on it left a foot print. Still there was plenty more to rot away but it was obvious Nature was working a lot better than anything else I had tried. I talked to some people who suggested that once the stump had softened that much, that I should let it dry out, pour a little diesel on it, and burn it the rest of the way. I didn't do that. Haven't checked on it recently. That should take you up to the time when you buy the house. You are right about the issues with planting anything on top of a ground up stump. If the wood is near the surface, that fungus will steal nitrogen from any source including all the fertilizer you apply. Usually you see yellow spots in the lawn over the stump. You might have him grind the stumps and then you proceed with the wood rotting method using the misting nozzles. That might shave some months off the decomposition process....See MoreYard to garden... where to start?
Comments (5)Hi Bekajoi, I believe the plant in your "smells like a mild onion" picture is garlic chives, and they do reseed some, so it theyÂre here and there, that would make sense. I donÂt know if this will be a disappointment or not, but your lavender plants look like Russian sage to me! Watering effectively on a slope can be very difficult. Since you seem to be ready for some big projects, IÂd highly recommend you put a 2 or 3 high railroad tie "wall" across the yard somewhere and level the soil out above and below it. Level ground will make your gardening SO much easier in the long run. If your Italian plum it whatÂs usually called a prune plum, they should be very soft and sweet when theyÂre ripeÂit the birds and squirrels donÂt get them first! I love prune plums! Your grape is most likely a seeded Concord, but you wonÂt know for sure till it produces grapes. Concord is good for juice, jelly, and wine if youÂre into that kind of wine, but theyÂre not that great for eating fresh. The bush that has small red berries could possibly be a honeysuckle, but I really canÂt tell for sure from the pic. If it is, birds will eat the berries, but youÂre not gonna want to. They donÂt taste goodÂto humans! If the pond liners donÂt have any holes in themÂand you do decide to level the yard with railroad ties, you could make a great little waterfall over the drop in the yard at the ties! With all the weed seeds you have in there, be prepared to be pulling weed seedlings for YEARS! Do as much as you can to pull the weeds that now have seeds on them, before the seeds ripen and fall off! If you have any bindweed (I donÂt see any in the pics), and you till, breaking the roots into little pieces, youÂll have as many new bindweed plants as there are pieces of roots! Do everything you can to get out the bindweed and all the roots BEFORE you till! With the rock mulch that seems to be all over the placeÂrake/clean as much of it off of the surface as you possibly can. If you just till or work it into the soil itÂll cause problems every time you try to dig anywhereÂand keep hitting the rocks! A lot of work, but a yard with great potential! Welcome to RMG, Skybird...See MoreCreepingLemonTyme vs Grass? creeping Lemon Thyme to Replace Gr
Comments (5)As a sort of rebuttal to my own argument, gardengal48 has offered creeping thyme as a lawn substitute for my own troubled yard: [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/starting-over-with-a-yard-ground-cover-dsvw-vd~5254152?n=16[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/starting-over-with-a-yard-ground-cover-dsvw-vd~5254152?n=16) Using plugs, rather than potted plants or seed. I think I will give it a try, since all else has pretty much failed! There are many kinds of thyme, so I suppose your milage will vary depending on variey and location. We have planted creeping thyme and lemon thyme. Lemon thyme is the nicer of the two in our yard, and has a fantastic citrus smell, which supposedly will help ward-away mosquitoes. I am skeptical of that claim (but hope to be pleasantly surprised!). It spreads mostly from a central "clump," and kind of died back to that central clump in this year's harsh-ish winter, but has definitely grown from when we planted it last year. None of our thyme has ever bloomed, but that doesn't particularly bother me. I wish I had a greener thumb to make better recommendations, but I am still trying to learn more myself. Adding any kind of thyme to hardscaping seems like a natural fit....See MoreNobody Cool
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)