In need of some help with my new rental
Brody Jones
4 years ago
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Brody Jones
4 years agoBrody Jones
4 years agoRelated Discussions
need some help making my new lawn happy
Comments (2)A soil test is going to tell you that you have sand with no nutrients. Let's get some grass growing first. St Augustine loves a little shade. Bermuda, the other popular grass in FL, will not grow in any shade. For full sun the best one to get is the Floratam variety. There are a couple tricks to growing St Augustine. First is to mow it at the mower's highest setting. Let it get up to 5 or 6 inches tall before mowing it back down to 4. Second, it absolutely must have deep water every so often. When temps are 90 or above, you will have to water a full inch every 5-7 days in full sun. This time of year you might get away with watering every 3-4 weeks (always a full inch as measured by cat food or tuna cans). Forget about worms. They might come later or might not. The best thing to improve your sand is to use organic fertilizer. If you really have fine, white, sugar sand, then any amount of compost you can afford, up to 1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet, would be helpful. My favorite organic fertilizer is alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow). Apply at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet as often as you want to or can afford. Grain type organic fertilizers take 3 full weeks to see any improvement. They are called "slow release" but that's sort of a misnomer. They release fast but not to the plants. The fertilizer feeds the soil microbes and they feed the plants. Being a biological process it takes time. Over time your white sand will appear almost black. Don't be fooled into thinking your sand is changing. What's happening is the microbes and grass are leaving behind organic matter that will help to hold moisture and provide other benefits to your soil. As for the snails, find some cheap ammonium sulfate fertilizer and scatter that around. Ammonium sulfate looks like rock salt and has exactly the same effect on snails and slugs. They bubble up and die. We had a big infestation back in the 90s. I used that stuff (before I became organic) and we haven't seen a snail since. Incredible!!...See MoreI need help with some ideas for my new living room...
Comments (10)Maybe you aren't as creative as you would like to be, but you probably know what you like and what you don't like. So that's why you should get a bunch of magazines and on-line pictures to start seeing what speaks to you and what doesn't. We now know that you don't want orange. What other colors don't you want/what colors do you love? Do you have a Calico Corners or JoAnn's nearby? Try browsing the fabrics and figure out what and colors and patterns you like: stripes/plaids/polkadots/floral? This is where you can start, and then we can work from there....See MoreNew to Ohio, need some help/advice
Comments (3)I grew up in the Cleveland area, so I can give you some things to start with. Weed the beds and mulch as you go. You will get snow, but it won't stick for several months yet (probably January, but it depends how far from Lake Erie you are) You can get the beds back to looking tidy, and the sooner you do that the fewer weeds there will be next year, but regardless, you will have a long fall to enjoy them. You could invest in some nice pots and plant for fall. I used to "weed" the patio with a flat-bladed scraper (sort of like a hoe but without the bend in the neck), but it needs to be fairly flat for that to work. This is also a good time to seed grass in the bald spots - broadcast seed, water in well, and cover lightly with straw. Just don't let it completely dry out, and if you can keep your dogs out of the area, the grass will do better. As far as the reluctance . . . Embrace where you are if at all possible. Cleveland is a wonderful city (unless you are a sports fan - then it's depressing.) There are wonderful museums, the long fall is stunningly beautiful as the trees turn and the temperature is perfect, and there is pretty much any kind of music you might want - rock, jazz, classical, blues . . . . The lake offers great opportunities - take a boat tour of the waterfront, go to Mentor Headlands state park, or make friends with someone who owns a boat. If you like amusement parks, Cedar Point (west of Cleveland) is world class. I love living in a place with 4 seasons - it's not California, but I find that Cleveland is one of the friendliest places I've ever been. I don't think I've ever gone back to visit friends and family (something I do at least once a year) without having a complete stranger come up and start a friendly conversation with me, something that NEVER happens here in New England....See MoreHelp Needed Renovating and Decorating my first Rental! Please!
Comments (16)whatever has been said..your landlord sounds like a real nice guy..:) unless of course you have agreement that your improvements hugely lower your rent? what I'd do though..if I was as handy and as eager as you.. -the mosaic in the kitchen where the backsplash is-hard to see whether a real backsplash or wallpaper? if wallpaper-get rid of it and repaint. if real mosaics-just repaint. ETA-ok reread your post..real mosaics. I love peel and stick options that do exist, but I'm not sure I'd go for them here..it's not so much mosaic as its placement..countertop backsplash plus mosaics plus wrap around..too much. And it won't be easy to find something that will work. But. Check your options. Etsy has pages upon pages of tile decals, for example. https://www.etsy.com/search?q=tile%20decals&ref=auto1&as_prefix=tile%20decals -you seem to have no space next to the stove..I know IKEA carries these narrow tables you know? or something of the kind..that you can put in between the stove and the fridge, have some landing surface, spot to place a pot you know -is the floor in the kitchen real tile or linoleum/vinyl? you can try and cover it with something if it irritates you of course(to me it's actually the worst offender. along with the blinds that I'd take out and put on curtains. but you're going to do that anyway). it can be tile decals, it can be floor cloth, it can be big inexpensive rug.. the rest of the kitchen, just deep clean and let be. new paint will make a huge difference -your door is fine..hard to see the living to make helpful furniture placement suggestion, but generally I find that sofa plus two chairs is the most versatile in most cases -the bathroom is cute and blue in cabinets picks up the flooring. Wallpaper is best to go though since it clashes with flooring. Clean the grout..and ask your landlord to change faucets etc if they're problematic. If they're not but you hate them-well maybe you can split the price. New paint, shower curtain that you love-and you're good. What's your style preference? I'm crazy about shower curtains so can look them up and suggest for you, and would be my pleasure:) you do need some "landing strip" as they call it..and I can't see whether youn can fit small dining table in the corner of the kitchen? .. if you want more suggestions about colors, furnishings, furniture layout and such, I recommend cross posting in Home Decorating forum. They(ok, us. lol) will ask you a bit more about dimensions, layout, preferences in style, budget, needs, etc. Congratulations on your first renting place, it's exciting..and good luck!...See MoreBrody Jones
4 years agoBrody Jones
4 years agoBrody Jones
4 years agoSusan
4 years agoBrody Jones
4 years agoSusan
4 years agograpefruit1_ar
4 years agoBrody Jones
4 years ago
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