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This is the back of my house - facing a roadway. We got back there yesterday to clear some of the larger fallen debris from all the trees over the past year or so. We want to eventually clear this area of all the (I think) Boston Ivy growing everywhere. If you look at the left side of the image, you'll see a ribbon marked tree. That's our survey marker and it extends to the right to the other edge of the property. So we'll need to take care of all of the area within that zone back to the house and the HOA will, hopefully, take care of the rest. We got most of the heavy debris out and clawed away any vines encroaching on the house but goddamn... what's the best method for de-ivying a large section of this area? Eventually we'll cut down the trees contained within our area as well and re-landscape the whole thing to be more of a back "yard" (or at least outdoor experience for the kids since we get zero sunlight lol). 
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Feb 12, 2023 18:47
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BonoMan posted:what's the best method for de-ivying a large section of this area? I don't think you want the "best" method, as it's not really affordable for most. Getting rid of ivy is second only to getting rid of bamboo and the same basic method works: dig off the entire layer of topsoil and sanitize it with heat and/or replace it. The more realistic method is using glyphosate. I've found "scarring" large areas of it up with a string trimmer and then spraying it with glyphosate and a lot of surfactant (like a good could tablespoons of dish detergent per gallon) is a good start. Let that cook for a week or so and do it again. By the end of week 2 you should start seeing some wilting. I've pulled it out then and I've also gone for another round of treatment. Either way, once you've gotten to the part where you ripped it out you're going to have to dig and/or spray new growth that will just burst out of the ground on a regular basis. You're gonna need to be on top of it because if you let it go you're just allowing it to feed the root system that you're trying to kill off. This is something that can take years, especially if it's being fed from somewhere outside of your yard as opposed to an isolated patch that your are controlling entirely.
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Feb 12, 2023 19:00
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Motronic posted:I don't think you want the "best" method, as it's not really affordable for most. Getting rid of ivy is second only to getting rid of bamboo and the same basic method works: dig off the entire layer of topsoil and sanitize it with heat and/or replace it. Thanks for all of that. Yeah we expected to have to do typical maintenance with removing new growth once we do the heavy lifting of trying to get rid of all of this so that's expected. "Luckily" the are is pretty contained to what you see. It goes a little to the left then hits a curb and dies and to the right it hits a very straight line where the OTHER hoa (for the development ours butts up against) does a great job of keeping it away. So we shouldn't be getting re-fed from other areas.
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Feb 12, 2023 19:05
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My boss has some sort of invasive poo poo growing in his back yard. I *think* its Ivy, but don't quote me on that. His solution is to cut the poo poo out of it and then cover the gently caress out of it with mulch. A lot of mulch. Like truck loads of mulch. I guess the mulch will prevent it from getting sunlight, but as it decomposes, he has to dump more on there. So he needs more and more of it. He's figuring on it'll be a few years worth of dumping a shitload of mulch on his backyard. With the plus side being that when its all over he'll have a very fertile back yard for planting whatever the gently caress. A guy that works with me suggested that cardboard will be good for keeping the light off, and then he won't have to dump so much mulch, but I don't really know gently caress poo poo about landscaping or plants etc... Again I *think* its ivy of some sort, but its been a while since we talked about it.
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Feb 12, 2023 22:36
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BonoMan posted:This is the back of my house - facing a roadway. We got back there yesterday to clear some of the larger fallen debris from all the trees over the past year or so. Anyone around you rent out goats? (not joking)
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Feb 15, 2023 00:53
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wesleywillis posted:My boss has some sort of invasive poo poo growing in his back yard. I *think* its Ivy, but don't quote me on that. His solution is to cut the poo poo out of it and then cover the gently caress out of it with mulch. haha I appreciate it, but probably won't go this route. We're trying to de-vegetate that area a little. We have copperheads in the area and have had several appear on and around our (neighbors and I) carports. I have kids so trying to not give anything any vegetation or coverage to use. devicenull posted:Anyone around you rent out goats? (not joking) Man this would be awesome. I'm a little worried the location is terrible (that road you see is fairly well traveled because it leads to a parkway just a block or so over) for that though.
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Feb 15, 2023 02:33
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BonoMan posted:Man this would be awesome. I'm a little worried the location is terrible (that road you see is fairly well traveled because it leads to a parkway just a block or so over) for that though. It's usually a service... they bring goats and a fence, you pay them
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Feb 15, 2023 03:46
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IME working in habitat restoration, nuking an area with glyphosate is usually reserved for when you have an acre+ field with nothing but garbage weeds growing there. It's also a bit questionable exactly how safe the stuff is - it's supposed to break down on contact with the dirt and/or within a week, but I just wouldn't like the idea of spraying a bunch of the stuff so close to where I live, personally. But in your position, given the plot you're working with and the severity of your problem, I'd probably still go with glyphosate, just in a more targeted way. For a lot of plants, it costs almost no energy to send up new growth if the roots are established and they can keep doing it for months. So doing things the old-fashioned way is going to take awhile. It can be relaxing: turn your brain off for 20 minutes, take a walk, and hack away some weeds, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. To use glyphosate, lop/saw off a section of the vine and use a paintbrush to spread some herbicide on the section you just cut. The plant will suck down the stuff to the roots, which will weaken and eventually kill it. Also, paint some on glyphosate on the leaves, especially any new growth you see, for good measure. Mixing the glyphosate with a dye will let you know what you've hit already, very helpful if you're working with someone else. Whenever I would volunteer with the town/county, we would always have to wear plastic gloves when handling herbicides, so probably a good idea to do that too.
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Feb 16, 2023 10:34
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stranger danger posted:It's also a bit questionable exactly how safe the stuff is 
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Feb 16, 2023 15:14
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Anyone have any good places to learn about principles of landscape design? While I have seen some examples from Monty Don, I mostly just running into bros designing lovely outdoor kitchens or realtors screaming about CURB APPEAL.
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Feb 19, 2023 00:10
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Was fixing a small brick that had gotten pushed up right outside our front door. So took the brick out and it looks like there's this white, chalky, potato-like ... thing underneath it I'm trying to identify. It was dense, but could be crumbled away like a really overcooked and dry potato. It sort oscillated between wet and potato-inside looking (that sort of semi-translucent yellowy interior) and crumbly dry chalky white material. Almost like when it got exposed to air. Some photos and a single video here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QT6s7bMKm8G5zhrK6 At one point there was a little reddish piece that made me think it's possibly a root of some kind, but nothing that seemed definitive. Odd!
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Feb 19, 2023 19:46
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Solkanar512 posted:Anyone have any good places to learn about principles of landscape design? While I have seen some examples from Monty Don, I mostly just running into bros designing lovely outdoor kitchens or realtors screaming about CURB APPEAL. Felder Rushing's book 'Slow gardening' is overall fantastic but has some good insights. His approach is basically how I 'designed' my yard over a few years without knowing I was following his approach, I just did what seemed natural to me. That was basically 'make my yard easier to mow' which meant making alot of the periphery into beds, filling those beds in with perennials, and then sort of working from there. I started with a giant live oak tree and 2 large camellias and that was it. I think my first idea was to make a bed everywhere the grass didn't grow well, which was alot because of all the shade from the tree. Then I planted a bunch of shrubs in front of my fence for some privacy, then I made a big bed of roses in the front yard next to my neighbor's driveway, again for a little more privacy. Each little step seemed to inform the next move, and I'm happy with what I've come up with, and I think it looks organic and 'lived in'. I'm certainly still working on it, and I don't think I would be this happy with it if I'd tried taking a top-down approach to design. there have been lots of fun little discoveries along the way. I've made a few mistakes, but plants are easy to move and easier to chop down. I think Felder's approach starts with sort of 'go out you back door. Where do you want to go and where does your eye fixate?' Is it the swing in the back corner? The bird bath? A stunning old japanese maple? Whatever it is, you've got a focal point, and maybe an axis. Create views. Think about the view from your kitchen window, or from the sidewalk up to your front door. The view from your house to that bench and the yard, and the view from that bench towards the house. You've got a bench-does it need shade? Does that mean you build and arbor with some climbing vines on it or do you plant a shade tree? Michael Pollan's book about gardening (the name escapes me now, I think it was his first book) is overall great, but also has some good thoughts on design. A big one that stuck with me is a quote from some 18th century guy-'Consult the genius of the place'- meaning, what makes your space special? Does it have a great view of a lake, maybe you want to frame that view. Do you have a giant old tree in your yard? Maybe you want to think about how that effects your yard, and how to showcase that special thing. Maybe you've just a funky old boulder and now you can make a rock garden around it etc. etc.
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Feb 21, 2023 01:54
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Felder Rushing's book 'Slow gardening' is overall fantastic but has some good insights. And everybody should listen to the Gestalt Gardener. He's a joy to listen to. One of the few good things to come out of Mississippi! https://www.npr.org/podcasts/486075531/the-gestalt-gardener
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Feb 21, 2023 02:38
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Great advice, thanks!
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Feb 21, 2023 07:08
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I'm going to be planting a bunch of live stakes of Southern Arrowwood tomorrow - my big question is do I use rooting hormone or not. I think I have a container of it in the shed, so there's no extra cost. Is there a downside to using it?
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Mar 5, 2023 03:29
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devicenull posted:I'm going to be planting a bunch of live stakes of Southern Arrowwood tomorrow - my big question is do I use rooting hormone or not. I think I have a container of it in the shed, so there's no extra cost. Stakes in, hopefully they survive! 
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Mar 5, 2023 21:03
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Are there any good books or texts for laying concrete slabs? I want to lay a slab in my backyard to build an inexpensive woodshop on.
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Mar 6, 2023 07:47
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The Demilich posted:Are there any good books or texts for laying concrete slabs? I want to lay a slab in my backyard to build an inexpensive woodshop on. A slab or a pad? You’re looking to pour the concrete?
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Mar 6, 2023 12:42
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Yeah, I want to pour the concrete myself. The physical work isn't an issue, and neither is time invested since I have nothing to do. Luckily I have a cement mixer by the grace of family and easy access to materials. I'm really looking for a constructural reference manual of sorts I think. I understand that each state has a bare minimum criteria for legally building various additions, whether that be minimum thickness in inches varying by state and what not. But I figure there's got to be a collated work of best practices and foundational knowledge as it were. Ideal thickness of concrete for certain things, skeletal structures to use and preferred materials, best concrete recipes given ones environment (year round hotness vs having a harsh winter every 8 months out of the year, etc). I hope that makes sense. Also if there's a better thread to ask in please let me know.
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Mar 8, 2023 07:36
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Anyone have experience with, or know where to find good info for, clover lawns? We're in the SE, NC to be exact, and our lawn is, of course, bermuda. I loving hate it. We could re-do it with zoysia, but I've read that this still requires a decent amount of maintenance. Plus it'll be expensive to nuke our bermuda and re-sod with zoysia. So I figure if we're going to that extent, why not explore clover? Lower maintenance long term, cheaper short term, and more environmentally friendly. I glanced at NC State's ag extension and they have a little info on it, but not much. From what I've read so far (haven't dug too deep), they actually recommend a tall fescue/clover mix. I'm not keen on more grass, especially fescue, but I dunno.
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Mar 10, 2023 14:14
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DaveSauce posted:Anyone have experience with, or know where to find good info for, clover lawns? The clover/grass mixes I’ve seen work pretty well. I’m wondering if a full clover lawn would fill in enough to not get weedy. Maybe it would.
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Mar 10, 2023 14:32
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That's the typical mix. Once it's established you should just need to mow it occasionally.
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Mar 10, 2023 14:48
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That's interesting, for some reason I was under the impression that all clover was the preferred way and a grass/clover mix was a compromise for certain use cases.
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Mar 10, 2023 18:42
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DaveSauce posted:That's interesting, for some reason I was under the impression that all clover was the preferred way and a grass/clover mix was a compromise for certain use cases. I'm on the west coast, but this mix worked well for me at a previous house: https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns/products/fleur-de-lawn e: the flowers in the mix don't re-seed as well as the grass and covers, probably because I was mowing it before the flowers had a chance to make seed. Fozzy The Bear fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Mar 10, 2023 |
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Mar 10, 2023 18:56
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I’ve been haphazardly throwing “micro clover” seeds into thin spots in my yard for a few years. I like it.
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Mar 10, 2023 19:24
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DaveSauce posted:That's interesting, for some reason I was under the impression that all clover was the preferred way and a grass/clover mix was a compromise for certain use cases. I haven't followed the latest advancements in alternative lawns super closely but as far as I know you're correct; the grass/clover mixes are for places where clover on its own isn't durable enough. I think it may also be an easier sell for people used to full grass lawns.
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Mar 10, 2023 19:49
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Grass/clover was a standard lawn mix before we developed broadleaf herbicides (supposedly. This was half a century ago).
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Mar 10, 2023 20:08
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Grass/clover was a standard lawn mix before we developed broadleaf herbicides (supposedly. This was half a century ago). That's always what I heard as well. Clover adds nitrogen to the soil so it makes sense, plus it probably opportunistically seeds into low nitrogen soil that other plants are struggling in (this making room for the clover to establish itself).
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Mar 10, 2023 21:59
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Fozzy The Bear posted:I'm on the west coast, but this mix worked well for me at a previous house: Thanks for that I live in Portland and have been wanting to change up my lawn.
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Mar 12, 2023 06:29
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I’m looking for a quality battery backpack sprayer to cover a large area with Surge and Talstar. Most of the YouTube reviews are obviously sponsored. A lot of them are pushing the “my 4 sons m4” which looks janky and DIY to me. First off, supplying DC with a c13 plug seems like a really dumb way to start a fire https://my4sons.com/collections/electric/products/battery-charger-for-white-tank-m4-does-not-fit-blue-tank-m4 There’s a video showing the install on their tool battery conversion kit. That looks like how I would wire something in my garage with a stepped drill bit and wire nuts. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5zdZ5gRBA_4 I’m ok buying once, crying once, but I don’t want to overpay for junk. What should I buy?
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Mar 18, 2023 21:39
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What's "large"? Because I use a tow behind spray cart for what I would consider "large" for a yard (think anything approaching an acre). If you're talking more than 6 gallons/2 loads of ready to spray you probably don't want a backpack unless the terrain prevents it.
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Mar 18, 2023 21:44
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I’ve got 3 acres, but I was only thinking about treating around the house. In my head I imagined a tow-sprayer to be a hassle to maneuver, but now I see they’ve got hoses and hand sprayers attached. That seems like the pro-move, I guess.
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Mar 18, 2023 21:54
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eddiewalker posted:I’ve got 3 acres, but I was only thinking about treating around the house. In my head I imagined a tow-sprayer to be a hassle to maneuver, but now I see they’ve got hoses and hand sprayers attached. That seems like the pro-move, I guess. Yeah, I have one with a hand sprayer as well which is great for getting right up against the house or whatever tricky areas. I tend to treat a good distance form the house and if we're having an event will use it to cover the entire back yard with that garlic extract stuff that works for the mosquitoes around here. And then the couple time of year for surge or whatever. And occasionally a liquid nitrogen (usually too expensive compared to granular) or potassium. It get a lot of use by me and several other people around here. And this is all for only an acre (and shrinking) of grass. (I'm beginning to do native wildflower meadow plantings around the tree lines)
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Mar 18, 2023 22:01
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I got a three-point mounted sprayer since I already have a tractor, but even for the much smaller amount of ground I actively treat on my acre (both pasture areas to deal with grass, and keeping gravel areas weed-free), even at its most unwieldy it is still much nicer than the backpack sprayer that I use for spot treatments. I will say that the hose clamps that came with my Fimco sprayer are hot garbage, I need to go through and replace every single one of them.
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Mar 18, 2023 23:05
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IOwnCalculus posted:I got a three-point mounted sprayer since I already have a tractor, but even for the much smaller amount of ground I actively treat on my acre (both pasture areas to deal with grass, and keeping gravel areas weed-free), even at its most unwieldy it is still much nicer than the backpack sprayer that I use for spot treatments. I didn't want to deal with my tractor for that much lawn type yard work so I got I think basically exactly this: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/fimco-20-gal-trailer-sprayer-5303258 which I tow behind the zero turn. All the clamps are poo poo, all the hoses are poo poo, the hand sprayer is poo poo, etc. But the base unit is fine and I've just replaced things as necessary. E: I just checked.....well ackshually mine is a 21 gallon northstar. They must have come out of the exact same factory in china. Motronic fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Mar 18, 2023 |
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Mar 18, 2023 23:24
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I’ll be pulling it with a commercial zero turn, so I hope 20-30 gallons isn’t over it’s towing capacity.
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Mar 18, 2023 23:33
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eddiewalker posted:I’ll be pulling it with a commercial zero turn, so I hope 20-30 gallons isn’t over it’s towing capacity. lol no. But also, I egged out the hitch hole on mine pulling a huge leaf cart that let me do wheelies when it started getting full.  A washer and a welder later......fixed!  I can't even feel the spray cart behind it. The leaf cart is a whole other story....... Dont' worry about the spray cart.
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Mar 18, 2023 23:48
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I put a ball hitch on, but the flimsy mount is bending down. 
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Mar 19, 2023 00:45
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eddiewalker posted:I put a ball hitch on, but the flimsy mount is bending down. Those thing really aren't meant to take any tongue weight. I dunno what the "hitch plate" looks like on yours (looks like a Husqy? Mine is a Kubota) but I wouldn't have a problem with bolting a receiver to the back hoop of mine of I was having that problem and wanted something with a ball hitch.
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Mar 20, 2023 14:04
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Next spring, I want to turn the entire drainage swale easement into a wildflower/prarie grass area. It’s about 160’x20’, basically the fence to the tree line. Found some seed mixes from an in-state supplier that are appropriate for my zone and dealing with standing water for a couple of days in spots. I also have some appropriately sized native trees picked out to plant on the upslope by the fence for more privacy, so I need to get those in place this fall.  From what I’m reading, you really want to clear the area of all vegetation for the best chance of everything taking, either chemically (hard no especially being the drainage swale), mechanically, or baking it dead with plastic. All of those options are not ideal as I really don’t want a complete mud pit back there, so come late summer when everything is dry and hot I plan to to mow the area on the lowest setting to scalp the grass and hopefully get it overly stressed. Next spring, rent a slice seeder and go to town on the area. Whatever happens, happens; I know establishing an area like this will take 2-3 years. For anyone who has done something like this, any suggestions?
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Mar 22, 2023 23:42
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