On our way to a real yard
So this weekend will go down as one of the busiest, hardest working in our history, I think only to be topped by the other weekend spent on the yard breaking up the brick/concrete sidewalk that extended 5” into the dirt. After looking at the projected weather for the weekend, and realizing that spending a weekend inside working on the closet sounded less than appealing, we decided to tackle the yard- something we’ve been thinking about, but avoiding for quite some time. In part this is because we just didn’t feel like all the mental work that we first needed to do- figuring out the tiller rental, then figuring out how much and what type of seed, fertilization, etc., not to mention that our yard was riddled with a nice combination of rocks and glass- two things I’d rather not have mixed in with our grass when we have a little one running around the yard barefoot. We decided to face it one step at a time, starting with tiller rental. I was worried our project was doomed before it even began when I began calling around looking for a rear tine tiller. Naturally waiting the day before one of the nicest weekends of the year isn’t the best idea, but we managed to get one of the last ones available. Next step, transporting it. The cost of delivery was a mind-blowing $80 each way, but we also had to factor in that I could in no way help get it in or out of a truck. We thought about a moving truck with a ramp, but settled on a pickup truck with billy coming to our rescue. Two hernias and a couple of hours later we had a giant, fancy tiller in our back yard. This is about where we started out at.
Clint got to work churning up dirt, while I pulled up our paver patio, and shoveled out copious amounts of sand. We thought about leaving it for a split second, but in redistributing the soil we lost about an inch or two overall, which would have made the patio unlevel. That and we have a penchant for undoing what we didn’t do, just so we can make it ours. Then the raking and root removal began. We had to first level the dirt, then create the necessary slope from the house. In doing this we uncovered thousands of roots running across the yard, some we could pull up with a good deal of effort, and others where we just gave up and clipped below the surface of the soil. We literally filled three landscape bags full of these. We also spent hours raking and picking up rocks and glass by hand. The only objects of particular interest we uncovered were a mini screwdriver, a spoon, and a marble, but alas no buried treasure. This is where we were end of day Saturday.
Once this was complete, (Saturday evening) we headed to Lowes (one of our 6, yes 6 trips there this weekend). Then we started our questioning. Did we need to conduct a soil test, did we need fertilizer, what type of seed should we use, should we cover it with straw, etc. We did a fair amount of research on the internet, but it seems there are many schools of thought when it comes to how best to go about all this so we thought it would be easier to try to get an answer out of someone. Turns out though, there are just as many different answers with the Lowes people. We got every answer from “you’ll never get grass to grow in the spring” (umm, why are there aisles and aisles of grass seed in the seasonal section then?) to “no you don’t need fertilizer” (but the grass seed says we do!). We ended up using a mix of common sense, the package instructions, our best guesses, the input we liked from others, and the guidance of a magic 8 ball. With all that we closed our eyes, throw down some topsoil, seed, fertilizer, and covering to protect it from the copious amounts of birds around us, watered it, and hoped for the best.
We’ll tend to it over the next couple of weeks and hope for some sprouts. We’re thinking as long as we get something we can revisit in the fall, overseeding and fertilizing until we eventually come out with a green lawn. Although we’re both quite stiff, tired, and in need of a few days for recuperation, we’re pretty proud of what we accomplished, even if it does end up just a dirt yard. At least it’s a level, glass free dirt yard anyway.
Clint got to work churning up dirt, while I pulled up our paver patio, and shoveled out copious amounts of sand. We thought about leaving it for a split second, but in redistributing the soil we lost about an inch or two overall, which would have made the patio unlevel. That and we have a penchant for undoing what we didn’t do, just so we can make it ours. Then the raking and root removal began. We had to first level the dirt, then create the necessary slope from the house. In doing this we uncovered thousands of roots running across the yard, some we could pull up with a good deal of effort, and others where we just gave up and clipped below the surface of the soil. We literally filled three landscape bags full of these. We also spent hours raking and picking up rocks and glass by hand. The only objects of particular interest we uncovered were a mini screwdriver, a spoon, and a marble, but alas no buried treasure. This is where we were end of day Saturday.
Once this was complete, (Saturday evening) we headed to Lowes (one of our 6, yes 6 trips there this weekend). Then we started our questioning. Did we need to conduct a soil test, did we need fertilizer, what type of seed should we use, should we cover it with straw, etc. We did a fair amount of research on the internet, but it seems there are many schools of thought when it comes to how best to go about all this so we thought it would be easier to try to get an answer out of someone. Turns out though, there are just as many different answers with the Lowes people. We got every answer from “you’ll never get grass to grow in the spring” (umm, why are there aisles and aisles of grass seed in the seasonal section then?) to “no you don’t need fertilizer” (but the grass seed says we do!). We ended up using a mix of common sense, the package instructions, our best guesses, the input we liked from others, and the guidance of a magic 8 ball. With all that we closed our eyes, throw down some topsoil, seed, fertilizer, and covering to protect it from the copious amounts of birds around us, watered it, and hoped for the best.
We’ll tend to it over the next couple of weeks and hope for some sprouts. We’re thinking as long as we get something we can revisit in the fall, overseeding and fertilizing until we eventually come out with a green lawn. Although we’re both quite stiff, tired, and in need of a few days for recuperation, we’re pretty proud of what we accomplished, even if it does end up just a dirt yard. At least it’s a level, glass free dirt yard anyway.
1 Comments:
I'm glad you moved forward with the seeding. Last year in the early spring we completely tilled up our front yard and reseeded it. We didn't even cover it with hay or use fertilizer. Just wood post & twine around it to keep the dogs off it. Now we have a lush grass yard. I bet yours will be fine too. Just keep it well watered :)
Post a Comment
<< Home