The Lawn and Garden Thread: Greening Up in 9/7 Time

[Jerjo]

Finally got nice enough weather to do some work. I raked up a ton of dead grass and leaves. Next up, the dog poop.

[JKL2000]

I know this is the gardening thread, but since I know Cozy doesn't want me starting a Home Repairs thread:

Last night I changed the belt on our clothes dryer...and I've never felt so alive!

Seriously, it was a great feeling to get the part and replace it myself instead of paying some buffoon $100+ to do the job. I found one of those videos on YouTube, and it was a snap. Also, really fucking scary to see how the dryer works. It's like a jet engine in there - big gouts of flame. Now I'm scared the thing will burn the house down... But still, it was cool.

[Trane]

I'm into gardening, but as long as I rent my dutch house, I will just keep it down to minimum service and I have an air-cushion lawnmower that cuts the small front and back lawns four times a year >> the rest is pruning
(my Brussels pad has no garden)

Once I'll move to either centre-France or southern Belgium, I'll buy something and the garden will a determining factor.

I have had a garden before (I renovated a run-down house of my father's) during most of the 90's and it was a very shady garden, filled with trees. So I made the most out of it and made a low-maintenance garden: no grass to mow, plenty of ground-covering plants (persistant perenials mostly, like the super-useful Pachysandra Green Carpet, for ex), with a few shade-loving shrubs that like shady moist acid soils (my absolute fave is the Pieris Japonica). A lot of the rest of the grounds were paved (walways and terraces). I made the place bird friendly too, but the high brick wall garden made it difficult for ground life to come in

Most likely, my future property will also have a good amount of trees, especially if I go to France, because if I love the sun, it's precisely because it makes some so-very welcome shade under the trees... My main problem is that my GF (in my profile picture) is almost the opposite in terms of garden tastes. she wants sun, open gardening: the laissez-faire organic thing (I also detest pesticides), with plenty of local plants and leaving it open to wildlife (hedgehogs, frogs and stuff). I'm not into statues (garden dwarves/trolls or greek mythology), fountains and other cheesy kitschy garden features. I'd like a pond, but way too afraid of the high maintenance and the risks of going wrong my prolonged absences
Soooo it looks like we'll have each our own part of the garden, with a common parts as an orchard (cherry, strawb, rasp, peach) and a possible vegetable patch (though I think this is too much daily maintenace)... the way I figure it, is that my gf will be more often in my part than me in hers

[Jerjo]

We've had a week of rain and wind - with a narrow window for me to get the lawn mowed and dig up the patch of ground I allocated for the new garden. One thing about this onslaught of rain - I transplanted some sod from the garden spot to the front yard. With all this natural moisture, the sod is taking root without a problem.

I tried the weed n' feed route to fertilize the grass and kill the weeds. The weeds laughed at it. I took a hardcore spray to the weeds in the front yard and that did the trick. Once the rains let up, I'll nuke the dandelions in the back. Then plant some green beans, tomatoes, squash....

[Jerjo]

OK, now the heat is here. My lawn is drying up fast. Last year, when we were in a drought, I stopped watering entirely. But this year might be better. We had a wet June. Should I give the lawn in a little refreshment tonight or wait for rain?

[Klonk]

Not the best idea to water at night. It helps spread fungus and disease. Best time to water is between 7AM and 2PM. And raise blades on the mower. Keep the grass higher during dog days of Summer. This time of year, all my customers are 3.5" lowest.

[Jerjo]

Yeah, I'm already cutting it pretty high trying to get the grass to overpower the weeds.

I'll start watering in the morning. Thanks.

[JKL2000]

I just saw a damned fat woodchuck waddle across our back patio! Of course, a month or so ago there was a skunk on our front steps, so I shouldn't be surprised.

[Jerjo]

So what's better for winter, leaving your grass long or cutting it down? We don't get mold out here on the tundra so I'm thinking I should leave it long.

[Klonk]

Keep it at 3-3.5" for cool season grass. You'll be fine.

[JKL2000]

Holy crap I hate leaf blowers! Every friggin' morning is ruined by them where I live.

[Jerjo]

I've got a neighbor who insists on owning every noisy maintenance device devised, all gas-powered, nothing electric. The fucker is now in FL for the winter and I will not miss him and his goddamn tractor plowing snow off his driveway (and only his driveway) for two hours.

[JKL2000]

I've got a neighbor who insists on owning every noisy maintenance device devised, all gas-powered, nothing electric. The fucker is now in FL for the winter and I will not miss him and his goddamn tractor plowing snow off his driveway (and only his driveway) for two hours.

We had a neighbor who was obsessed with his driveway (I guess because it was long and steep). He would spend as much time as possible blowing leaves and snow off of it - it was his favorite activity.