|
My back yard is all sand. leaves from my neighbor's tree and weeds. Here is what it looks like.
I live in NE Florida. I do not have an irrigation system . I would like to have a nice yard to enjoy, but I cannot afford to do it all at once. So, it will be a multi-year project. I have three dogs who run and chase birds and squirrels in the yard. I don't think I want the entire yard to be grass, but don't know what I want to do with it. I do know I would like to have some planting beds and bushes. I would like to have a walkway from the concrete patio I had poured last year to the gate of the fence. Should I install an irrigation system this summer and then grass next summer? Should I install grass and just use the hose with a sprinkler on the end of the hose so I have a yard this summer? I cannot afford to do both, and I am wondering if an irrigation system is necessary (but it is a pain to move the hose and sprinkler around the yard all day). I am just at a stand-still since I don't know what I want, and I'm tempted to just not do anything this year (and spend the money replacing some siding on the house). Can anyone give me some advice or suggestions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Also the yard is very uneven. I know I had a mole last summer because it left humps in the yard where the trails were. Here is another picture of the yard from last summer. I used to have some areas with St. Augustine grass, but the grass is pretty much gone now. I can see a few little areas of grass, but it is all weeds.
|
|
- Posted by dchall_san_antonio 8 San Antonio (My Page) on Mon, Mar 12, 12 at 1:04
| If you have already formed a path in the garden from the patio to the gate, mark that off now so you don't lose it. That is the natural path you like, so take advantage of it. We had a wooden decking material walkway from our deck to the garage. I had the carpenter follow the path that our dog had made. It worked like a charm for 10 years until we remodeled. Our base is sand. The carpenter put 4x4 treated lumber on the sand following the curve. Then he rough-cut the decking material (also treated) and nailed that to the 4x4s. Finally he cut the edges of the decking material to form a smooth curve. I water with an oscillator type sprinkler on the end of a good hose (Craftsman 5/8-inch have a lifetime, no hassle, no questions asked, guarantee). The oscillator is the turbine driven type and works very well. Mine covers 1900 square feet with my water pressure and the way I have it set up. Run it for as long as it takes to get a full inch. You can measure that with a tuna or cat food can. This time of year you probably only need to water once a month. In the heat of summer that might increase to once every 7 days. If you have a very low humidity summer with temps over 100, then you might need to go to every 5 days. Watering like that will get rid of your weeds. If you have any shade, then St Augustine is the grass you're looking for. If you have 100% full sun, then you have more choices. Bermuda sod would be the first alternative choice. Seeded bermuda might be the second choice or else a sodded zoysia. With dogs I would tend toward a grass that rebuilds itself fast. Bermuda is the fastest and St Aug will also work...with some compromises. Active dogs and lawns are not the perfect match. If you want to have a special dog area, I would use as many inches of shredded tree mulch as I could afford. 15 inches would be great but 3 inches would do. Is anyone selling mulch from Brazillian pepper trees? That would be a blessing to turn all that into mulch - assuming you can get the seeds ground up first. Mulch tends to be a little cooler in the summer (evaporation) and absorbs urine quickly. Also you can bury the poop in it without any trouble. Mulch is just about the perfect dog run flooring. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Lawn Care Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.