Gardening/Maintenance Thread

Post by **eddy** » Fri May 14, 2021 8:37 am

I like eating dandelions and also making sassafras tea.

Post by **blackjack68** » Fri May 14, 2021 8:42 am

Without looking at the poster, I was 99% sure this was Eddy.

Post by **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon May 17, 2021 3:11 pm

My wife grew up in military base housing and then dorms and apartments. Neither parent were gardeners, so she never really cared about that garden/yard aesthetics.

I spent $80 on mulch and plants today. Will she notice the plants and beds or the $80 debit card amount at Lowe's first? Stay tuned...

Post by **count2infinity** » Mon May 17, 2021 3:26 pm

Learned over the weekend that one landscaping company's cu. yard of mulch =/= another's. We did our calculation based on online estimators and figured we'd need 2 cu. yards of mulch for our place. We ordered it, it got delivered, we spread it, and realized we needed way more. So we went to a different company, as we had heard great things, and we got 5 more based on what the first place delivered and how much more we needed to spread... holy sh*t. Their cu yard was about double what the first place's was. We mulched out places we hadn't even planned to mulch out and still had just under half the pile sitting there.

Luckily, I'm in redneck country, so I posted it on FB market place for free. Some hillbilly lady showed up with a truck and her two sons, scooped it all into the truck and away they went.

Post by **CBear3** » Mon May 17, 2021 3:34 pm

That should not be true, unless they're really selling truck-fulls.
I planted three rose bushes, a dappled willow and Chinese fringe tree this weekend and thanks to it being a ridiculously wet week won't have to worry that much about watering them in to start. And I hit the underground drain pipe for one of my downspouts in the process, so that was fun.

Post by **King Colby** » Mon May 17, 2021 5:14 pm

count2infinity wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 3:26 pm Learned over the weekend that one landscaping company's cu. yard of mulch =/= another's. We did our calculation based on online estimators and figured we'd need 2 cu. yards of mulch for our place. We ordered it, it got delivered, we spread it, and realized we needed way more. So we went to a different company, as we had heard great things, and we got 5 more based on what the first place delivered and how much more we needed to spread... holy sh*t. Their cu yard was about double what the first place's was. We mulched out places we hadn't even planned to mulch out and still had just under half the pile sitting there.

Luckily, I'm in redneck country, so I posted it on FB market place for free. Some hillbilly lady showed up with a truck and her two sons, scooped it all into the truck and away they went.

The way they measure it is some guy scoops it up in a bobcat bucket and estimates the yardage, if that helps.

I usually just pile it on heavier if I get too much but this year I got way too much topsoil/compost mix for my new beds and ended up finding a bunch more unintended uses then hauled the rest into a corner in my yard for future usage. Bought 8 tons, probably used 7, probably needed 5

Post by **NTP66** » Mon May 17, 2021 6:35 pm

My neighbor had a tree cut down today and stump ground down, and when they finished I thought I was deaf for just a second, as it was the first time in 9 hours that it was quiet.

Post by **NTP66** » Fri May 21, 2021 10:57 am

Found the first few spotted lanternflies in our garden yesterday. Bought some insecticidal soap that's safe for the garden and insects/birds for spot treatment, and will be picking up a mantis egg at our local nursery this weekend. I want them to murder all of these pests.

Post by **Kane** » Fri May 21, 2021 10:58 am

You can buy a mantis egg? That's badass.

Post by **NTP66** » Fri May 21, 2021 11:00 am

Kane wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 10:58 am You can buy a mantis egg? That's badass.

Hell yeah. They also sell ladybugs and a bunch of other beneficial insects. You can buy them on Amazon, too, but they're expensive there.

Post by **NTP66** » Fri May 21, 2021 11:01 am

FWIW, you can buy mantis eggs online, too: https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/product ... 3194412046

Post by **Kane** » Fri May 21, 2021 11:08 am

Noice, smort.

Post by **NTP66** » Fri May 21, 2021 11:15 am

We usually end up with half a dozen of them in our garden every year, anyway, but this way I can give some to my neighbor who is always jealous of how many we have.

SLFs destroyed his grapes last year, so I think he'll be very appreciative of some assistance.

Post by **DigitalGypsy66** » Tue May 25, 2021 2:46 pm

I posted a meme ITT or elsewhere about how we spend money to torture ourselves with perfect lawns (and ruin the environment etc.)

As my irrigation system controller unit died yesterday, in the middle of a sustained drought and heat wave, I decided to look into what I've spent on that lawn.

We had a well put in, a 4 zone irrigation system installed, and sod laid in 2007 for $12000 or so.

The well died five years ago and had to have it rebuilt/redug for another $2500.

A valve was damaged and the pump system developed a leak last fall, for another $250.

I replace 3-6 sprinkler heads a season for $12 a pop.

$40-60 a year in fertilizer and herbicides.

I cut my own lawn until 2016 or so. Just got too busy; so I pay a guy $50 every other week from April - October to cut the lawn, edge the beds, etc.

I need to rent a vertical mower and thatch it, but that's not going to happen.

**** adds up just to keep up with the neighbors.

Post by **Nuge** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:08 pm

DigitalGypsy66 wrote: ↑Tue May 25, 2021 2:46 pm I posted a meme ITT or elsewhere about how we spend money to torture ourselves with perfect lawns (and ruin the environment etc.)

As my irrigation system controller unit died yesterday, in the middle of a sustained drought and heat wave, I decided to look into what I've spent on that lawn.

We had a well put in, a 4 zone irrigation system installed, and sod laid in 2007 for $12000 or so.

The well died five years ago and had to have it rebuilt/redug for another $2500.

A valve was damaged and the pump system developed a leak last fall, for another $250.

I replace 3-6 sprinkler heads a season for $12 a pop.

$40-60 a year in fertilizer and herbicides.

I cut my own lawn until 2016 or so. Just got too busy; so I pay a guy $50 every other week from April - October to cut the lawn, edge the beds, etc.

I need to rent a vertical mower and thatch it, but that's not going to happen.

**** adds up just to keep up with the neighbors.

Those numbers are crazy to me. I would much rather put that money toward other home projects. If my lawn is green and mostly grass, it's good enough for me. I put down some weed and feed every year, but I'm not spending any more time/money on it than that.

Post by **MrKennethTKangaroo** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:10 pm

lawns are a hobby. hobbies are expensive, ergo, lawns are expensive

Post by **NTP66** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:13 pm

Now I need to see a pic of DGs lawn. That's some dedication right there.

Post by **DigitalGypsy66** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:24 pm

It doesn't even look that great.

Post by **Beveridge** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:25 pm

The only money I want to spend on lawn upkeep are the ingredients for a moscow mule for each post lawnmowing celebration.

Post by **DigitalGypsy66** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:27 pm

What type of grass are your lawns? We have centipede, which is supposed to be idiot-proof.

Post by **Beveridge** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:30 pm

I want turf. That's the dream.

Post by **NTP66** » Tue May 25, 2021 3:55 pm

Mine’s a mix of tall fescue and bluegrass.

Post by **robbiestoupe** » Tue May 25, 2021 4:04 pm

I have a "mix of cool season grasses" according to a PSU soil test. I also need to add about 100 lbs of limestone per 1000 sq ft. according to the same test. I have around 10,000 sq ft of lawn, so I need 1000 pounds of limestone. And that there is why my lawn will continually be in bad shape.

Post by **Shyster** » Tue May 25, 2021 4:10 pm

Let's see, I bought a lawn mower when I bought my house 14 years ago (Toto Super Recycler--still going strong). I bought some dirt and seed years ago to fix the lawn when I needed sewer work and the lawn was dug up. I think I bought seed and overseeded the back yard when I moved in because it had bare patches from the prior owner's dogs. That's pretty much it on lawn expenditures. Of course, my "lawn" is like 50% moss, clover, dandelions, and other stuff, but I don't care.

Post by **RonnieFranchise** » Fri May 28, 2021 1:58 pm

Last year, late freeze resulted in no peaches on our 2 trees. This year, I think we've got both this year's and last years. I've spent a solid two hours thinning them out and still have some to do. Research says you need to get them down to 6"-8" apart so 80% of them have had to be removed.

It's hard to get used to ripping tiny peaches off the tree when what you want is a lot of peaches, but we're still going to get plenty.