14
votes
Can I compost a large brush pile?
My personal experience is a bit different than what @Bamboo indicates, but I'm not trying to get there by adding kitchen scraps, either.
Once upon a time I rented a chipper - it was an overall ...
- 22.8k
14
votes
Accepted
What are these curly mushroom-like growths in my mulch?
Definitively a mushroom, a cup fungus of the pezizaceae family. (Precise identification is difficult over the internet.)
What you see are the fruiting bodies - not unlike the apples on a tree. The ...
- 16.1k
11
votes
Clay filled lawn with bad drainage, needs solution
This sounds like a lot of work. The picture you show of the backyard looks nicer than some other lawns I have seen where people have a maintenance firm do the fertilizing and cutting.
Just some ...
- 58.3k
8
votes
Accepted
What's the function/purpose of the waterproof tarp a few inches beneath the ground in my yard?
That is most likely landscaping fabric designed to block or inhibit weed growth.
If the soil layer is too thin where you intend to plant perennials, feel free to cut out a circle of the fabric and ...
- 619
8
votes
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What are these flowering perennials with white flowers?
Well they're Yucca - I think they're Yucca flaccida rather than Yucca aloifolia (Spanish Bayonet) because the outermost leaves appear to be flopping outwards rather than remaining upright. Although I ...
- 132k
8
votes
Clay filled lawn with bad drainage, needs solution
You will want 3-4" diameter perforated pipes in the stone layer (also sloped 1"/10ft), and you will probably also want filter fabric on both sides of the stone layer, or it will become a layer of clay ...
- 22.8k
8
votes
What are these curly mushroom-like growths in my mulch?
I'll confirm that the identification of Peziza fungus is accurate in Stephie's answer, and it is a saphrophytic fungus, meaning it merely digests dead material, link below (if you scroll down) shows ...
- 132k
7
votes
How to effectively remove wood chips from the garden?
I'm not sure what the best way to remove them is but depending on the type of wood chips they could be good to mix with other green material to turn into compost for the flower beds. Using coffee ...
- 1,877
6
votes
Can I add new soil on top of existing lawn without trouble?
Depending on the grass (certainly with kikuyu), it will break through the additional soil very quickly (I made this mistake recently).
You might consider spraying the grass with glyphosate [ie ...
- 3,508
6
votes
Can I compost a large brush pile?
If its lots of woody stuff, it'll take years to compost down, regardless of any 'greener' additions you may make to the pile to supply nitrogen. Adding kitchen scraps may well increase the risk of ...
- 132k
6
votes
Can I compost a large brush pile?
To compost a brush pile in-place you have three problems:
Lack of nitrogen.
Lack of water.
Lack of surface area.
One way to solve #1 is to gather lawn clippings or other green matter (leaves, etc) ...
6
votes
Can I compost a large brush pile?
If you have what is basically an untidy woodpile, it will eventually decompose not by composting but by rotting. However unless you have a very "rot-friendly" climate that may take 20 years or more, ...
- 11.3k
5
votes
I'm trying to get rid of the tamarisk on my property
The best way I know is continuous digging them up where you do not want them to take hold. Pulling baby seedlings when you see them. You will never be able to eradicate them from your yard. This ...
- 40.2k
5
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What's the function/purpose of the waterproof tarp a few inches beneath the ground in my yard?
Get rid of it! Talk about destroying even a tiny bit of a natural soil system...landscape fabric was made only to put below gravel on top of soil so that the large rocks don't sink and the soil come ...
- 40.2k
5
votes
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Can I Till Existing Grass Before Laying Sod?
Yes, you can indeed till right into the grass and not dig it up. Just understand that there is a good chance that the grass can get tied up like hair in a motor (If that made any sence). Done this ...
- 2,582
5
votes
How to effectively remove wood chips from the garden?
When scraping up wood chips in the past from stacking wood for the winter I've used a grain/snow shovel to get most of them up by pushing it under the wood chips, then using a leaf rake to gather up ...
- 8,826
4
votes
Clay filled lawn with bad drainage, needs solution
If your looking to make sure the grass actually performs well, you should be sure to amend the soil with a decent amount of compost. I'd recommend at least 1 inch, but if it was me and I was making ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
My yard is being taken over by crabgrass. How do I get rid of it?
I come at things form an organic landscaping background, so we don't go for pre-emergents, which would prevent it from germinating next year. With that in mind, your goal is to grow the the turf grass ...
- 7,027
4
votes
I'm trying to get rid of the tamarisk on my property
For my part, I would collect a huge amount of mulch and cover the yard with it. You won't need to bend to do the job, just shovel and carts.
This will allow lots of wildlife to inhabit below there, ...
- 3,739
4
votes
Can I compost a large brush pile?
Have you ever thought of planting some sort of climbing rose or ivy at the base of the pile? This would add beauty and also provide shade to the pile which would speed decomposition.
3
votes
Can I compost a large brush pile?
Branches and twigs are terrible for the compost bin. I put them in when I was new to composting and not only does it take a long time to break down but it also gets in the way of turning the pile. I ...
- 7,854
3
votes
Accepted
Will rhubarb grow well with ginger in MN?
I need to establish some clarity regarding your question - first, when you say ginger grass, do you mean Paspalum distichum, common name ginger grass, or do you mean Zingiber officinale, the knobbly ...
- 132k
3
votes
Lawn care: bagging vs mulching the grass clippings?
I've never found a mulching mower that could grind up the clippings small enough so they would disintegrate by the next week. We mowed hundreds of acres per week, too. And all our clippings had to be ...
- 40.2k
3
votes
Lawn care: bagging vs mulching the grass clippings?
If I were your close neighbour I would offer to take all your clippings. I would show up with a trailer, you fill the trailer, and I take them by appointment. You never see them again and my rather ...
- 19.9k
3
votes
Accepted
Transplanting periwinkle
You will need to dig out the Vinca with roots attached in order to tranplant it, and you should only do that when the winter is over and the ground is not frozen. If the area you want to transplant to ...
- 132k
3
votes
Need some advice on a lawn full of weed
The most common grass in TX is St Augustine . It is put in by sod or plugs , plugs will fill in during one good growing season. Because it is a backyard I would hire someone to put in plugs instead of ...
- 8,556
3
votes
About removing mulch
You will need to remove the plastic and dig over properly in order to plant, and that means removing the wood chips/mulch. If the chips are not fresh wood, its worth keeping them somewhere to replace ...
- 132k
2
votes
Accepted
How to effectively remove wood chips from the garden?
This is one of my favorite questions. GET RID OF ALL BARK AND PLASTIC period! Do you have a 'greenway'? Some au natural areas? This is the best place to dump the bark, thinly! Plastic does nothing ...
- 40.2k
2
votes
Accepted
What is this interesting weed growing in a yard in Northeast Ohio?
Looks like Conyza canadensis to me. Common names include Horseweed and Marestail. It grows to upwards of 6 feet in one tall stem, before branching to produce many small white flowers which then ...
- 5,849
2
votes
What's the function/purpose of the waterproof tarp a few inches beneath the ground in my yard?
Apparently this may be a strategy to control local ground surface water. Are there water control or drainage issues on this property? In the PNW I can image either or both. Is there a french drain at ...
- 3,218
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