On 6/9/2012 1:40 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Jun 8, 12:03 pm, Steven
wrote:
On 6/8/2012 4:03 AM, mj wrote:









On Jun 7, 11:41 pm, Steven
wrote:
On 6/7/2012 9:47 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:

Steven Bornfeld wrote:

Just bought a house for the first time (at age 60!), and I have a back
yard I'd like to clear.
Of course, I'd like to clear the lot myself. Lot is about 50'x30.
Ordinarily I'd just take my time, clear a bit at a time. Would rather
not use herbicides (though the soil is hardly pristine--once caught one
of the painters dumping paint out back). I should probably try to rent
some power equipment, but is it feasible to do this with hand tools?
Biggest problem seems to be an overgrowth of wild fennel (which smells
great, but some of the tap roots go 2 feet straight down).
Any hand tools make this doable, or should I break down and get some
power tools I'll probably rarely use?

50' X 30' is a postage stamp. My vegetable garden is 50' X 50' and I
till it in like three hours, and I will soon be seventy years old. You
don't need to buy a tiller, go to your local Rent-All and rent one.
If you don't feel up to it for $100 hire a strapping teen for the
day... and I realize that's not easy, today's teens are deathly
ascared of dirt, sweat, and calluses. You'll probably need to hire a
girl. Haven't you noticed how Friendly's hires mostly girls, todays's
boys haven't the strength to scoop ice cream, nor the brains.

It would be worth it to see the look on my 15-year old daughter's face
if I asked her to work out there. She's not exactly "strapping", but
she's got a smart mouth.
Maybe I'll see what I can rent.

Thanks,
Steve

When my kids in their young teens had a smart mouth , or any other
thing they were in trouble for, the garden was the perfect place to
send them. I loved getting the weeds pulled and watching them do it !!
MJ

Timely--and more useful than just grounding her.

Steve

****Caveat using teenagers. It's a lovely idea (old-fashioned
belief-system keys in) to help them learn the work ethic (and save a
buck), but you might find it helpful to give detailed instructions and
to supervise casually but carefully. Those *&^%$()_)# weeds can be
VERY deep-rooted (2 ft. taproot!!!). Just "pulling" the tops as kids
might think they should do will accomplish exactly zip; the roots are
there and will resprout in days.

No doubt you have already planned to soak the area thoroughly in
advance to make digging up the ^^%#$**)_@ easier and more effective?

Another approach, which I fear I might use even if I couldn't afford
it, would be to bring in a professional crew to get the job over with
fast and correctly.

If you do plan to DIY or hire kids, factor in the cost of renting or
buying tools which you might or might not need later on.

Chacun...

HB


So far the back's holding up. The neighbor hopped the fence yesterday
and had at it with a spade. He gave it a good go, but was mightily
impressed. I continued today. The kid's not touching this.

Thanks,
Steve