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First lawn, first post. In need of advice....
TeaBag wrote:
.... Apologies for all the questions, but I really am new to this (plenty more questions to come on growing veggies etc. but first things first!) Thanks in advance for any advice you could possibly give. it can be overwhelming when considering all the possible options... but... i would really rethink this. putting a lot of money into establishing a grass lawn and putting down sod only later to go over it and put in gardens is a large waste of money and effort (along with time wasted). instead work on observing your property and how it drains and how the light goes. figure out if you'll need to bring in more topsoil for certain areas and where you might want ponds or other features. if some areas are not drained well you might want to use those as natural water catches or even ponds, if there are springs, seeps, etc. or you may want to install drainage or shape the ground to direct water flows. this kind of planning is much better done before you do a lot of other work on the lawn as then you can bring in trucks of topsoil or other materials without damaging other things (saves much work later). so overall, sitting down with someone who does garden designs would really help a lot and likely keep you from wasting a lot of money on sod, weed killers and time spent killing weeds that you may later just go over with a garden plot, pathway, pond, patio, etc. anyways. also, nice to include in garden plans, are things like irrigation plumbing for hose hook ups and even electrical runs if you are going to be doing a gazebo or other garden feature that might need power (water pumps, lights, refrig, etc.). where i am at none of this sort of thing was done before putting in gardens, it makes any projects three to five times the work because i have to go around and bring in materials a wheelbarrow at a time or the soil is so ill suited i can't even grow certain crops, or the drainage is poor so i have to contend with flooding, etc. oh and having a way left that a truck can get in is very nice to have later. you never know if someone may come up with a free load of bricks or ... it's nice to not have to haul it in a wheelbarrow or bucket at time. do yourself big favors and take the time now to figure it out before wasting the time and money on sod and weed killers. you can mow the weeds on a regular basis and that will be good enough until you know more about what else you'll be doing. by then you may have a perfectly good looking green area that requires little additonal care other than regular mowing because it's been selected from the weeds and grasses that are already in your area that are suited for the climate and soil. once you know where you really do want garden plots or actual grassy areas then you can concentrate on those (hopefully much smaller areas) for getting rid of the rocks, leveling, weed killing and sodding/seeding in again. if you take the time and hit the library there are many books available along with many things online to help with various topics. still i think it helps to talk to someone who does garden design for a living as then you can likely avoid a lot of future problems and you may discover during the conversations that you and your partner/family has different ideas about what to do, so it's good to figure that out beforehand as i really dislike getting a project going or done only to find someone later coming in and digging it back up again or mowing it down or... songbird |
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