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Douche4Sale posted:For those that don't know, factory blemished is still basically new. Ryobi can technically only be sold new at Home Depot, so they are sold as factory blemished to get around that. Typically, the box might be banged up or have a hole, but every tool I've gotten has been immaculate. I’ve bought a number of items from them (they have a local outlet that is not convenient, but accessible.) so far no complaints, even with the several refurb units I have.
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May 2, 2023 21:47
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bird with big dick posted:Anyone recognize this stuff? It’s lining these tall (2.5’?) raised beds in my backyard. Does it look like it’s actually waterproof?
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May 3, 2023 02:28
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Looks alot like some kind of thin fiberglass insulation? It’s just plastic. Looks like the same stuff padded mailers are made out of. Doubt it’s fiberglsss.
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May 3, 2023 10:41
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Someone took ‘protect the plant roots’ a little too literally I guess
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May 3, 2023 13:39
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I'm looking for some resources for general lawn and yard care, and wondering if anybody here can point me in the right direction. I have a whole lot of yard space around my house and if I'm honest, I'm generally pretty terrible at keeping it in good condition. I'm looking for some resources for lawncare with minimal input---it's a pain in the rear end to water my yard for a number of reasons, and I'm generally against using chemical fertilizers and weed treatment if at all possible, though I'm not opposed to more natural/organic approaches. I also have dogs, and they're typically pretty hard on the yard. Based on some google searches I'm pretty sure there's some relatively low-hanging fruit in terms of things I can do to improve the condition of my lawns (reseeding with a more shade-tolerant and hardier grass, since I have a ton of tree cover and the dogs tend to wreck whatever I have now just from running around on it, and I'm planning to do a soil test and amendments, I've never aerated or thatched the yard, etc) but honestly I find it all pretty overwhelming so it's hard to know where to start or what the best bang for my buck is in terms of labor hours. Are there any good websites/books/etc on lawn care that will give me a good sort of overview of what I should be doing to improve the health of my yard? Like an "organic lawn care for the exceptionally lazy/inept" kind of thing?
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May 5, 2023 17:55
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm looking for some resources for general lawn and yard care, and wondering if anybody here can point me in the right direction. I have a whole lot of yard space around my house and if I'm honest, I'm generally pretty terrible at keeping it in good condition. I'm looking for some resources for lawncare with minimal input---it's a pain in the rear end to water my yard for a number of reasons, and I'm generally against using chemical fertilizers and weed treatment if at all possible, though I'm not opposed to more natural/organic approaches. I also have dogs, and they're typically pretty hard on the yard. Approximately what area/climate are you in? Lawn care for warm season and cool season grasses is pretty vastly different. Do you know what kind of grass you have now?
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May 5, 2023 18:00
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Approximately what area/climate are you in? Lawn care for warm season and cool season grasses is pretty vastly different. Do you know what kind of grass you have now? I'm in upper midwest US (central Minnesota), I think I'm in USDA Zone 4 for planting. Not sure what my current grass is, I think a lot of it is Kentucky Bluegrass but I do have a mix of some very thin-bladed grass in some parts of the yard and I'm not sure what that is. I've considered reseeding some of the dead or ailing areas with a mix that has some tall fescue since that seems to be pretty hardy and shade-tolerant. We do get quite a bit of rain here in spring and fall, but I think we were technically in drought conditions for some of the last couple of summers.
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May 5, 2023 18:10
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm generally pretty terrible at keeping it in good condition. I'm looking for some resources for lawncare with minimal input.....I'm generally against using chemical fertilizers and weed treatment.......I also have dogs, and they're typically pretty hard on the yard. Just mow whatever weeds/grass come up and keep throwing high traffic seed down where the dogs destroy things in the spring and fall, preferably right before you see a few days/week of steady rain. That's the realistic answer based on your post. If that outcome isn't good enough most or all of your restrictions are gonna have to give or you need to hire it out.
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May 6, 2023 16:25
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So I have this area along the side of my house about, a screened porch, 20-25 feet long with a bit of an incline going down (maybe 1.5 feet over the course of the side of the porch). it currently has a totally unkempt spot that I want to add some stone edging until it butts up against my fence. How hard is something like this to do: or  I don't think I want to use it as a retaining wall, but instead have it follow the elevation downwards, if that helps. I like more of a flat stacked stone look, but I don't quite know what that is called.
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May 7, 2023 18:15
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Do scarifiers work the same as the 1,000 pound aerators you can rent from Home Depot that leave a lot of turd looking dirt plugs all over?
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May 7, 2023 18:33
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KKKLIP ART posted:I like more of a flat stacked stone look, but I don't quite know what that is called. The pictures you posted are dry stack. You can't use it as a retention wall because there's nothing holding those stones together except for gravity. You can dry stack just about anything - any decent hardscaping place should have lots of selections of stone for you to choose from and can probably help you figure out how much you need and deliver a pallet of it to your house.
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May 7, 2023 18:54
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KKKLIP ART posted:So I have this area along the side of my house about, a screened porch, 20-25 feet long with a bit of an incline going down (maybe 1.5 feet over the course of the side of the porch). it currently has a totally unkempt spot that I want to add some stone edging until it butts up against my fence. How hard is something like this to do: That looks like a fieldstone or flagstone style stacked wall. It's not terribly difficult just tedious and lots of heavy lifting if you do it yourself. The rocks will likely be pricey and you'll need more than you think due to the puzzle nature of it. Learn how to break the rocks accurately with a rock hammer to modify them to fit a specific space. If you want them to stay in place better, consider a binding agent like mortar. You'll need a variety of large medium and small. Big heavy rocks stay in place better. Lay a hose or pant your border you're trying to follow. If you're following a grade, try to keep the rock surfaces level so they don't side down the hill.
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May 7, 2023 19:09
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Motronic posted:The pictures you posted are dry stack. You can't use it as a retention wall because there's nothing holding those stones together except for gravity.
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May 7, 2023 19:29
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Arsenic Lupin posted:My last house had a steep back yard that was divided into three terraces using dry-stack round boulders as retention walls. I had the boulders put in, and they lasted at least ten years until I sold the place. Okay, well....boulders have a bit more gravity in them compared to the dry stack I was talking about per the pictures  Also, Verman's post reminded me: if you live somewhere with heavy freeze/thaw cycles you will be re-stacking your dry stack every few years. I've been working on that around a few beds today.
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May 7, 2023 19:37
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Verman posted:That looks like a fieldstone or flagstone style stacked wall. It's not terribly difficult just tedious and lots of heavy lifting if you do it yourself. The rocks will likely be pricey and you'll need more than you think due to the puzzle nature of it. Learn how to break the rocks accurately with a rock hammer to modify them to fit a specific space. If you want them to stay in place better, consider a binding agent like mortar. You'll need a variety of large medium and small. Big heavy rocks stay in place better. Lay a hose or pant your border you're trying to follow. If you're following a grade, try to keep the rock surfaces level so they don't side down the hill. Yeah my thought is only really about 2 or 3 courses tall with the first course probably at ground level. Even the second picture is taller than I am thinking. Good information, going to take some measurements, look up local hardscape companies, and try to get an idea of cost. Since it isn't retaining anything, how do I prep the ground under the stone? Just dig it out and try to make sure it is level? And when you say that, do you mean stairs or just evenly following the slope down?
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May 7, 2023 19:47
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Verman posted:The rocks will likely be pricey and you'll need more than you think due to the puzzle nature of it... I was thinking of doing a similar project until I saw that one pallet of ledge stone would be about $550.00 and I would need 3 or 4 pallets. Oof!
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May 7, 2023 20:22
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Discount Dracula posted:I was thinking of doing a similar project until I saw that one pallet of ledge stone would be about $550.00 and I would need 3 or 4 pallets. Oof! Yeah, rocks are heavy and time consuming to sort. When you live somewhere full of them you end up with things like my ever growing rock pile, which I invite anyone to come sort through/take. 
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May 7, 2023 20:33
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Oh, yeah. I have lived in New England, where the ground incubates stones all winter and gives birth to them in the spring. I don't have a good sense of how famous it is, but there's a lovely Robert Frost poem, Mending Wall, about going out in the spring to re-pile your drystone fence. e: Make sure there is drainage behind your stone walls. Otherwise a water buildup can push the stones forward.
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May 7, 2023 21:21
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KKKLIP ART posted:Yeah my thought is only really about 2 or 3 courses tall with the first course probably at ground level. Even the second picture is taller than I am thinking. Good information, going to take some measurements, look up local hardscape companies, and try to get an idea of cost. I think for a low ledge it's maybe not *as* important as something like a walkway, but generally you dig down 6-8", level the ground (several terraced levels for your slope), apply a decent layer of drainage rock (gravel etc) and then a layer of leveling/paver sand or polymeric sand if you don't want it to move. That might be a little over the top for a 10" ledge but that's generally how you would go about prepping for hardscape. I think it might be extra important if you're somewhere with a freeze thaw cycle. You don't want rocks in wet dirt freezing and thawing. If they're in a bed of gravel and sand, the water should drain away so they don't shift as much. If you're doing a short ledge, you might want to bond the stones as there won't be as much weight keeping them in place. There are definitely YouTube videos showing how to go about it. Start at this old house and go from there. It's funny you bring this up because I'm probably going to do something similar at some point in my yard.
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May 7, 2023 22:19
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lite_sleepr posted:Do scarifiers work the same as the 1,000 pound aerators you can rent from Home Depot that leave a lot of turd looking dirt plugs all over? Scarifiers open up little ruts in the soil for seed to fall into and germinate Aerators pull out little plugs to help reduce soil compaction and allow more water to soak in
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May 8, 2023 14:59
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Finally ordered some Celsius and sledgehammer to apply to my lawn. After that I need to figure out why grass will not grow on the sides of my house.
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May 8, 2023 19:57
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lite_sleepr posted:Finally ordered some Celsius and sledgehammer to apply to my lawn. After that I need to figure out why grass will not grow on the sides of my house. I'm impressed you're getting it to adhere at all.
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May 8, 2023 20:29
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Getting what to adhere? I haven't received the herbicide yet. Perhaps after I scarify the lawn I can try seeding. Need to learn when I can apply the Celsius wrt seeding. How many weeks.
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May 8, 2023 20:51
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Motronic posted:Just mow whatever weeds/grass come up and keep throwing high traffic seed down where the dogs destroy things in the spring and fall, preferably right before you see a few days/week of steady rain. Fair enough, I can start there and see where it leads me. Fwiw I know my restrictions are extreme and that I'm not ever gonna have a beautiful emerald green lawn or anything. Out of curiosity what would be the most beneficial next step, assuming I didn't have any restrictions? I'm generally against using chemical weed control or weed & feed because we have a ton of pollinators, and I worry about the dogs, but I know safe/natural/organic/whatever alternatives exist. My resistance to watering is a combination of feeling like it's wasteful, my neighborhood pushing for less frequent watering as a conservation thing, and it being a headache to do since my house only has one outdoor faucet/hose bibb on the most useless corner of the house, for some reason. I've been looking into possibly setting up some rain barrels for watering, though I realize that wouldn't be ideal either.
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May 8, 2023 21:18
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MockingQuantum posted:I'm generally against using chemical weed control or weed & feed because we have a ton of pollinators This is exactly why I roll my eyes every time someone comes into this thread talking about chemicals. Where did you learn that using these things properly would impact pollinators? Because applied at the correct times in the correct quantities they simply don't. Why would a pollinator that is effected by these even be on your grass? Best answer I can come up with is because you let dandelions or similar bloom and then sprayed your grass. Which is an incorrect application that should never be done. MockingQuantum posted:and I worry about the dogs, but I know safe/natural/organic/whatever alternatives exist. The exist inasmuch as they are something that is sold that either does nothing at all or is as or more dangerous than the "chemicals" you're concerned about. (lots of these whacko-endorsed oils are legit dangerous just like poorly handled herbicides). The dogs will be fine when the right products applied properly and with them kept out of the area for as long as required by what is being put down. MockingQuantum posted:My resistance to watering is a combination of feeling like it's wasteful, my neighborhood pushing for less frequent watering as a conservation thing, and it being a headache to do since my house only has one outdoor faucet/hose bibb on the most useless corner of the house, for some reason. I've been looking into possibly setting up some rain barrels for watering, though I realize that wouldn't be ideal either. If you need to water a lawn you shouldn't be growing one. Period. The only exception here is watering new plantings. To directly answer your "what would be the next best thing" my guess would be proper fertilization. Likely lime and nitrogen. You need soil samples to figure out how much of what (again, this goes back to properly applying things so they are safe and not running off into unwanted places and causing collateral damage, just like herbicides and pesticides). See the thread title for where to get those done.
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May 8, 2023 21:27
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Motronic posted:This is exactly why I roll my eyes every time someone comes into this thread talking about chemicals. Where did you learn that using these things properly would impact pollinators? Because applied at the correct times in the correct quantities they simply don't. Why would a pollinator that is effected by these even be on your grass? Best answer I can come up with is because you let dandelions or similar bloom and then sprayed your grass. Which is an incorrect application that should never be done. Got it, sounds good. I was planning on contacting the local extension service for soil tests pretty soon here anyway, I'm sure there's someone there who can offer more specific advice to my area on this too since it seems like it's becoming more common locally that municipal governments are pushing for less/no lawn watering whenever possible. I'll see what resources they have on fertilization too so I can get educated on that. And yeah I guess when I say I want to avoid chemical treatments I'm thinking of spraying for weeds more than anything, I'm probably overly cautious about fertilizers based on what you're saying. Also I just don't care about getting weeds in the yard really, and my neighborhood in particular is big on no-mow May type initiatives so I'm pretty used to letting dandelions sprout and just trying to mow them down before they go to seed (though nobody around here seems to care that much).
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May 8, 2023 21:46
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lite_sleepr posted:Getting what to adhere?
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May 8, 2023 22:11
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Alright. I’ve got 40 feet of movable plastic piping to reach from the sump pump release to the road. I want to put it just a few inches underground so if it breaks I won’t have to kill myself digging it up. I know there’s nothing underneath, I called before I dug etc. Any immediate hot tips? Also thanks for posting that cheap tool purchase site. I ended up not using it but I’m sure I will in the future.
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May 9, 2023 23:39
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Your Uncle Dracula posted:Alright. I’ve got 40 feet of movable plastic piping to reach from the sump pump release to the road. I want to put it just a few inches underground so if it breaks I won’t have to kill myself digging it up. I know there’s nothing underneath, I called before I dug etc. Any immediate hot tips? Hot tips for what? Does the ground freeze where you are? A few inches might not be enough. Not saying you need to go 5 feet down, but things that are only a few inches deep tend to become exposed after a few years IME.
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May 9, 2023 23:48
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Really just in general. Like the tip you've given! Yeah, we do freeze.
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May 10, 2023 00:07
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lite_sleepr posted:Getting what to adhere? I haven't received the herbicide yet. Be sure to check the label, you don’t get very many legal applications of Celsius in a year.
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May 13, 2023 02:31
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blugu64 posted:Be sure to check the label, you don’t get very many legal applications of Celsius in a year. It's 4. Speaking of applications, when do you all suppose it's OK to apply Celcius + Certainty + Sedgehammer after using a powerrake? I used the power rake yesterday and today, and removed a *lot* of dead plant matter and older grass clippings. I don't want to stress the lawn, so maybe in a few days when rain isn't in the forecast? e: On 14 May 23, I applied: Front Yard: Certainty: 0.16 x 3 grams to a gallon of water Celsius WG: 1 (one) 0.226oz envelope to a gallon of water Sedgehammer Plus: 13.5g envelope to a gallon of water Probably 4 oz of non-ionic surfactant and blue dye Backyard: Certainty: 0.16 x 3 grams to a gallon of water Celsius WG: Probably 2/3 of one 0.226oz envelope to a gallon of water. I had to break open the 2nd envelope when I was about 85% complete with the front yard. I fear the backyard didn't get the correct dose. Sedgehammer Plus: None. Forgot to put it in. Probably 4oz of non-ionic surfactant. No dye. lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 19:35 on May 14, 2023 |
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May 13, 2023 23:49
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Is it necessary to stress about flow rates when dealing with a yard of less than a thousand square feet? I'm concerned I laid the herbicides on too thin because my sprayer is not at all customizable in any way, and is only a gallon. Most herbicides seem to work best in two gallon sprayers. Is it really this complicated or am I fretting needlessly?
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May 15, 2023 17:20
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lite_sleepr posted:Is it really this complicated or am I fretting needlessly? Review your recent posts in this thread and I think you'll be able to determine the answer on your own.
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May 15, 2023 17:42
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I'm finally going to get around to trying to repair the stone veneer on the fire pit and retaining wall in my back yard. That's what I'm dealing with on the pit and wall. Do I need to remove all the old mortar or just get the stuff that's flaking off? Looks like Type N is going to be the best type of mortar as well?
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May 15, 2023 21:34
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My backyard (1.5 acres) has about 7 or 8 stumps in it from the previous owner. Half are basically level with the ground, and the other half stick up, 1 is about 8 ft tall (covered into a giant bat roost). The other 3 are about 1-2ft tall. I'm thinking about renting a stump grinder and grinding them up (or hiring someone if the price is right), but it would be cool to turn them into something interesting. I'm considering trying to turn one into a table or something, but am sort of iffy on that. Had anyone done anything interesting with stumps or have any cool ideas?
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May 15, 2023 21:59
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I've always wanted to hollow one out and use it as a natural-looking planter. In the past I've put potted plants on them and spread birdseed on them.
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May 15, 2023 23:55
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Douche4Sale posted:My backyard (1.5 acres) has about 7 or 8 stumps in it from the previous owner. Half are basically level with the ground, and the other half stick up, 1 is about 8 ft tall (covered into a giant bat roost). The other 3 are about 1-2ft tall. I'm thinking about renting a stump grinder and grinding them up (or hiring someone if the price is right), but it would be cool to turn them into something interesting. I'm considering trying to turn one into a table or something, but am sort of iffy on that. Had anyone done anything interesting with stumps or have any cool ideas? A friend’s neighbor had some root furniture (google it) on their front porch that they painted black. It’s a hard look to pull off but it was done correctly and looked goth and hella cool. It would be quite simple to lean into this look by keeping the bat roost.
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May 16, 2023 00:34
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lite_sleepr posted:Is it necessary to stress about flow rates when dealing with a yard of less than a thousand square feet? Just try poo poo and see what happens. That's part of the process of becoming a lawn dork
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May 16, 2023 04:16
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So I bought a house in late 2021 and spent the first year so focused on inside projects that I kinda forgot about the outside. So now I've got a number of things I'm trying to address this spring/summer. First off is this driveway - the house has a gravel horseshoe drive way but the drive also extends past the side of the house around back and that's where the entrance to the garage is. The front of the driveway looks..fine. Mostly because that's the part that gets used the most but the back portion has become pretty overrun with grass/weeds. I started by just laying down a bottle of Round Up and now it looks like this.  So uh...What's next? I'm guessing I pretty much have to start from scratch. So I'm thinking rake/till the whole area down to the dirt, place down a weed barrier/tarp to help prevent it from getting this bad again, then recover with new gravel. If that's the case then I guess I'm just looking for recommendations on what tools I need to scrape up that whole area or anything to make the job easier. Also open to any other suggestions on how to pretty this area up or reclaim my driveway from nature.
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May 18, 2023 19:41
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