Posts Tagged ‘grass’

hillside planting underway

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

Sorry things got quiet again at modremod. We escaped to the west coast to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Just before we left, the plants I ordered back in January started arriving for the front hillside.

Then Shiva arrived yesterday with a carload of plants for the walkway section of the hill…

hillside planting: laying out the plants

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nassella tenuissima (Mexican Feather Grass). 85 of them in all…

hillside planting: only 50 more to go
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So guess what I did yesterday?

hillside planting: mexican feather grass in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More planting happening soon — the arrivals are beginning to stack up. Thanks for helping get it started, Shiva! goteamfight.

heckle and jeckle

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Somebody’s been pulling up the burlap I put down last fall to hold the seed and soil in place on what would become our sloping lawn…

burlap destruction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It took a few days but I finally caught the thieves — two giant crows who must be building a nest somewhere nearby. They lopped off a 4′ x 2′ section and started a few other smaller sections before I scared them off. Not that it really matters much now — I don’t really have to worry about the ground washing away any more.

So I trimmed the ratty ends of the burlap and life goes on. Crows.

 

fish goo and molasses

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

What do you suppose that smells like, fish goo and molasses? It doesn’t smell great, I can assure you of that. However, your lawn and your soil love it. So today, I opened up this container (*engage gag reflex*)…

fish goo container

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initially I was going to mix up my own compost tea to give the baby lawn a much-needed end-of-season feeding. Don’t worry, URI horticulturists tell me it’s okay to feed the lawn until around Thanksgiving. (Do you think I do anything without researching it to death first?)

But in the interest of getting it done at the last minute, I hunted down this Aggrand Natural Based Fertilizer. Already made. Cost just $8.95 for a 32 oz bottle (covers 5000 sq ft). 100% natural! Between the koi pond and the kid, I’m not about to add chemicals.

Yum…

fish goo in a cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best news: the recipe is almost exactly what I’d use to make my own compost tea. So what’s in it? Hydrolized fish solubles (menhaden salt water fish, to be exact), kelp, bloodmeal, sulfate of potash — oh, and molasses to help create a literal microbe orgy in your soil. Apparently this will lead to better soil structure, which leads to deeper, denser roots and healthier grass.

There’s nothing much to it. Measure it out. Add water. Spray…

fish goo in the sprayer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then, good gawd, smell the stank. It’s the stank of green.

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Handy bookmarks:

– Harvard’s landscaping is now organic, yours can be, too. Build your own tea brewer to feed your lawn at home.

– And create your own compost tea for your lawn or trees.

– Need a visual? How about a video.

Yes, I’ve posted these before. These links still rock.

 

two weeks later

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Misty, foggy days are ideal for baby grass…

grass at two weeks, closeup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting to look like a lawn! Click to biggify…

grass starting to look like a lawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

160 hours later

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

My friends, we have achieved grass. One week from planting.

baby grass

136 hours later

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Nyet.

no grass yet

69 hours later

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Nearly constant showers since the day the seed was put down. Prime temperature range. Anybody want to wager on when we’ll see green?

69 hours later

42 hrs later

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

nope.

grass watch: day 1

ocd grass planting

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

Let’s review: Last spring, we planted a lawn. This spring, the lawn got torn up to make way for the  new patio and koi pond. And now, I’m planting a lawn.

The last of the steel edging is finally in where I drew the boundaries between the future lawn and beds, and the composted topsoil is all raked out. Perty…

steel edging border the lawn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I seeded the lawn yet again, using the same grass seed mix as before…

seed bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sunny mix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shade mix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the seed is from last year. Hope it’s still viable. Fingers crossed. Did I add lime? No. Fertilizer? No. I want neither washing down into the pond.

Because we’re on a slope and lost seed in the past each time it rained, I wasn’t taking any chances this time. Burlap to the rescue! It looks like I’ve got a Martha Stewart complex and went and quilted the whole backyard…

burlap view from house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Half of it I rolled and stapled down in a mad rush during yesterday’s rainstorm. The burlap is biodegradable — so I could leave it down and let the grass grow right over it. Or, from what I read, I could decide to pull it up when the grass is at least 1/2″ tall. We shall see.

This project is Bambino approved.

burlap with cat

 

 

how long ’til grass?

Friday, April 30th, 2010

waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. waiting. who wants to wait with me… anybody?

DAY 7…

grass | day 7

DAY 14…

grass | day 14

DAY 21…

grass | day 21

Getting there. Come on, grass!!