2017-2020 Grass & Yardwork Thread

[Pearl]

I know its winter and the last thing people are thinking about is their yards, but @pooriggy, what am i suppose to do with this hill? it keeps growing all sorts of weeds. i've sprayed it with nasty chemicals to kill off the weeds, but then they just grow back later in the summer. do i need to add more pine needles? i don't think i can do mulch because the hill is so steep.

 

[Pearl]

 

[jShort]

View attachment 62901

Off camber cross practice

 

[MadisonDan]

 

[qclabrat]

View attachment 62901

Have you considered wildflowers? I did one section of my hill but then deer got through and ate everything. This year I'll have a deer fence so plan to expand.

 

[Pearl]

im already thinking of using it as a drop in for a pump track for jack, i cant barely walk up it and with the pine needles, its slippery AF

im afraid the wildflowers wouldnt grow on this soil, or my luck i would plant/sow them in and the first rainfall they would roll down and build a wall along the grass instead...

 

[qclabrat]

https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/hummingbird-butterfly

Going to find bulk this year. You can try a small section to see if you want to do the whole back. You will see lots more butterflies. If you hate butterflies, stick with the chemicals.

 

[Zaskar]

https://www.pennington.com/all-products/grass-seed/hummingbird-butterfly

Going to find bulk this year. You can try a small section to see if you want to do the whole back. You will see lots more butterflies. If you hate butterflies, stick with the chemicals.

View attachment 62902

True story: My youngest is actually afraid of butterflies.

 

[qclabrat]

im already thinking of using it as a drop in for a pump track for jack, i cant barely walk up it and with the pine needles, its slippery AF

im afraid the wildflowers wouldnt grow on this soil, or my luck i would plant/sow them in and the first rainfall they would roll down and build a wall along the grass instead...

Try a small section, I've even grown them in a soily mulch. Liked it so much I planted half of my hill. The seeds amazingly don't seem to get washed away easily. Just over seeded and rake a bit. Mandi can have fresh flowers picked by you everyday. Gave up on roses with all the beetles.

 

[ChrisRU]

The mulch beds at my place are probably as steep if not steeper than that. The mulch somehow mostly stays in place even in places where its impossible to walk up with out sliding down. That gets you to the fun part, its a PIA to mulch a hill unless you have a way to easily dump it from the top and pull it down. Its not ideal, but if you don't have leaf cleanup to deal with it might last a while.

Wildflowers or some other plantable ground cover would probably a better and a lower maintenance solution.

 

[Pearl]

that picture is nice as hell, but highly doubt it will work on a hill that steep? on soil that might as well be like the moon?

 

[qclabrat]

Mine's just as steep and grows on dirt like you see at Chimney Rock, which is not really soil. I got tired of hand mowing the area but the last straw was when I slipped and the mower almost cut off my foot.

 

[Magic]

Have you considered wildflowers?

This. SAVE THE BEES!

 

[Jmann]

Creeping phlox and then creeping hydrangea up at the fence. You could plant accent trees if you ground it with accent rocks (advice from my wife the expert).

 

[Patrick]

one switchback should do it....then across the top, and down the fenceline. rad!

 

[Tim]

Option 1 (cheaper/easier): Use Roundup to kill the weeds that are already there if they survive winter. Apply a preventive herbicide such as Dimension (active ingredient is dithiopyr) in late spring before new summer annual weeds emerge. Then reapply Dimension 6 weeks later. You can make a fall application of this as well to prevent winter annuals from invading. Other preventive herbicides include pendimethalin and prodiamine just to name a couple.

Option 2 (expensive/more difficult): An alternative if you prefer grass is to sod the hill with fine fescue. It does well in shade and with little water. You would have to use sod as the hill is too steep to seed and not have it all erode the first time it rains before it is established. Additionally seeding in the spring is generally not a good idea as competition from weeds is high. Establishing grass from seed is best done in late August or early September in NJ.

 

[Pearl]

Thanks sptimmy it sounds like you have a lot of knowledge on this topic, does being in NC change your recommendations?

 

[rick81721]

How about stone, something larger size so it won't wash down into all that brown below (is that grass? )

 

[Tim]

Thanks sptimmy it sounds like you have a lot of knowledge on this topic, does being in NC change your recommendations?

I’m glad you mentioned you are in NC since I haven’t been around here long enough to have picked up on that. That being said my recommendations would remain essentially the same. The timing for pre-emergent herbicide applications would be a couple weeks earlier than here but the overall strategy would be the same.

Fine fescue should also be ok but it will not match the rest of your lawn at all.

The suggestion for wildflowers is probably worth considering if you want that look. I have no experience with them but if you could spread a decent layer of straw after seeding the area or the large straw “blankets” they use to stabilize steep roadsides after construction you could prevent the seed from washing away. The wildflowers would grow right through it much like grass would.

 

[JimN]

Just to throw out an alternative, gasoline is like $3/gallon and matches are generally free.