515 Crew

I'm going to start a spring projects thread here soon, i just finished my deck.


Don't worry, I'll do it for you.


Had a new fence and shed built this spring. It's nice.

Electric lawnmowers? I was looking into one of the battery powered ones, but I read that about every two years the battery goes out and it costs $150 or so to replace it at this point. I think I'm going to hold off another year or so and see if the technology (and price) gets a little bit better on a battery mower. Using a cord would suck.

the cords do suck. one of my grandmas had one she got from the amoco club. it was awful. i had to splice the same cord twice the first time i used it. it didnt mow for shit because it didnt have any power. i havent tried any of the cordless ones. it was also a hard to clean since i couldnt get it wet.

joseph wrote: it was also a hard to clean since i couldnt get it wet.

Hmmm... I imagine it's the same with the battery powered ones. Hopefully they come out with a better model by next year, because I really want to get one. The mower I have now is a mulching mower and it's actually pretty decent, but I'd like to have an electric.

On some other spring-related notes:

The crows ("soul chickens" as they're known in certain parts of the country) have been picking at some sod I put down last week in a spot where it looks like the people before me parked a car or something. Hopefully it takes, I've been watering the fuck out of it.

I have A LOT less weeds in my yard this year than I had last year at this time. I had a fuckton of weeds last spring. I've been having it sprayed organically, which isn't as effective as conventional weed controls but I think it's really helped. Plus I sprayed most of the weeds last year with vinegar as needed (which does a good job, it's cheap and effective). The grass just looks a lot better. I'm hoping that by the end of next season I can actually have a really nice yard. I'm planning on overseeding it this fall to help thicken it up.

I planted a bunch of shit in pots on my deck. It looks nice and smells nice as well, although at certain times of the day the flower smell is a little too strong, I think.

And here I thought this thread was going to be about Hank Jr (the best one).

I'm caring for my first lawn this summer.

Well.. I have a healthy lawn in front of the house, but the back yard is mostly bare dirt and weeds. I've raked all the dead leaves, twigs, garbage, etc.. out- what can I do short of laying sod to make some grass grow? I don't mind weeds too much as long as there is some grass along with them.

I don't know how it will work out because the back yard is pretty well used (lots of chairs and a fire pit sitting where I will be trying to grow grass).. but I'd like to give it a try. We have a sprinkler system installed, but for the time being it's just creating mud and monster dandelions.

Any advice?

Short of laying out sod, not much at this point. Assuming you guys use bluegrass there (which I think most places with cold winters do in the US), it doesn't do too well if you were to rake up the dirt and plant it now with the hot, dry summer coming on. You might get some grass to grow, but odds are it won't make it and/or it will get choked out by weeds. I would just try to contain the weeds at this point and then wait until the fall when things start to cool down (maybe mid-September-ish) and then plant some grass then.

Sod is expensive, but sometimes if you go to a place like Earl May (or it's counterpart out there) on a Tuesday or something after the weekend, the remaining sod they have left over will be marked down a bit. It'll be a little dry, but it would be alright after some water.

fence question-

i got most of my garden planted. im gonna make another one in the next few days for an attempt at watermelon with the usual squash and eggplant that i do. its only gonna be 4'x5' and im gonna use a corner of the deck but my other garden has rabbit fencing that i had to add chicken wire to keep the squinies out. is there a cheap alternative to chicken wire that doesnt look like chicken wire(also like something a little sturdier)?

I just built this deck. I still need to build some stairs around the right side. The back of the house needs some work. I'm going to remove that back door, replace it with a window, and put some sliders or French Doors where those double window are in the inlet. The giant red oak there provides great shade, and also helps with not getting anything to grow in the dirt area that my dog made. That used to be crushed brick, i got some grass to grow, but the dog took out the more delicate shade tolerant grass. I also have a nice garden going, i'll try to get a pic.

creeping charlie/myrtle- other than pulling pulling pulling how else do you make it go away

Dear Joseph,
Thank you very much for your inquiry. Creeping Charlie or ground ivy is a particularly problematic weed because of the fact that it is resistant to a number of herbicides, but there are some very effective products available. (One of the things I am assuming here is that you want to control the creeping Charlie in your turf areas.) When searching for a herbicide look for products containing triclopyr. This includes Weed B Gon Purple, Weed B Gon Chickweed, and Weed B Gone Max. If you have other broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, Weed B Gon Max would be a great choice because it contains 4 active ingredients 2,4-D, which is very effective on dandelion, MCPP, dicamba, and triclopyr. The best time to apply your perennial weed control products for species such as creeping Charlie is in fall (October 1-15). At this time weeds will be going dormant and storing nutrients, and if you spray at this time the weed will actually store the herbicide, giving you the best control response. The second best time is in the spring right at and after creeping Charlie flowers.

A second good choice for chemical control is quinclorac (Drive). This is harder to find and is more expensive (it is also better). I have never heard of it being sold in the bigger stores, only Lesco. It can be applied alone or mixed with any three way product (triclopyr does not have to be in the mix) and you will get excellent results. Timing is still the same. The good news about Drive is that is the best post emergence herbicide for crabgrass that I have ever seen. It will come off patent next year, so I suspect is availability will become more widespread.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers
The Yard Doctor

For creeping charlie or "wondering Jew" as it's sometimes called, a good home-remedy is Borax. If you've ever touched it, you can feel it has a waxy coating. A lot of topical herbicides will not get through this coat. Borax will. If your whole yard is covered with it, I would try some of the products Mr. Fist suggests. If you've just got a few patches, you might want to try Borax. The temperatures right now are good for weed control and if you do it shortly after rain (or watering the weeds), it will work even better.

thanks. i might try the borax in the back corner, close to my food for chemicals. while re-weeding the garden it keeps coming over my bricks trying to get back in the fence. i keep hand pulling it, last year i only had to keep on it for a couple of weeks then it stopped. nervous about the back corner though its about 2/3rds thicker than last year...

joseph wrote:thanks. i might try the borax in the back corner, close to my food for chemicals. while re-weeding the garden it keeps coming over my bricks trying to get back in the fence. i keep hand pulling it, last year i only had to keep on it for a couple of weeks then it stopped. nervous about the back corner though its about 2/3rds thicker than last year...

Yeah, that shit spreads like crazy. If your neighbors don't do anything about it, odds are you will have problems as well. Older neighborhoods in the area usually have a ton of this, it's not too uncommon to see a yard where it's pretty much nothing but creeping charlie around here. I guess way back in the day people brought it over from Europe where it's used as a ground cover and it spread all over.

1/3 of my yard is creeping charlie. it has pretty flowers.

yeah, the area you live in has a lot of it. Pretty purple flowers. Has a smell to it when you mow it as well.

its a pretty smell

This is also dominating parts of our yard. We live near Hank. Our landlord says he's going to kill it this year, but he can't even get a door installed for one of the bedrooms, so I think this will still be a problem next year. Sorry neighbors.

i live in fucking beaverdale i think our yard is the only one that isnt treated on the block. my neighbors are about 50/50 on the suckness scale. i dont like purple and i still have the adage if you cant eat it its a weed so im hopin the borax does something

joseph wrote:the cords do suck. one of my grandmas had one she got from the amoco club. it was awful. i had to splice the same cord twice the first time i used it. it didnt mow for shit because it didnt have any power. i havent tried any of the cordless ones. it was also a hard to clean since i couldnt get it wet.

try a reel mower. i just got a cheapo one, and it works great. no exhaust, cords, etc. just blades and sweat. i have a huge yard, and now a stronger back for it.

my spring projects:

just finished my chicken coop, got 13 chicks this morning.
my gardens keep getting bigger and planted an apple tree.
about to start on fixing up the horse pasture fences and get another horse, thinking about a huge pumpkin patch and/or tree farm (anyone want a job payable in 3-5 years?), turned a disgusting polluted littered burn pile into a pretty good hobo camp cooking spot, starting plans on a better, bigger chicken coop, raising my young'uns into the dirt lovers i have just become in recent years. also thinking about sheep. lots of them. maybe a goat or two.

little foot wrote:maybe a goat or two.

Fainting goats???

little foot wrote:my spring projects:

just finished my chicken coop, got 13 chicks this morning.
my gardens keep getting bigger and planted an apple tree.
about to start on fixing up the horse pasture fences and get another horse, thinking about a huge pumpkin patch and/or tree farm (anyone want a job payable in 3-5 years?), turned a disgusting polluted littered burn pile into a pretty good hobo camp cooking spot, starting plans on a better, bigger chicken coop, raising my young'uns into the dirt lovers i have just become in recent years. also thinking about sheep. lots of them. maybe a goat or two.

you make me want to build a shanty in your yard

little foot wrote:

joseph wrote:the cords do suck. one of my grandmas had one she got from the amoco club. it was awful. i had to splice the same cord twice the first time i used it. it didnt mow for shit because it didnt have any power. i havent tried any of the cordless ones. it was also a hard to clean since i couldnt get it wet.

try a reel mower. i just got a cheapo one, and it works great. no exhaust, cords, etc. just blades and sweat. i have a huge yard, and now a stronger back for it.

Yeah, that's what we use now too, there's a discussion in another thread about them.
And yes, I want to start a tree farm with you. Seriously. We need some seeds. We'll start off with some fast growing pines and have some hardwoods creeping up behind.

Hank Fist wrote:

little foot wrote:

joseph wrote:the cords do suck. one of my grandmas had one she got from the amoco club. it was awful. i had to splice the same cord twice the first time i used it. it didnt mow for shit because it didnt have any power. i havent tried any of the cordless ones. it was also a hard to clean since i couldnt get it wet.

try a reel mower. i just got a cheapo one, and it works great. no exhaust, cords, etc. just blades and sweat. i have a huge yard, and now a stronger back for it.

Yeah, that's what we use now too, there's a discussion in another thread about them.
And yes, I want to start a tree farm with you. Seriously. We need some seeds. We'll start off with some fast growing pines and have some hardwoods creeping up behind.

i'm down, if you are. seriously. i've got two good fields visible from the road, perfect to sale overpriced x-mas trees to the stupid fucks with the million dollars house down the road with their hummers and coke addicted children.

p.s. what is the red dread 08? my old high school punk band was called red dreaded step child.

also, maybe fainting goats, but my brief experience with them, they weren't that cool.

I think Red Dread is a sweet rapper from Mason City. Everyone here should check him out. He was one of Eyerish Kids' myspace friends.

i dug up a part of the yard yesterday and put my hunks of crappy sod over a bare spot in the yard and watered the shit out of it thinking maybe itll take?

I think I went to a show at Connie's or Spooner's back in the day with Red Dreaded Step Child playing. Probably with Nuclear Kicks or Grubby Ernie or something. I don't remember liking them but it was a long time ago. I'll say I think they sucked.

And the sod, don't let it get soggy but keep it well watered. If it's really sunny/hot, it's better to water evenings, night, morning. The water on the grass during the day will just help it burn and the roots won't get very deep. I've had luck before with it taking like how you did it, but sometimes it won't. Depends on the sod, soil, and water.

WebSkunk wrote:I think I went to a show at Connie's or Spooner's back in the day with Red Dreaded Step Child playing. Probably with Nuclear Kicks or Grubby Ernie or something. I don't remember liking them but it was a long time ago. I'll say I think they sucked.

And the sod, don't let it get soggy but keep it well watered. If it's really sunny/hot, it's better to water evenings, night, morning. The water on the grass during the day will just help it burn and the roots won't get very deep. I've had luck before with it taking like how you did it, but sometimes it won't. Depends on the sod, soil, and water.

i think i remember that show, i think shilo church played. it was a 'ska-core sat.' and yeah, we were pretty bad. drummer sucked, vocalist was a prima donna, and me and the bass player were mortal enemies. but hey, it was junior high and early high school and i was having the time of my life.

little foot wrote:

WebSkunk wrote:I think I went to a show at Connie's or Spooner's back in the day with Red Dreaded Step Child playing. Probably with Nuclear Kicks or Grubby Ernie or something. I don't remember liking them but it was a long time ago. I'll say I think they sucked.

And the sod, don't let it get soggy but keep it well watered. If it's really sunny/hot, it's better to water evenings, night, morning. The water on the grass during the day will just help it burn and the roots won't get very deep. I've had luck before with it taking like how you did it, but sometimes it won't. Depends on the sod, soil, and water.

i think i remember that show, i think shilo church played. it was a 'ska-core sat.' and yeah, we were pretty bad. drummer sucked, vocalist was a prima donna, and me and the bass player were mortal enemies. but hey, it was junior high and early high school and i was having the time of my life.

i was totally in that band for 2 shows.

BOOSH.

KA-KOW.