Garden Fever!

Originally posted by Gaelic: My problem is the clay soil.

Ahhhh, that's where we differ...I am using standard Texas yard dirt that had been covered for the last thirty years with debris turned mulch...so fertile it is almost black. Now I have to go back and read the pkge directions to see how to fill in spots...footprints ARGH! LOL!


Moni

[Gaelic]

Originally posted by Moni: Ahhhh, that's where we differ...I am using standard Texas yard dirt that had been covered for the last thirty years with debris turned mulch...so fertile it is almost black. Now I have to go back and read the pkge directions to see how to fill in spots...footprints ARGH! LOL! Moni

From when I lived in TX I remember the trick was watering consistently. Not in high volume each time, but high frequency. High volume always just ran off, but a little bit several times per day worked well.




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Gaelic

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Gaelic: From when I lived in TX I remember the trick was watering consistently. Not in high volume each time, but high frequency. High volume always just ran off, but a little bit several times per day worked well.

ACK! No! That, according to all the lawn specialists/horticultural people is not a good idea. Deep watering is recommended. To do that you set sprinkler on low and leave til an inch of water is in ground (put an empty tuna can or a rain gauge out to measure!). Supposedly, the theory goes, frequent and shallow watering means the grass roots never go deep, they always go up to surface for water. Makes for weaker plant that can't handle any drought at all. By deep soaking and less often (once a week or so) the roots go farther down to find water). Of course it may be necessary more often in really dry spells! Oh and the run off? Just shut off the water until what's on the ground soaks in, then start up again.

Well that's the theory as I learned it! HGTV and my local nursery.

CloudGardner

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Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
StormCloud of the Black Knight
Heart Mind Soul Forever

[Larry_OHF]

My wife and I are also doing a little gardening. Although we have no previous experience, and thought that nut-grass was actually a type of wanted greenery in one's garden, (until we told the neighbor that, and she 'bout died by laughing so hard...). Anyway, we have some Irises, and some...pretty yellow things...(but not nut-grass, eh!), and some tiger lilies, and some "Black-eyed Susans". Also, a nice variety of poison oak! Want any??
Also, some peonys, roses, azaela bushes, and dog-wood trees.



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Larry,
Loyal guardian of the OHF
Devoted member of the Ironworks
Only member of the Elite Bodyguard to Rikard (the fool that takes the bullet)
Ertai's back-up
Memnoch's chief look-out
Member of the Ancients club

[Cloudbringer]

Sorry, Larry! I think the poison oak is all yours! The rest sounds very pretty! I'm thinking of adding some irises next year. They come is such a wide variety of colors and flower shapes these days!

Cloudy

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Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
StormCloud of the Black Knight
Heart Mind Soul Forever

[Gaelic]

Ack! Keep the poison oak! I constantly battle poison ivy in my yard.


Cloudy, as for the watering in TX theory, the only trouble there (where I lived anyway) is that the ground is so hard and baked by the intense sun that heavy watering literally just ran off into the street. I tried watering for HOURS and all it did was soak about a half inch at best and run into the street. We had flash floods in every storm because the ground would hold no water. It was pretty bad.



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Gaelic

Our soil is pretty loose...I had to water lightly and very often to get an inch into the soil at first and then lightly and often to keep it moist without washing it away LOL! Hoping the grass will hold the dirt in the yard, I hate having to dig out the sidewalk LOL!
As weird as it is, the front yard, which appears to be fairly level (and i have a good eye for level lol) but away from the house and toward the street it gradually sits above the sidewalk but the water washes out toward the street rather than up on the porch...it looks like it should be impossible but its true!


Moni

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[Bahamut]

hmm.. my mom doesnt have any interest in cooking, gardening, house chorse and the like... too bad i water our own backyard!!

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You know what happened. We are ONE, WE ARE, ahh.. er... I AM ...teehee and... Stay ahead of the Avalanche or risk being buried...

Bahamut,
Neither did my mom! That's how I ended up learning it all LOL!


Moni

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[ogopogo]

Gaelic... and others... some tips on watering. I am a farmer so I know quite a bit about this. Depending on your soil will depend on how you water. You said your soil is very hard (clay probably) You should try to aireate the soil by taking a tool of some kind (pitchfork or something similar) and punching holes all over so that the water will penetrate better and not run off. When this is done and the ground has been loosened a little you will need longer waterings less fequently. As for light sandy type soils you will want to have shorter waterings more frequently because the water will just run beyond the root zone. If you have lots of rocks in your soil (like where I am) it will still depend on the soil structure as to how to water.
Remember if there is water in the root zone, the roots will not go searching for extra water witch will leave you with a small compact root system. For best results try to keep the soil as evenly moist as much as possible. (but not so wet that the roots rot)
BTW the best fertilizer for grass has N-P-K of 18-4-8 or simalar. Hope this is helpful.