Need advice on landscaping

[sanco]

So this house is my wife and my first property and now that we have completed major remodeling on the inside and immediate surroundings, we would like to get the back yard and little bit of front squared away.

Here is the problem! The house was unoccupied for several years before we bought it, so the plats that were in the back yard pretty much took over the entire yard and mutated into this thing that just will not die! Some of the plants are pretty expensive plants but since they were so randomly planted and left unatended they are useless now and are giving me a major headache.

The yard is approximately 35x20 and the area that needs to be killed with fire is about 50x8.

What would be the best way to kill everything that grows in that area of the yard and start over? I want to make sure that i am doing this right so that the money i spend on this project is not going to waste.

I know i should not till it because it will make things worse

[05crownsport]

Have you tried round up? It works wonders on ALL plant material. Don't get it on anything you want to keep. Once all the plants are eradicated, you must pull them out.

[sanco]

I have not tried any chemicals or much of anything really because i don't know where to start. I am worried about using chemicals because i would need GALLONS of it to get the job done concentrated in one area. If it is safe then yea why not but just the ammount in one place worries me.

[Ozark Marauder]

Are you doing this yourself or paying someone?

[sanco]

i want to do this myself, i have worked on this house with my family during the whole process so i really want to make this something that i could say that i did it.

[marauder21]

Well what I would do is use chemicals. Spray the chemical then pull out. Do a section a day or something so as Not to have hardtimes. Or you could hire a.landscaping company maybe they can tear everything up and replace it and make your yard beautiful:D

[05crownsport]

If no chemicals are to be used then break out a shovel and start digging the plants up. Shouldn't take more than a good days work to get them all up. Since they've gotta come out, this method would take the least amount of time. With round up you would only kill the plants, then you'd have to still dig them up. Landscaping can be rewarding and fun.

[RubberCtyRauder]

I would go to a true garden center not like the ones set up at Lowes/Home Depot.. A place that has a horticulturist on site and get advice. But it sounds like a contact herbicide will do the most good and a pre-emergent to stop the seeds from germinating. Some chemicals will create a no grow zone for like 2 plus years so you don't want that as it contaminates the soil and then nothing will grow. They also make specific herbicides that say will only kill grass and not plants.

Names: round-up - a contact herbiside
ortho - a lot weed and bug chemicals available
spectracide - another name like round-up
preen - a pre-emergent that stops seeds from germinating

All the nursuries and garden centers/landscaoe suppliers are gearing up for opening with spring around the crorner..So i would go and consult them

[Ozark Marauder]

The first step is to sickle or cut back the over grown plants, weeds, etc.. You can't get to the root systems until the over grown plants are cut back. Once the bushes and shrubs are trimmed down, apply a weed killer, and yes, Round Up will work. You may have to apply this a couple of times. Round Up is one of the best weedkillers available but nothing will work until the temperatures start to rise so if you spray now you will be wasting your time and money.

If you are planning on doing a new landscape area, wait one week before you prepare the ground. This will ensure that the weed killer has worked fully. You can till the soil at this time and rake out.

Or if your concerned about the chemicals, Goats work really well, drop fertilizing fecal matter as they do the job. Even in urban areas, there are outfits that move their goats from job site to job site, clearing urban lots and doing fire-brush clearance in larger areas.They wont kill the roots, but that is an easier job --- once the top of the plant is cleared, and the weed tries to regrow succulent new growth to recover, it is severely susceptible to things like round-up, making it much more likely that a single round-up application will work (allowing you to reduce the amount of the chemical you will use).

OZ

[dohc324ci]

Great info for a car site! Round up; shovel sickle, hoe, wheel barrel, weed whacker and lots of water and friends.

[TAKEDOWN]

Sounds like a new cave man garage is needed asap!

[wickedmerc]

I understand the "pride in doing it yourself" thing but you seriously may want to get at least 1 landscaper's estimate. It sounds like a huge pain in the butt, maybe something left for other(s) to do. They'll tear it all out and take it with them (outside chance if the plants are expensive, as you say, may have some resale value with landscaper). Consider it a gift to yourself :cool:

Round Up works great, but sometimes too well. If you'll need to use a lot of it, it will be hard to contain to a specific area.

Good luck.

[ImpalaSlayer]

flame thrower

[yjmud]

white vinegar and water kills just about everything

[Spectragod]

I'd grade the yard with a Bobcat..... seriously. That will take care of roots, overgrowth, undergrowth, pretty much everything.

[fastblackmerc]

Round Up is our friend!

[bugsyc]

:bigcry:Speaking of lawns,anybody know how to get rid of moles??I have them in the frontyard and the backyard.I put in traps,caught 2 1st year,never anymore.poison,mothballs,sonic thingy.Anything and everything that anyone suggested.Any of you gents have a secret mole killer,ridder..Desperate going into planting season..:help:

[sanco]

solid answers!

I looked into it and one of the solutions is also using a plastic tarp cover and leaving it on to kill everything under it for about a month. Then uproot and haul away the garbage.

[bugsyc]

I guess no :help:one knows how to get rid of moles? I'm just about ready to till the whole property but,I'm not sure even that would work..Help needed...Putting plastic down and weighing it down with rock so it does lift up will definetly kill everything under it.Weeds grass,plants.Without poison..

[CBT]

The yard is approximately 35x20 and the area that needs to be killed with fire is about 50x8.


FIRE! :bounce: FIRE! :bounce: FIRE! :bounce:

[fastblackmerc]

:bigcry:Speaking of lawns,anybody know how to get rid of moles??I have them in the frontyard and the backyard.I put in traps,caught 2 1st year,never anymore.poison,mothballs,sonic thingy.Anything and everything that anyone suggested.Any of you gents have a secret mole killer,ridder..Desperate going into planting season..:help:

To get rid of moles you have to get rid of their food source.

Moles like to eat the white grubs in the soil. Eliminate the grubs and moles will go elsewhere.

My son had black widow spiders at his house and lots of crickets.... guess what black widow spiders like to eat???? Got rid of the crickets and no more spiders.

[SC Cheesehead]

I'd grade the yard with a Bobcat..... seriously. That will take care of roots, overgrowth, undergrowth, pretty much everything.

^^^ What he said. ^^^^^ If the yard is really overgrown, that's your best bet. Spray everything with Roundup, kill it off, then scrape it up and start over. IMO, maybe wanna go with a landscaping company that can dig up, then re-sod; you can always lay claim to maintaining the new yard after it is up and going.


:bigcry:Speaking of lawns,anybody know how to get rid of moles??I have them in the frontyard and the backyard.I put in traps,caught 2 1st year,never anymore.poison,mothballs,sonic thingy.Anything and everything that anyone suggested.Any of you gents have a secret mole killer,ridder..Desperate going into planting season..:help:

One word bugsy: Dachshunds.... ;)

[Haggis]

^^^ What he said. ^^^^^ If the yard is really overgrown, that's your best bet. Spray everything with Roundup, kill it off, then scrape it up and start over. IMO, maybe wanna go with a landscaping company that can dig up, then re-sod; you can always lay claim to maintaining the new yard after it is up and going.



One word bugsy: Dachshunds.... ;)

Dogs eat moles save on dog food.

[Ozark Marauder]

Dogs eat moles save on dog food.

When I lived in the country on 10 acres, I had cleared an acre around the house, planted grass and everything was fine,:cool: until the next year when I had an infestation of moles and tunnels all over my yard. :mad:

Sitting on the porch, drinking a beer, and looking out and seeing those tunnels all over the lawn one evening, I was thinking about what to, when I noticed my giant Airedales, Russ T, and Mojo running throughout the yard, stopping suddenly, staring at the ground, and furiously digging the lawn. I was about to jump up and scream at them, when I noticed the varmints:help: in their mouths. They would shake them violently until they separated their heads from their bodies. :eek:

This went on every evening, those dogs doing their thing, me on the porch drinking a beer, watching the show. A week later the show was over and Russ T & Mojo were standing guard......just waitin....:D

OZ

[SC Cheesehead]

:o
Dogs eat moles save on dog food.

Yep, moles, squirrels, birds that land in the yard... ;)

He may not look like much, but Smeagol's the Yard Meister at our place...


http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14 961&d=1237483657

Sorry, getting off the original topic....

Carry on.

[Haggis]

:o

Yep, moles, squirrels, birds that land in the yard... ;)

He may not look like much, but Smeagol's the Yard Meister at our place...


http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14 961&d=1237483657

Sorry, getting off the original topic....

Carry on.

He looks weel fed on varmits.

[bugsyc]

A Dachshund you say or an airdale..I like it,an excuse to get another dog...I have a walker coon hound and a pit bull now..The wifey will probably blow a gasket.Oh well......:flamer:

[SC Cheesehead]

A Dachshund you say or an airdale..I like it,an excuse to get another dog...I have a walker coon hound and a pit bull now..The wifey will probably blow a gasket.Oh well......:flamer:

Dachshunds are great ground hunters. They are also great diggers, sooooooooo, the good news is they'll take care of your critter problem; the bad news is your yard will end up looking like the aftermath of an artillery barrage... ;)