Our Lawn Renovation

Another Phase in the Backyard Renovation

Another section of our backyard is getting a face lift   The timing for the lawn renovation is getting critical since the fall planting time is quickly coming to a close.

In our Zone 6 garden, grass seed needs to be planted before September 15.  The seed needs to have time to germinate and the roots need to be well established before a killing freeze.  Normally, here we have a first frost in early October, and the soil temps really drop at that time.   
 As the lawn renovation started, we needed to remove a large area of nimblewill.  That process took a couple of weeks.  The grassy weed really had spread, and we used a non-selective herbicide. 




Here the pathway got a top dressing of topsoil.  This is the base for the seed.  Loose soil is vital for the seed to take root.  Hard compacted areas will not give the seed roots any foundation. 




The seed went down, and we even over seeded the previously seeded areas that were a little thin. 



The next step in the lawn renovation today was to apply an organic fertilizer.  The N-P-K was 5-3-4, and was a combination of bone meal and soybean meal, and compost. 



This organic fertilizer is OMRI listed©. The Organic Materials Review Institute analyzes products that manufacturers submit.  The national organic standards must be met in the creation of the products, and if they meet these standards, the OMRI© label is applied.
 
Generally a three year history of the ingredients is inspected.  For those three years, the fields must not have any chemical herbicides, insecticides, or fertilizers.

The same goes for meat products.  Livestock must not have been fed anything but organic feeds, to qualify as organic. 



The safety of this organic fertilizer is evident in the safe handling of the grain.  There is no strong chemical odor, and the family pets are not going to be harmed if they wander around in the planting area.
  
The final step in today’s lawn renovation, was to water the seed.  This moisture will be maintained 2 – 3 times a day until the grass has been mowed at least twice.
 


These areas were the first seeded in the lawn renovation.  As shown, the grass seed here is starting to fill in.

The garden has made a major transformation in our efforts to scale down the work the garden was requiring.  Thanks for stopping by today. 
What projects are you doing in your yard? 

Garden Ideas for a Spring Project

Garden Ideas Come in Steps

OK, this is only Part I, but I am feeling really good about the progress we have made in this renovation.  Just when the clocks got set forward an hour, our weather seemed to jumped forward one season.  Seventy and eighty degree days really got my juices going. 

Spring clean-up took several days, and three trips to the yard debris center our City of Kettering provides.  Raked and cut down perennials onto tarps which we piled into the pickup. 

Burning the ornamental grasses saved us some time and energy.  Kept the hose ready, but thankfully, we didn't need it.

 
After we lost the pine tree last season, we decided to reclaim some lawn area.  Here Charlie is spreading organic fertilizer onto the cleared bed, and then he followed up with a thin blade fescue seed.  This seed is designed to take foot traffic, and is drought tolerant, once established. This spring project is timed well to put down grass seed.  The rains are here, and the nights are cool - ideal for germination.

This cocoa fiber mat is moistened daily and works as a great mulch for the grass seed, that is peeking through after a week.


This area was cleared of pachysandra and pine needles.  The stone border will be planted eventually, but we need to monitor the sun patterns in this north-west side of the privacy fence. This monitoring will let us know if we need shade-loving plants, or sun-loving plants.  Remember - right plant - right place!

Since this area was under the tree, we added top soil to the area for a more desirable seed base.

Just waiting for the grass to fill in before we work on the border along the fence. 
Several more garden ideas are going to require more work, in this major redo. 
 
This bed has daylilies but the wild onions have taken over.  I’m going to dig up everything, move the daylilies, and Roundup the area. The idea is to expand the turf into this section of the yard.

Epimedium

Bleeding Heart

Forsythia and Daffodils

And just so I don’t get too discouraged, I have taken time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  The Epimedium, bleeding hearts,  daffodils, and forsythia are really putting on a show.  Yaaaayyy. Spring!

As my landscape ideas become real, I'll bring out my camera to share more of this renovation.  Thanks for stopping by.