Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with backyard

How do I start my own backyard garden?

lockestockbarrel — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 12:25:43 -0800

GreenThumbFilter: I'd like to start a garden in my backyard to grow some veggies and herbs and stuff -- like the Obamas' garden, but obviously at a lot smaller scale. How do I do this? I live in Matamoros, Mexico -- that's at the southernmost tip of Texas. I have a backyard area that gets pretty good sunlight and is completely fenced, so I don't have to worry about small animals getting in and ruining everything.

1. What should I plant? I'm mostly interested in stuff I can use in cooking, so vegetables and herbs. I also sorta want to plant a lime tree or banana tree or something -- is that difficult to do / care for?

2. From what I understand, I have to start the seeds in little egg containers and then transfer them outside. What soil do I use in the egg containers? Do I put them in direct or indirect sunlight?

3. For composting -- what do I need to exclude other than dairy? Do I need earthworms or anything? Can I chuck everything in a big plastic bin outside and let the magic happen? How do I know when it's ready?

4. I'd like to grow these things organically. Do I need to do anything special to replace whatever pesticides one normally uses?

5. Are there any good online resources for this kinda thing?

Thanks everyone!

Is there an alternative to harmful herbicides that will kill weeds but not harm backyard wildlife?

feeshbitZ — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 11:47:28 -0800

Is there an alternative to harmful herbicides that will kill weeds but not harm backyard wildlife? My yard is full of weeds. It looks awful. We're having an awful time getting rid of the weeds because there are just too many to manually pull each out. So my husband wants to use a "Weed and Feed" or some similar weed killer on our entire lawn to kill the weeds, then start seeding grass. Here is the problem - I'm an avid backyard birder. With all the bird feeders, birdbaths and bird houses in our backyard, I'd say we have at least 40 birds in our backyard at any given time. Many of these birds are ground feeders - meaning they eat the bugs, worms and dropped seeds from the ground. My husband's proposition to kill the weeds in our yard worries me. I'm concerned that these herbicides will hurt our birds and/or the bugs and worms that they eat off the ground.

So, metafilter community, can you offer any suggestions of methods we can use to get rid of the prolific weeds in our yard without harming the diversity of wildlife we enjoy? Do you know if "Weed and Feed" options will harm the wild birds, insects and worms? So far my research has turned up few alternatives to the "scorched earth" method my husband wants to employ.

Thanks!

We haven't had a chance to formally meet the new neighbors..

bradly — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:07:44 -0800

What kind of creature is living in our backyard? I live in Utah, and there is a small backyard pond next to the 'feature' shown in the pictures.

The motion activated lights have been randomly tripped during the night since we noticed this being built up.

Any ideas on what kind of roommate just moved in?

Thanks!

Building a backyard bungalow/office

El Curioso — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:40:59 -0800

We're thinking of building a small backyard bungalow to use as an office, ideally with some sort of bike storage attached. It has to be on the cheap and simple side, something like this, which looks like it might not be ideally suited for Pacific NW weather.

Any other options along those lines? And how could we also store & lock two around-town bikes in our (small, rainy) backyard? I'm thinking a two-bike pole stand placed against an outer wall of the office. It would have to have some sort of rain cover, at least, if not a full enclosure, but we don't have all that much space to play with. (The deck is about 10" too low to stick them under upright, alas.)

What do I do with filled-in ground stumps?

clearlynuts — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:25:34 -0800

Earlier this year, I had some trees cut down. The stumps were ground and the holes were filled back in with wood chips from the tree. This has left some ugly mounds in my yard. See here and here. What can I do with this stuff? Dig it out and replace with soil for grass seed? Plant new trees? Wait?

How do I fix my Houston backyard?

abdulf — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:57:39 -0800

Garden project: I want to renovate the backyard since Hurricane Ike has given me some time off. Any ideas? I live in Houston and almost never go into the backyard because of the heat and the ants. As a result, the yard has been neglected. Here are some photos.

I have a lot of time off due to Hurricane Ike disruptions, so I'd like to fix this up a little. I'm not interested in anything complicated like waterfalls or ponds or terraces. I would be interested in putting fruit trees or trees for shade and other long-term low maintenance plants.

It's about medium sized for a Houston suburb home. It's a rectangular shaped backyard that gets lots of sunlight. I don't know anything about gardens, and I have someone cut the grass.

I'd like the place to look clean and visually appealing, but to be easy to maintain for a beginner. I tried taking a box of seeds and growing flowers, but it never turned out like the Burpee pictures show.

Sorry I'm rambling. Where would I begin to rework this backyard?

I don't know what I want other than it should be relatively simple, relatively inexpensive and able to survive the Houston climate and soil.

Backyard playground setup?

roaring beast — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:21:35 -0800

What do I need to know to set up a backyard playground? I am setting up a playground like this one. It will be used by 20-30 kids weekly. Any tips or tricks, especially with the set-up?

Also, what is the best ground cover for the price? Sand, mulch, artificial mulch? Do I need to create a wooden border?

Do I need to stain and seal annually?

Any suggestions or tips would be much appreciated!

Is this a rim? a lead cover? Thor's discus?

royalchinook — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:09:25 -0800

I found this gigantic item in my backyard when I moved in here. It's really the only thing in the back yard that is like this - it's not like there's a pile of junk like this lying around. It is about 3 feet wide, a foot high, and the metal is about an inch thick. I tried to move it with another guy and it took a lot of effort just to budge it, any idea what it is for? what type of metal it's made of?

For you reference, the inscription as I can tell is:
Rim Tec
02 450 022 IF2
RT 356M5 54

FYI2 - I'm located on a half acre in the Fraser Valley, BC (near Vancouver), if that helps at all.

What is this hole in my backyard?

zempf — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:46:17 -0800

While digging out the backyard of our Philly rowhome to lay a patio, I came across a brick-lined pit with a pipe in it (pictures here and here). What is it? The pipe was sticking up out of the ground by the house & is filled with concrete, so whatever that was, it's not in use anymore. As for the hole, it's about 18" across, and though I haven't dug out all the edges yet, some prodding in the dirt that I haven't dug yet seems to indicate that it's pretty much square. I dug down about 3.5-4' before hitting something solid, whether it's concrete or metal or whatever, and there's a drain cover of some sort down there that seems to be hooked to the pipe that's sticking out. I'm thinking it might be an old privy or outhouse hole that was filled in at some point (my house is at least 135 years old, if not older), but I'm not sure what the purpose of the pipes is then. I'm also somewhat curious to break through the bottom & see what's underneath, but don't know if it's worth the effort or if I'd be screwing something up by doing so. Any insight?

Recommend a Swing Set

spitbull — Sat, 03 May 2008 07:16:51 -0800

Children's backyard play structure filter: recommendations wanted. I am looking for a backyard playset/play structure for kids aged 7-10; let's say I have up to $2500 to spend. Requirements: wood, not plastic; slide, 2 swings, deck structure; durability and safety are key considerations. I can assemble (up to light carpentry). Backyard is pretty level already.

Mostly I'm looking for comments from people who have bought one of these things which they either like or hate, with reasons.

Brainstorm ideas for viral marketing video

adriana — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:48:11 -0800

I need help to come up with an idea (or a few) for a viral marketing video for my online backyard store. I have a 2 months old online store selling backyard items (furniture, play sets, garden decor, etc.), and I need to bring more traffic to the site. With the popularity of videos, I think this may be a good way to bring traffic to my site, and get other people to link to it.

But I don't know what will make people go crazy over, and spread the news about my site. I'd love to hear some ideas form others. My only thought was to create a video of sad looking backyards, with broken furniture, overgrown trees, etc, and at the end show a great backyard and add my site's URL.

I am not sure that's the best, so I am looking for any and all suggestions. What do yout think will be a great video to bring a backyard loving crowd to my site?

A Hummingbird-Friendly Backyard.

amyms — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:20:39 -0800

I want my backyard to be hummingbird-friendly. I have hummingbird-friendly flower seeds ready to plant, I have a feeder and I know how to make the sugar water, but I'm mostly interested in determining the best location for the feeder. I want it to be close enough to our patio so that we can see and enjoy the birds, but not so close that our presence scares them away. We have lots of other bird species, as well as other animals, visiting our backyard, but I've always wanted to attract hummingbirds. I've read various things online, but I'd like to hear from people who have been successful. If you regularly have hummingbirds in your backyard, tell me your tips and tricks.

P.S. I've read this thread (the only other AskMe thread tagged with "hummingbirds") but I'm looking for something a little more hummingbird-specific.

I need help with a tagline for my new ecommerce store

adriana — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:49:36 -0800

Can you help me find a great tagline for my new ecommerce store? I am opening a new ecommerce store that will sell backyard related items: patio furniture and lighting, storage sheds, hot tubs, gardening tools, etc.

The name of the business is Better Backyards, and I need help in coming up with a great tag line. Any help very much appreciated.

Should I get a hot tub?

mathowie — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 17:03:45 -0800

As much as it frightens me, I'm really starting to enjoy hot tubs. Would I really use one at home or am I just enjoying them during vacations? I hate hot tubs and hot tub guys. You know the types -- creepy dudes with mustaches from the 1970s that love to get people into their hot tubs. All they talk about is crazy sex stories involving jets and being underwater. I don't want to be that guy.

But over the last year or two, I've begun trying them out whenever my hotel has one. I just got back from a week at the beach renting a house and I looked forward to going for a soak at the end of each day. They're really relaxing and a good way to de-stress the day away before bed and the hot tub did help my aching back after a couple hours of bike riding a couple days ago.

So I'm considering whether or not to get one for my home, but the first obvious question is if it's really a useful thing or is it that during the "fog of vacation" I enjoy them for reasons I won't when I have one at home.

My question to everyone (especially those that already have one) is are they really useful and relaxing? Are they worth the (I'm guessing) $5k or so? Do they help sore muscles?

Preventing a basketball from going over my fence.

creative — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:33:01 -0800

How can I prevent a basketball from going over my fence and into my neighbor's yard? So I just got a basketball hoop for my backyard, and it's super cool, tons of fun, and all sorts of other good things.

Only problem is, despite having a pretty good sized area, the ball ends up going over one of my fences and into one of my neighbor's yards a couple of times per game. As you can imagine, this is ruining some of that "tons of fun" I mentioned earlier.

If the ball goes over the right side fence, it's no big deal. I can easily walk around and get it since I'm quite friendly with that specific neighbor, and it's easily accessible. But, if it goes over the left side or back side fence, I have no way of getting it other than waiting until that neighbor happens to stroll around their backyard and notice a basketball there, and then realize they should throw it over to my side.

This sucks.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has gone through this themselves, or prehaps just happens to have some kind of idea to prevent this from happening.

The fence, by the way, is a 6 foot high wooden fence. Every ball that has made it over so far is within 2 feet of the the top of the fence. Besides getting an 8 foot fence (this 6 foot one is brand new) or stockpiling 10,000 extra basketballs, what can I do?

"We're not raising grass. We're raising boys." Harmon Killebrew

LadyBonita — Thu, 24 May 2007 12:11:36 -0800

For kids (boys) what would make for the coolest back yard ever? Dream your wildest dream and tell me what your fantasy back play yard would have been like when you were a kid... or what your kids love about your backyard now.

We have a bike ramp. We're almost finished building a tree house fort (but what would make that fort exceptional?). We have a huge area of dirt for digging and building projects.

In case it helps, I'll give you an idea of what my kids like to do - but really I'd love to hear what your ideal childhood yard would be--

Our oldest, the 9yo, loves construction (he wants to drive the trucks and just recently used a bag of cement, without permission, to make a 'foundation' for his construction project in the dirt area). He also enjoys inventing and building things (with no help he's made a replica of the Titanic with wood scraps and toilet paper tubes, a gum ball machine out of a glass canning jar & a box, an elaborate 'mouse trap', etc.). He likes using his Heely's and drawing. He is very active, and he's fascinated with bad weather (he wants to take a vacation to 'Tornado Alley')

Our 6yo is pretty laid back but doesn't like to sit still. He'd rather play video games than play in the dirt. He's competitive and likes team sports (soccer and baseball). Right now he's very into 'army' stuff and toy guns. He's also musically talented. His interests are still forming but he needs a lot of variety, challenge and excitement to hold his interest.

The youngest likes doing whatever his brothers are doing - and destroying whatever they're making.

Thanks everyone. I hope to get some great ideas!

How can I really play Monkey in the Middle?

landtuna — Thu, 24 May 2007 09:49:58 -0800

Are these ways of finding the centroid of a backyard equivalent? I've often thought, when mowing the lawn, that if I start along the outside perimeter (ejecting grass outwardly, of course), spiralling inward, that the place where I stopped would be the centroid of my lawn. (This is, of course, ignoring the fact that I have to mow around obstacles.)

I believe the usual definition of the centroid is the point upon which my 2-D lawn would balance, weighting all of the points of the lawn according to their distance from the centroid.

So is the place where the lawnmower ends up the centroid of the lawn? (I'm assuming an infinitesimally small lawnmower.)

Really large chess piece ideas? For large backyard chessboard.

Quarter Pincher — Wed, 23 May 2007 07:36:16 -0800

I am constructing a large backyard chessboard, but can't decide from what to create the pieces. Ideas? I thought about using lawn gnomes for at least the pawns, and painting them all special in black/white schemes, but it turns up they seem a bit expensive (unless you know of a good place to find hollow plastic lawn gnomes en masse). I'd rather not mess with resin.

The workable area is appx 20 ft x 20 ft, meaning room enough for 29" squares, but that may be a skosh large depending on what I use for the pieces. It's gotta be something light enough for a preteen to move, but not fall over in the wind. The tiles will be flat/level concrete (tinted in a checkerboard pattern, of course).

I'd ideally like to have each group (pawns, knights, etc) all be the same item but colored differently (which I can do myself) but doesn't necessarily have to be a specific scheme between groups (such as all being some kind lawn ornament).

I'm not positive where the picture comes from that I was inspired by to make this board, possibly the back cover of a Monkees or Beatles album, but I just always thought it would be cool to make one, and I've got the space for it (and lots of friends who play chess, incidentally).

dogs in the yard!

stormygrey — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 12:55:58 -0800

My house is getting crazy with the dogs, yet I want a backyard I can enjoy. Can you help? I have three crazy dogs . These guys have got to start staying outside some and running off their crazy energy. I love them, but I like my furniture some too.

We have been in this house a couple of years now and we finally cleared the back yard enough to perhaps use some. We will be putting a 6 foot dog ear fence all the way around the back yard. We have a lovely canopy of old growth trees, but therein lies the problem. It is all really shady. What can we plant and grow well? What will be non-poisionous for the dogs? I would really like an asian inspired modern, quite place. I also like the idea of outdoor rooms. Any ideas? Inspiration? What do you have outside that you love.

Additional Info: Intown Atlanta, historic district, about half an acre. view from front part of the yard. view from the deck.

We have a blank canvas (except for that truck chassis!)

What are these plants growing in my yard?

MadamM — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:05:45 -0800

I have two plants growing in my backyard that I've never seen before. I'd like to know what they are. Pictures and specifics inside. I live near Dallas, Texas. Both plants are tall and shrubby in form. I'll refer to them as big plant and little plant for convenience, although both are over five feet tall.

The big plant has large leaves that are shaped like pointed ovals. The leaves feel papery and the underside is slightly fuzzy. The bark is smooth. The form of the plant is one large central stalk/trunk with thinner stalks growing off of it. The thinner stalks have about 8-12 leaves growing off of them in pairs. I have a full length, close up, and close up of a leaf. The leaf in the picture is about 6.5 inches long, but some of the leaves are bigger.

The smaller leaves plant is about the same height but is more delicate. The leaves are smaller and more delicate, but the growth pattern is the same. The sap of the plant has a slightly spicy smell. Again, close up and leaves.

Both plants are the only incidence of these plants in our yard. They both grow in a shaded area. I suppose they could be the same plant (one being younger, I guess), but I don't really know. Can any gardener type people help me figure out what these visitors are?

What don't we know?

-harlequin- — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:20:50 -0800

I would like to make a "scientific discovery", or otherwise contribute something (however useful, or not) to the body of human knowledge. What are some unanswered questions, or unexplained details of the world, or (most especially) developing fields of inquirey, that an amateur might seek to investigate with possibility of making progress into the unexplored? I feel like I do too much backyard science that has all been done before, or tech industry software stuff that, while cutting edge, and thus technically contributing to human knowledge, is a kind of technology-driven innovation that previosuly just lacked a means rather than being non-obvious.

It is pretty clear that there are plenty of unanswered questions if you know your field or know where to look, and plenty of examples of people answering them in ingenious ways that are not beyond the reach of the amateur.

I'm looking for something to investigate that interests me, but there will be things that I don't know about that interest me, hence I'm throwing the question right open. I'm hoping for suggestions in myriad areas, perhaps specific unknowns, a scattergun that will hopefully bring to light something I didn't previously know I was interested in.

Not counting standard consumer stuff like computers, cameras, regular tools, etc, I'd prefer fields that don't require specialised apparatus in excess of $1000 just to get started, but that $1000 is ebay/used/surplus prices, not retail ;)

(If necessary, I am willing to design/build my own instruments/equipment (and am probably more capable of doing so than many professional scientists, though I certainly have my limits), might there might be lower-hanging fruit in areas for which there isn't off-the-shelf equipment?

I've been to Science projects. The Society for Amateur Scientists didn't seem to have much to address this aspect. Any other links? I guess what I'm looking for is some vague way to improve my mental map of the edges of knowledge - so that I can better recognize the unknown when I see it. Or know where it is and go straight to it.

I'm not looking to make some epic discovery. Just work out or confirm some obscure thing that previously wasn't known :)

Is there a way to keep bamboo out?

saucy — Mon, 15 May 2006 04:57:15 -0800

Help us keep bamboo from invading our yard. We just got our first house, and we love it. There's only one major problem: the people who live behind us (our backyards back up to each other) have a massive forest of bamboo in their backyard--we cannot even see their house, the bamboo is so thick.

The bamboo is TALL--it is brushing all of the overhead lines, except the highest (the power lines) and there is a six foot wooden fence separating our yards. Much of the bamboo is already hanging over the fence, and new sprouts are coming up in our backyard in various places. We've been cutting them down as we can, but they are coming right back, and bringing friends.

We are anxious to keep this bamboo from taking over our yard, but obviously there isn't anything we can do about the existing bamboo--as it isn't on our property.

Has anyone had any success with containing bamboo and keeping it from invading your yard?

When clowns and pony rides aren't enough, then what?

FunkyHelix — Sat, 13 May 2006 17:57:43 -0800

I'm looking for easy outdoor party themes and ideas. Do you have a memory of a good outdoor party? What makes an outdoor gathering memorable for you? I finally have our font and back yards where I'm ready to have guests come, it's gotten warm enough, and I'm suddenly feeling social instead of socially retarded. Thus, I'd like to have a small outdoor party.

I'm looking at 13 guests plus the three adults and one toddler that lives here, and we've already stocked up on a case of burgers and hotdogs. Ideally we'll have chicken, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes too.

Break out Uno and board games? Roast marshmallows on the fire pit? Make a fancy dessert or punch? Do I make a little favor?

Ask me to throw a toddler's birthday, and I'm gold. Trying to do something cool for adults seems a bit harder.

Is this squirrel annoying the dog on purpose?

By The Grace of God — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 09:09:39 -0800

Do squirrels deliberately tease, bait, and/or annoy dogs? My landlady has an adorable Jack Russell Terrier named Ralph. On Saturday I had let Ralph outside and five minutes later he began to emit the unholy high-pitched yelping racket that signals that he has found some prey, and will now chase it out of the yard. This carried on for some time, and curious, I went outside.

The yard is a long, fenced back yard with a power-line running across it and into the neighbor's yard. In the neighbor's yard, perched upon the power-line, holding stock still, was a fat squirrel. The squirrel was looking at the dog and flicking his tail. He was not going anywhere (such as the nearby tree), he was standing there as Ralph jumped and yelped harmlessly below. I strode up bellowing and the squirrel jumped into the nearby tree, which silenced Ralph.

Two hours later when I let him out the same thing happened again. Squirrel, same position, same behavior. This time I threw a clod of grass at the vermin. Other house-mates have confirmed sightings as well.

Is this normal squirrel behavior? Why is the squirrel doing this? I can't see any evolutionary advantage to baiting Ralph, or any advantage at all, except for entertainment value.

What kind of hammock should I buy?

intoxicate — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 22:09:48 -0800

Hammocks: My s.o. and I would like to buy a hammock for our backyard. We are going to get a stand for it (since we don't have any hammock-worthy trees), but we can't decide between rope, string or fabric for the hammock itself. Which is most durable? Easiest to get in and out of? Can support two adults comfortably?