I've recently moved from renting an apartment in a complex to renting a privately-owned duplex. It has a little (8 ft by about 15 ft) yard-ish thing right now that I would like to transform into a real yard. The owners won't pay for it, but would be fine with whatever I do to it. The problem is, right now the yard is completely overrun with weeds; everything else gets choked out by them. I don't know what kind of weeds, there's a variety of them. The other problem is that I live in Phoenix and the ground is very hard and dry so pulling the weeds by hand is going to be... difficult if not impossible. I've seen previous yard questions, but I am a special desert-dwelling snowflake and a little bit of a hippy, so I'm looking for more ideas than the "poison the whole thing" that I see in some of the other questions and also Phoenix-specific advice.
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posted by Weeping_angel
on May 5, 2013 -
20 answers
We're starting a new backyard from scratch in the spring (new home with only dirt). We want a backyard that is compatible with our dog, and a toddler.
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posted by blue_beetle
on Jan 26, 2013 -
8 answers
Maybe you know this art print? Years ago I lost a piece of art that I loved but didn't know anything about. It was a sketch of a dry-docked small (single-person? in the perspective it looked to be about a 12-foot craft) sailboat, sail down, in a field of waving shore grass, looking out towards the sea and the back of the boat. The surf was far away, maybe 100 yards or so, and the boat was positioned in the lower right-hand quadrant of the piece though not in the corner. The original medium was was pencil or charcoal on paper. When I see it I think "New England coast" and "loneliness". It was a yellowish-greenish-sepia tone, or perhaps that was just the paper it was litho'd on. I recall it was an official print numbered in pencil on the matting and framed in a low-profile chrome frame. Do you know the work? Can you speculate on the name of the artist? I'd really like to be able to attempt to get another copy.
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posted by carsonb
on Oct 9, 2012 -
8 answers
Sometimes when I run through tall grass it makes my legs itch. Why does this happen?
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posted by gregr
on Aug 21, 2012 -
10 answers
Please help me identify a vase my MIL bought. She was told it's Satsuma.
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posted by wrm
on Dec 22, 2011 -
1 answer
What ground cover will best defy the incursion of my nemesis, grass? Shady (under tree) area in Quebec, Canada.
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posted by Shepherd
on May 28, 2011 -
10 answers
How do I sort out my life priorities (relationships, career, travel) without always feeling like the grass is greener?
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posted by Amistad
on May 8, 2011 -
4 answers
I can't seem to grow grass in my front yard. Is there a kind of grass seed that is foolproof? I don't care what kind of grass it is, I just need it to grow!
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posted by rglass
on Mar 21, 2011 -
13 answers
I was given an electric Toro weed trimmer. It powers up and the motor seems to function fine, but it's missing the part required to hold the wire. What do I need to attach to it? Some part, some cap, a thingy, a doohickey? Not even sure what to search for or ask for at the hardware store.
Here are pictures of its business end. Can you tell me what I need to buy to make this work?
posted by Mo Nickels
on Sep 4, 2010 -
7 answers
First love, 7 year healthy relationship, grass is greener syndrome - how to proceed?
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posted by lichen
on Sep 2, 2010 -
39 answers
How to quickly mitigate a somewhat busted lawn and garden -- and maybe get a small vegetable harvest out of it?
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posted by zvs
on Sep 1, 2010 -
6 answers
We had a new grass lawn put in at the start of the year. Before long, it had developed yellow spots:
pic 1,
pic 2.
A
suspect has been brought in for questioning. She did not confess, only licking the detective on advise of counsel.
Two questions:
1) Is she likely the real culprit?
2) What remedies are available? If it is her, I'd like to note that the whole point of the lawn was so that she could do her business out there. We'll get her a potty pad and encourage her not to go on the grass, but I'm doubtful that she'll always go where we want.
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posted by jewzilla
on Aug 1, 2010 -
10 answers
What do I need to know before overhauling my packed-dirt backyard? Bonus points for inexpensive and green/sustainable suggestions.
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posted by emilyd22222
on Jul 10, 2010 -
6 answers
We have thin and bare spots in our lawn so I had a professional reseed it using "slit" seeding. The problem is the old grass is at least eight or nine inches tall and really needs to be cut, but the new grass still looks too fragile to walk on. So how long should I wait before I mow it? I'm concerned that letting the older grass get too long will make my lawn become coarse or cause other problems.
posted by 14580
on May 24, 2010 -
8 answers
[lawn care filter] I'm new to the world of lawn care. If I use a manual push mower (without a grass catcher) to cut my grass - would I need to rake and bag the cut grass afterwards or can I just leave it where it lies? (more inside)
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posted by cheemee
on Mar 11, 2010 -
16 answers
I'm looking for grass for my backyard, but we have two major problems. The ground is wet pretty much all the time because it's so low. I'm told it barely perked enough when they did the perk test for the septic tank (the main field lines are in the front, only the emergency overflow lines are in the back, and our system is properly sending all liquid to the front). Also, the yard is very shady. Some parts never get sun and at most some parts get 4-5 hours a day. Unfortunately, cutting down trees isn't an option.
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posted by atm
on Sep 28, 2009 -
7 answers
We've been getting molehills in our front garden lately, and we want them to go away. Which anti-mole technology is best for us?
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posted by Artw
on Aug 24, 2009 -
10 answers
anybody know of a grass / synthetic surface for a run in the bay area?
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posted by evanm
on Aug 22, 2009 -
1 answer
I'm thinking of replacing my lawn with artificial grass or some other thing that doesn't require constant upkeep. I'd like to hear your experiences with such horticultural matters.
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posted by reenum
on Aug 13, 2009 -
22 answers
AnswerAnOngoingFamilyArgument-Filter: My sister says one of her highschool history teachers mentioned in class a month or two ago that in China, people use
scissors to cut their lawns instead of lawn mowers. Obviously, this is pretty crazy (right?), but my sister says that's what he said. Is there anything reasonable along these lines that could have been what he really said?
posted by niles
on Dec 24, 2008 -
31 answers
My garden is being overrun by grass. How do I get rid of the grass but keep my existing perennial plants?
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posted by crazycanuck
on Jul 19, 2008 -
14 answers
Did I totally mess up by meticulously preparing our yard with a tracter/box blade, spending days removing rocks and debres, planting 50 pounds of Fescue seed, thereafter covering it with 23 bails of straw, and watering it almost daily, but completely skipping the part about raking the seed into the soil? 7 days and counting.
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posted by passtehbrainz
on Apr 25, 2008 -
13 answers
Here in sunny Florida, my two large dogs tend to wear my back lawn down to the dirt. Is there a grass that recovers easily?
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posted by cmiller
on Feb 20, 2008 -
6 answers
Please help me dramatically update my chosen perfumes. The problem is: my favourite scent is the smell of... soap.
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posted by DarlingBri
on Nov 22, 2007 -
22 answers
How can I kill the grass currently growing in our backyard? We live in the Northeast, and we have a small (15' x 40'?) patch of lawn in our backyard. I'd like to kill all the grass there, and replace it with thyme as a groundcover. I've already found a source for the groundcover.
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posted by deejay jaydee
on Oct 10, 2007 -
19 answers
What is the best thing to plant in the hellstrip/parkway in terms of selling a house? Also, best resources for staging a house to sell?
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posted by sLevi
on Jun 25, 2007 -
8 answers
After years of renting apartments, I have moved up in the world: I am now renting a house. Strangely, the house comes with small organic green things projecting from the ground. Having never been responsible for a lawn before, I don't really know what to do with it. I also have two, I don't know, shrubs (I think). One is low growing, thick, with branches that kind of double as rhizomes, and one might be a juniper. As you can see, I'm pretty clueless. What do I need to know/what must I do/what must I buy to take good care of my lawn and it's various planty inhabitants?
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posted by arcticwoman
on Mar 31, 2007 -
17 answers
Lawn alternatives! Has anyone here tried replacing their high-maintenance grass lawn with an alternative lawn? I've read about some of the no-mow lawn grass types, and I understand other people simply let the moss and clover grow. Have you seen a lawn like this? How did you like it?
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posted by agropyron
on Aug 7, 2006 -
28 answers
