/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>1916691
you will have to mow any grass. plant a tree if you want less work.

>>1916691
Line the yard with some railroad ties and turn it into a giant ball pit. Just curious - why do you want to avoid mowing? Grass is nice, and mowing is like meditation.

>>1916892
>mowing is like meditation
what size is your yard?

>>1916691
with lows below freezing you really won't be able to keep anything low growing all year round.

you can try something like this, will need to redo the mulch every few years but its quite easy to do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsahhvV8aVM

fyi this dude lives in the mountains of colorado.

>>1916888
Already have one that covers two of the three areas.
>>1916892
Mowing is more of an inconvenience than anything else for me.
>>1916953
It doesn't need to keep all year round just as long as it prevents erosion, keeps weeds from growing, and comes back when it gets warmer. Thanks for the video!

>>1916951
The size of the lawn is immaterial.

>Focus on the lawn, there is nothing but the lawn.

>>1916691
You should consider scattering wildflowers native to your region to encourage wildlife (e.g. pollinators, birds). "Bee bombs" are commercially sold as balls you just chuck in your garden and leave.

>>1916962
>just as long as it prevents erosion
well then something needs to be a ground cover 12 months out of the year. I live in zone 5b and still get erosion in the spring when the snow thaws

Islands of Junipers or whatever shrubbery you like. Just mow paths around them or lay stone. Trim them back every few years.

>>1916691
CUM

>>1916691
Crack open a beer and just mow the grass, faygit.

>>1916981
I would, but I live in the city limits and most plants larger than 6 inches could be considered a "weed". It also doesn't help that my street is the same as the city manager's.
>>1917015
What species is that if you don't mind me asking?
>>1917254
I'm trying to structure my life so that I can spend my free time doing things that I enjoy.

Elfin thyme and wooly thyme are two favorites of mine. They both take quite a while to establish and you need to keep an eye on watering. If a patch dries up it takes a while before it'll fill back in. I've found wooly thyme needs a little less water and grows a bit shorter. I planted a 2'x3' bed of each to test them out as possible ground cover for a large section of my property. Not enough rain water where I am to make either practical in an area where I don't want to water it though.

>>1916691
What about clover? I’m thinking about killing my grass and seeding it with clover this fall/winter.

>in b4 boomers and “muh lawn” and “u should enjoy mowing :)”
Fuck off, these are rental properties. Less mowing=more money I’m not throwing away to some dude to mow a lawn that nobody really cares that much about

>>1917430
Thank you for the suggestions and the advice. I'll be sure to look into them.
A 2'x3' test bed is a great idea!

>>1917443
Clover sounds interesting.

Does anyone have any tips for killing your grass/weeds in preparation for reseeding?

>>1917448
>>1917448
I’m not an expert at all, but my plan is to mow extremely low until the first frost (usually early to mid Novemberish here) in order to really stress the grass out prior to winter. Then in early spring, seed heavily with clover. The idea being not to actually kill the grass, but weaken it to the point that the clover outcompetes it and takes over.

We just let ours go feral over summer and the amount of clover, daisy, buttercup and other stuff that's great for pollinators was awesome. Shame you can't do that if you have some HOA bullshit constraining you.

Mind you, it does become fucking insect central - So if that's not your bag, not recommended.

Lawns are popular because they're one of the lowest maintenance options available to you. Next least while still retaining greenery is probably weed mat, rock cover and a variety of 'show' plants like ferns spread around it. Bunch of effort up-front to convert it though, for a rental just keep fucking mowing the lawn.

What about one of those robot mowers?

>>1917470
Do you think cutting it low to stress the plant would work on crabgrass? It has been quite resilient over the years.

My plan was to soak the ground with brush killer, then water to see what comes up. Then rinse and repeat until it's just dirt which could then be seeded.

And then I need to decide if I'm planting an annual or a perennial. Granted I'm not sure if that will even matter as long as whatever it is comes up before crabgrass.

>>1917471

Yeah, it's the worst thing about living in the city limits. If they didn't care I'd do just as you suggested. But I live on a street with particularly picky people, and doing that would just get me reported.

I don't mind work upfront. The idea is that by putting in the work now I won't have to do it in the future. The area gets mixed sunlight, so I'm not sure if ferns would do okay. I haven't heard of weed mat, or rock cover. I'll have to check them out.

Robotic mower would work fine for my home, but the rental house is surrounded in thick brush, as well as being on a hill- so I double a robotic mower would be able to handle it.
Have you ever used one before?
.

>>1918126
Nah I haven't used one, but I think you're right that they probably only work on flat grass.

The rockery option is pretty straightforward - Buy enough rolls of weed matting to cover your entire lawn, put it down, then get a dump truck full of river stones to cover it. Make a few paths with wood chips if you like, and plant in some hardy plants wherever you like by moving the stones aside and cutting an 'x' through the weed mat into the soil below.

The main flaw with this method is if there are trees above that drop a lot of leaves. If you don't clear them (blower), eventually new soil builds up in the rocks and weeds start sprouting back out of them.

>>1917448
>Does anyone have any tips for killing your grass/weeds in preparation for reseeding?

Cover it with black plastic. Heat of the sun and lack of moisture should kill it off in a few weeks.

>>1916691
cover it in concrete that's what a guy I used to know did because he was also a lazy fucker.

>>1917448
clover and dicondria are ok but highly susceptible to heat and they die if you so much as walk near them with weed killer.

>>1916691
Fill the yard with large dildos

>>1918724
Do you think 90ºF weather would be too much for them?

>>1918727
Not the worst suggestion I've gotten so far. Granted I live in a small mountain town, so they'd probably burn me at the stake for that.

Mow it you pig.

>>1916691
Grass? Forget that. Take the mosspill.

>>1919518
Too much sun. Any other pills haha?

>>1916691
what about wild flowers? or ground cover

>asking a Azerbaijani boomer bonsai shrub board about how to get around cutting grass

>>1919530
Wild flowers would get me hazed by the HOA.
Groundcover seems like a good choice. Any suggestions species wise?

>>1919540
I didn't know where else to ask. Is there a better board for this?

>>1920123
species: vinca

>>1920188
Thanks. I'll look into it!

>>1917443
>planting clover

You gonna take up beekeeping too?

>>1920960
I would, but HOA probably has some ridiculous regulation prohibiting it. The city will come knocking on my door like- "Hey there, we've received a complaint about some loud buzzing noise. You wouldn't happen to be keeping bees back here, would you?"

Rock lawn. It's cheapish. Bland too.

>>1917448
Ot ground clear 2 is organic, ammonium nanonate

>>1921379
I would do gravel, but weeds can take root in it pretty easily, especially since I live on the edge of a forest which gives my yard a lot of leaves.

>>1921384
Thanks, I ended up using Killzall super concentrate, and got pretty decent results but I like the one you listed since it's rainproof.

Maybe grow food on your lawn so that way removing plants isn't a chore, but something you look forward to.

>>1920188
the devil himself, everybody. lets hear a round of applause for our special guest, satan!

>>1921379
but muh sedum, muh portulaca, muh opuntia, is... is.. is pretty! (unironically)

>>1926107
Is vinca not a good choice?

>>1916691
Juniperus conferta

I use micro clover. About an acre. I will never go back to having a grass lawn.

>>1926679
This, plant clover and you'll use less water and never have to mow again

>>1926679
what happens in the winter when the clover dies back? Do you notice any washout during snow/rain?

>>1926771
This. Does it just come back like grass?

>>1916691
look at what grows locally, in nature. or do a rock garden with sand n shit