Landscaping/Gardening Thread.

[mdubz]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Can you fence off between the side of your house and the existing fence to make a dog run? Should be pretty cheap and easy. Would also contain the crap, too.

That's actually a great idea. I could build a little staircase off the side of our deck just for the dog. This would lead to a little fenced in area on the side of the house.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by mdubz

Anyone have any tips on getting rid of and preventing dog pee grass burns? We put sod into our back yard late last year, and a quarter of it is already yellow from the dog's pee. I have tried purchasing "Dog Rocks" for the dog's water, but have had little success with it.

Dog Rocks worked great for my lab. Are you sure they didn't work?

[morgin]

doesnt look like there has been a request for a landscaper referral the last few pages. Looking for a company that can do a resod with new topsoil (and take away old dead sod), design a garden, install trees and shrubs, maybe some lighting, etc. anyone had any recent experience?

[J pold]

Anyone know a good arborist? I have some old tress in my yard that are in need of a good pruning.

[me_dennis]

how do i win the war against weeds? I've tried the weed be gone spot treatment, but the next day, new dandelions popped up. What's the best way to prevent the weed seeds from germinating?

[photon]

Best way seems to be to have a lawn that out-competes them. In the years that I've had fertilization of the lawn done I've never had weed issues.. the fertilization place usually says they'll come do spot treatments for weeds but I've never had to call them.

[mrkajz44]

For weeds on the lawn its just a combination of a strong lawn through fertilization, and a couple of spot treatments yourself as your cut the grass throughout the year (I use killex, but weed be gone is probably the same). Fertilizing yourself is super easy too; I have one of the hand held ones and it probably takes me 15 minutes or less from start to finish to do. I do it four times a year (twice in spring and twice in fall) and you don't need to water, plus you can walk on it right after too. I rarely see a dandelion on my grass now.

As for weeds in your garden, I'll all ears for trying to fix that issue.

[V]

Anything you're allowed to use in the city is garbage. Par3 is amazing, but you gotta be country folk to be allowed to use it.

[Calgary14]

Looking for a place to buy some swedish aspen trees, any recommendations? Is there any difference between Canadian Tire, Costco etc as far as quality goes?

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

Looking for a place to buy some swedish aspen trees, any recommendations? Is there any difference between Canadian Tire, Costco etc as far as quality goes?

I am not a big fan of Costco...they do have good prices though.

I have had good luck with Canadian Tire...pretty good prices a well. Be aware of the fact that they don't guarantee their trees.

If you want a guarantee, Sunnyside Nurseries has about the best.

[return to the red]

as said earlier, the best weed defense is healthy turf.

Slow release fertilizer usually last about 8-10 weeks depending on different factors such as mechanical processes (mowing and walking on), watering and soil temperature.You can also increase your mowing height as cutting turf short stresses the turf,longer turf also requires less watering.

In regards to trees, Canadian Tire has great prices but 1 important thing to consider is the climate that much of their nursery stock comes from. Many cedars and other trees are grown in the interior BC with milder winters and grown in containers, your local nurseries have stock that is obviously already adapted to the Alberta weather and have a greater success rate of thriving.

[Ducay]

Anyone ever successfully figure out a solution to reduce or mitigate dew worms & their damage?

They're the ones that leave hard clay piles on top of the soil, that make the lawn lumpy (and more importantly) bury the grass and leave a nice little clay patch.

Few places suggest sprinkling gypsum on the clay piles to break them down, but there is little else beyond going nuclear I can find.

Currently top-dressing and overseeding so something beyond 'keep a healthy lawn' would be appreciated.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by V

Anything you're allowed to use in the city is garbage. Par3 is amazing, but you gotta be country folk to be allowed to use it.

If you do your a.i. math you can mix Killex concentrate to be the exact same thing as Par 3.

Not going to pretend like it's not going to cost a whole lot more, but the effectiveness will be there.


EDIT: Having just done that math, Killex's label mix rate is actually more potent (albeit very slightly) than Par 3's label rate. Just costs a whole lot more for Killex.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by V

Anything you're allowed to use in the city is garbage. Par3 is amazing, but you gotta be country folk to be allowed to use it.

Probably a dumb question, but how would anyone know?

[You Need a Thneed]

I picked this trimmer/blower combo up today, with a 25% open box discount.

https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.b...001004912.html

I'm glad I picked up something that I already have other batteries that fit it. Lots of trimming to do in my yard. I could have bought a different brand, but then I have one battery, and the charges take 4-5 hours instead of 30 minutes.

[Calgary14]

I planted 4 swedish aspens (7 gallon) this weekend; I got them at Canadian Tire and they were $69 each. The trees look great but I grossly underestimated the amount of work required to dig 4 holes

[V]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Probably a dumb question, but how would anyone know?

When I buy Par3 at UFA I have to show my license with my rural address.

I know up here if you get caught using Par3 in the city it's a pretty big fine.

[Suzles]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Anyone ever successfully figure out a solution to reduce or mitigate dew worms & their damage?.

A top dressing of sand helps as they have soft bodies and the sand irritates them.

[kevman]

I've never heard of Par3 before but it is the same active ingredients (2,4 D, Dicamba and Mecropop) as Killex.

After some extensive research on the topic I'm a big fan of spraying weeds if done responsibly. The reason so much of "the good stuff" is banned is from poor application practices. Weed and feed was great in theory but people over used it because of the fertilizer component. You can still fertilize and spray weeds independently and achieve the same results. All of the selective herbicides can and will leach into the water system when over dosed. In my opinion on an average lawn all that is ever needed is spot treatment. I use Killex to control Bellflower. For simpler weeds like Dandelions I've found the eco products work fine.

As for the cost of Killex you can buy the concentrated format and mix it yourself. It's far cheaper that way and my 1L Killex has lasted me a few years of spot treatment.

Fun fact: 2,4 D was one of the two active ingredients in Agent Orange.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by kevman

I've never heard of Par3 before but it is the same active ingredients (2,4 D, Dicamba and Mecropop) as Killex.

After some extensive research on the topic I'm a big fan of spraying weeds if done responsibly. The reason so much of "the good stuff" is banned is from poor application practices. Weed and feed was great in theory but people over used it because of the fertilizer component. You can still fertilize and spray weeds independently and achieve the same results. All of the selective herbicides can and will leach into the water system when over dosed. In my opinion on an average lawn all that is ever needed is spot treatment. I use Killex to control Bellflower. For simpler weeds like Dandelions I've found the eco products work fine.

As for the cost of Killex you can buy the concentrated format and mix it yourself. It's far cheaper that way and my 1L Killex has lasted me a few years of spot treatment.

Fun fact: 2,4 D was one of the two active ingredients in Agent Orange.

Agree - I generally just use a spray bottle and mix my own from a bottle of Ready to Spray (attaches to hose) Weed-B-Gon, that has the same 3 active ingredients. Basically mix it to a bit under double the strength that it comes when you buy it pre-mixed for spritzing. If I see any weeds emerging, they get a targeted spritz. Easy peasy and very little herbicide is needed and doesn't impact the turf grass.