Preparing for the Nice Weather and "Grass Issues"
Thanks! Jacqui |
|
|
| I have the same problem with the grass- I am in the middle of reseeding- I do half the yard, then let the dogs go to that side while I do the other half, but as soon as they go to the new side, it's not long before its brown again- so I'll follow this thread closely. : ) |
| Me too! I have 2 girls and a small yard. Lola and Lily were also fond of digging to China together. So far Maggie seems indifferent to making holes everywhere. |
Only way I know to prevent it is to give them their own area (preferably fenced) & replace the grass with crushed limestone  |
| It's not acid or pH, but rather nitrogen and no pill is going to solve that problem since is comes from the breakdown of protein in the dog's food. Here's an article since I'm too lazy and rushed for time to give my usual epistle:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/turf/dog_lawn_problems.html Things to remember: Number of dogs Sex of dogs, girls drop, boys spray and kill the shrubs Lawn variety Water Other factors: compaction from dogs upon the lawn, lawn disease |
ChSheepdogs wrote: Only way I know to prevent it is to give them their own area (preferably fenced) & replace the grass with crushed limestone Does limestone drain better than other types of rocks or crushed rocks? I'm looking for suggestions for a good draining dog run, which will actually be the whole backyard. I give up on having grass. I'm sick of having mud and messes. I just don't care about grass enough to have it anymore, especially since there's not much left anyway. |
| Limestone is absolutely the way to go. Doesn't ever develop an odor either. We did 3 inches of limestone followed by 3 inches of pebbles so it was softer on feet, and looked nicer. It does drain better too I think... Re grass.... I think if you have more than one dog it's a given you're going to have dead spots on the lawn. |
willowsprite is right on the money.  |
| Drainability depends more on stone size...and shape...than variety. Of course what is indigenous to your area is the way to go unless it's a "clayey" stone like shale. So granite, limestone are fine. Remember.......deeeeeep. The deeper the profile, the better it will drain. The point where the gravel contacts the subsoil will always be wet due to surface tension differences..no matter if the gravel was below and soil on top. So to get the best drainage, put as much as you can down. The more you put down, the less likely the subsoil will start creeping up. To avoid that, if you can afford landscape weed barrier fabric....or even more expensive, drainage mat, that will help keep the soil and rocks from mixing over time. Also make sure the area can drain, maybe with tile assistance? to a lower area. You don't want the kids' potty or play area where the rest of the yard drains into. Now what I was getting at in the first sentence, the coarser the stone, the more pore areas between the rocks to allow water and air to penetrate. The reason clay soil is so difficult to drain is the microscopic size of each particle and their saucer like shape. Think stuck together saucers. Sand drains quickly because the particle size is huge and the edges coarse. Enough drainage class today. |
| We fenced off a section of our yard straight out from a rarely used door to the outside. Very nice to be able to open the door and let the gang right out into a safely fenced area. It has no gates (originally was planned, but decided safer not to) to the outside. It was an established lawn, but rapidly was worn down (we have lots of dogs using it). I compromised with mulching the area. I reapply it several times in the warmer months to prevent mud from coming through. Winter:  A picture out the door of the porch. I also have a large commercial entry rug leading out to the fence, before the mulch. The wood sections are 2 prebuilt fence sections I put like chute out from the door frame - it gets the fencing severl feet away from the house, so the dogs aren't jumping on the siding or digging there. (we were reapplying mulch - that's what the wheelbarrow is there for)  the lawn outside the fence (see posts on left side of the house - that's the dog yard)  They play out there too, but only when we're out in the yard.  Growing up, my parents had a large, freestanding kennel run for the dogs, in addition to the 4 regular runs (cement floor with sloped drainage, gutter and septic). That one had a base of limestone and it worked fabulous and lasted for YEARS. I would have loved to do it in this dog yard, but it is way too big. I looked into pearock as an alternative, but all the surrounding quarries had big contracts with a major 4 lane highway project - so none available.  Mulch was the next choice, and it has worked out. |
| How jealous am I of dawns yard? |
SheepieBoss wrote: It's not acid or pH, but rather nitrogen and no pill is going to solve that problem since is comes from the breakdown of protein in the dog's food. Here's an article since I'm too lazy and rushed for time to give my usual epistle: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/turf/dog_lawn_problems.html Things to remember: Number of dogs Sex of dogs, girls drop, boys spray and kill the shrubs Lawn variety Water Other factors: compaction from dogs upon the lawn, lawn disease Kinda funny someone grabbed a website from my school. We found the only thing that works for us is just lots of watering esp. after they've peed and then replacing the yellow spots. My husband only had to do this a few times throughout the summer. We always had green grass. Not sure how dedicated he'll be to do it this year. We definitely keep talking about making a designated space for peeing/pooping. |
cinemarco wrote: How jealous am I of dawns yard? You mean the yard that's under 10 feet of snow currently??!!  Say it with me now: "California is worth it, California is worth it"...come on! Like you MEAN it!  |
SoCal of the 1940/50s but not now. Too many people! Then again, once you have your Big One you'll be an island.......and everything costs more to be ship overseas.  |
SheepieBoss wrote: SoCal of the 1940/50s but not now. Too many people! Then again, once you have your Big One you'll be an island.......and everything costs more to be ship overseas. LOL. I am not a HUGE fan of Southern California. I have made it work for me out of necessity. My husband is in the oil service business and this is where we need to be. We actually tried selling our house and moving to Austin, TX. Unfortunately, the market tanked the WEEK we put it on.  |
LolasMama wrote: cinemarco wrote: How jealous am I of dawns yard? You mean the yard that's under 10 feet of snow currently??!! Say it with me now: "California is worth it, California is worth it"...come on! Like you MEAN it! Thanks, Mark. Yes, it is well buried at the moment! But, I do love a nicely mowed green lawn. And we have a HUGE one! The joys of living on a farm, guess it makes up for all the spring mud yet to come....... |
| I think most Californians have yard envy with people from other states. Most of us have such small ones here. Oddly, Lily taught Lola how to dig. Between the two of them, they turned my backyard into a wasteland. Lily has not dug a thing since Lola died. Not once. Maggie doesn’t seem to even think of it yet. I am waiting before I sound the all clear to rehab the backyard though.  PS: LOVE the pic of Chewie with the shamrock antenna's! |
ButtersStotch wrote: ChSheepdogs wrote: Only way I know to prevent it is to give them their own area (preferably fenced) & replace the grass with crushed limestone Does limestone drain better than other types of rocks or crushed rocks? I'm looking for suggestions for a good draining dog run, which will actually be the whole backyard. I give up on having grass. I'm sick of having mud and messes. I just don't care about grass enough to have it anymore, especially since there's not much left anyway. It has worked for us quite well. I will note tho' that I have comercial grade landscaping plastic under the entire run, framed in with outdoor wood to minimize the stone from getting kicked out thru the chain link fencing. The landscaping plastic keeps the weeds & mud from coming thru (except for where we overlayed the edges) yet lets water & liquid drain thru nicely. It takes a lot of snow melting all at once or a really heavy rain for us to notice any water puddles & that is generally where the dogs have moved the stone around & it is thinner. Only down side is every so often we have to get out there & rake the stone around as it does tend to get moved from the center areas to the edges with 3 (and sometimes lots more) large dogs racing around the run. |
Pictures Marilyn?? Sounds nice  |
got sheep wrote: Pictures Marilyn?? Sounds nice I'll try to download some from home later today. Right now I'm at work. I think I have some from when Jim was actually working on it so there would be some "work in progress" pictures. The hardest part physically was when we had to wheel the limestone in wheelbarrows from the turnaround into the dog run. We were a lot younger than we are now & I can remember our legs aching so much we wanted to cry |
| I can relate to the aching legs and arms.... I hauled wheelbarrow loads too from the driveway when I made this landscape area. Landscape cloth underneath, chickweed killed before that. I did this alone too - as it was my bright idea and Todd was working 12 hr shifts. It paid off though, as it was high traffic right out the door and with crappy soil that only grew chickweed. We replanted many times, I just finally gave up.... and went w/ rock. The chickweed side, w/ the rock in the background   and from the opposite side  |
| That looks wonderful Dawn! Im debating this same thing for our yard. Grass really doesnt do well here, and I hate taking care of it, just so the dogs can potty there! Ive been trying to figure out how to make rock not look too "industrial". |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|