Lawn, Begone! An Update

 

Lawns can be a soothing, oasis of green. However, lawns can be a water hog and a time usurper (mowing, fertilizing, weeding). And time is something we all could use a bit more of. And frankly, if one has a large lawn, why not remove one-third of it and put it to a better purpose, while reducing water use and increasing free time?

This was our goal for 2009. And by Memorial Day weekend of 2010, Mission Accomplished! Here's what we did, along with a 2012 recap of the successes and failures in that area:

June-July 2009: Kill off 1600 square feet of our 5000 square foot lawn, an area dominated by every gardener's perennial nemesis, bermudagrass. Because of the surrounding trees and shrubs, as well as possible adverse health effects using an herbicide weed killer such as glyphosate (Roundup), we chose to organically rid ourselves of that lawn, using soil solarization (complete instructions at that website). 

A piece of advice, learned the hard way: yes, you could purchase a clear plastic drop cloth from the paint aisle at the big box store, and it would work...for a couple of weeks. After that, it deteriorates in the sun to the point where it becomes confetti-like, ripping and flying in the slightest breeze. Choose a clear plastic that has been treated to withstand UV rays.

September 2009 (hey, I never claimed to be a fast worker): After much discussion asking ourselves the question, "now what?", we bring in the professionals for design ideas. We would choose our own plants; design, though, is not our strong suit. Landscape Designer Colleen Hamilton from Bloomin' Landscape Designs drew up the plan, along with landscape contractor Dave Rhodes from Rhodes Landscape Design, who did the installation.

November 2009: The destruction/construction process begins. The crew from Rhodes Landscaping used a sod cutter to remove the root area of the bermudagrass. The pathways, brick patio, lighting and garden fountain are installed. 

After the crews left, we wheelbarrowed in 15 yards of compost, and topped that with 10 yards of an organic mulch, walk-on bark. And then we wait to see how the area drains after a heavy rainstorm.

February 2010: Glad we waited before planting. There were a couple of puddles still standing in the area, 24 hours after several days of heavy rain. Digging a sump (a deep hole, lined and filled with river rock) in those two small areas solved that dilemma.

March-April 2010: Retrofit the sprinkler irrigation system, and convert it to a drip irrigation system. Cap off three of the five sprinkler heads in the area; convert the remaining two with drip irrigation adapters. Lay half-inch drip line in the area where we plan to plant.

April-May 2010: Choose plants! Mostly edible ornamentals. An excellent resource for this information is Rosalind Creasy, who has written several books on the topic. For the blueberries, which required excellent drainage and very acidic soil, we brought in three cattle watering troughs, with large holes drilled in the bottoms of the containers. Several varieties of citrus were planted directly into the ground. Ground cover along the pool walkway included varieties of oregano.

June 2010: We watch it grow, while using a lot less water! Best of all, the bermudagrass hasn't showed its ugly head...yet.  Now, about that patio furniture...

June 2012 Update: Impressive.This soil solarization project , in combination with the addition  of compost and mulch, has mostly thwarted the return of the bermudagrass. On the rare occasion some slinks through to the surface, it pulls up easily.

Biggest mistake of this project...Forgetting to install a drainage system. Oops. The wet winter of 2010-2011 turned the area into a shallow lake, with the mulch threatening to float into the pool. The addition of a sump pump, resting on plywood, kept the mulch in place during rainstorms later in that winter.

So....Rhodes Landscaping returned in December 2011 and installed solid drain pipes that led the water far, far, away.

 This past winter? No problems!

And, of course, some plants did not take kindly to this revamped area...specifically, the citrus, which froze to death. A post mortem of the oranges, pummelos and mandarins turned up this interesting fact: that area gets four degrees colder than the garden area just 25 feet away. That was just enough extended cold (22-24 degrees, for four or more hours), to kill off most of the citrus trees.


We've replaced the dead citrus with some beautiful edible ornamentals that are dormant in the winter, including this Garden Gold miniature peach. The sole surviving citrus, a Centennial kumquat, is on the left side of the picture. Also thumbing it's nose at winter in the kumquat container: the cascading Shock Wave Coral Crush petunia, which survived the cold.

Oh, and notice the new patio furniture!

 

Drain That Rain!

     The National Weather Service has the storm flag flying for Northern and Central California next week. Two storms are headed our way, according to the 16 km infrared Western U.S. satellite map : a small, cold one late this weekend; then, further out in the western Pacific, is a huge band of moisture that may or may not dump on us (depends on the northerly movement of the high pressure area over us now).

When storms come blowing and pouring through our area each winter, think about this: Where is all that water going when it lands in your backyard? If that precipitation is going nowhere, here are some tips to protect your prized outdoor plants located in low lying areas from getting waterlogged roots:

• Enjoy the rain...from indoors. Working in wet soil causes soil compaction.

 • If the source of the standing water is the runoff from the roof gutters that are dumping next to the house's foundation, buy some flexible plastic extension pipes and attach these to the end of the gutters, directing the runoff to another area less prone to flooding, at least six feet away from the house.

 • Amending your garden area with porous material also will aid drainage. When the soil is dry enough to work, add organic soil amendments, such as compost. Till these materials in as deep as possible.

 • Dig a sump. A hole that is dug in the lowest portion of your yard, a hole that penetrates through all the layers of hardpan (usually 2-4 feet below the surface), can help drain away stormwater. Line the hole with a non-porous material (hard plastic sheeting, for example) to keep the surrounding dirt from falling back into the hole. Fill the hole with small rocks, about one inch in diameter.

 • If it's the lawn area that's flooding, dig a trench and lay a drain line in the lowest area of the lawn. Don't do any digging immediately after a heavy rain, though; wait until the soil dries enough to avoid unnecessary soil compaction. Be sure to slope the perforated drain pipe, allowing at least a one foot drop for each 100 feet of length (one quarter-inch per foot). Dig backwards from where the water will exit the pipe, trenching back towards the source of flooding to help determine how deep to lay the drain pipe. Line the trench with a few inches of gravel, both above and below the pipe. For a lawn area, try to lay the pipe at least two feet below the surface.

 • If it's the garden bed that's flooding, consider building raised beds this fall, lining the bed with 2X8, 2X10 or 2X12 redwood planks. Capping off the top of these boards with 2X6 redwood will give you a comfortable place to sit while harvesting vegetables and pulling weeds.

 • If you haven't planted in a flooded area yet, consider creating mounds first, planting trees and shrubs on the top of the mounds.

 • If you're still stuck with pools of standing water after heavy rains despite your best efforts, consider planting trees and shrubs that can take "wet feet". Water-tolerant trees for our area include birch, sweet gum, magnolia, tupelo and coast redwoods. Shrubs for wet areas include thuja and red twig dogwood.

Landscape designer Michael Glassman offers these tips for improving drainage in your yard  (downloadable audio segment runs 13 minutes).