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bullsigh

My Poisoned Yard

bullsigh
16 years ago

Well, not the whole yard--just an area about 10 feet by 20 feet in the back yard. 2 years ago our City decided to spend some of our tax dollars on "rehabilitating" our sewers. This meant digging a gigantic hole in our back yard with one of those huge diggers which spewed noxious exhaust on my holly bushes and caused some of the branches to die--and worst of all, dripped something in the yard--as well as removed all of my top soil and builder's sand and left me with Texas gumbo clay which their heavy machinery compacted. Needless to say I have not been successful in restoring the lawn in this area. Besides, they ruined our back fence and we need to pay to have that replaced before it falls down. They cut rails and dug up posts so they could get their machines into the yard.

Originally the grass in that area was St. Augustine--as is all of our grass. It was established by my mother over 30 years ago when my parents bought this house with stolons the neighbors gave her. It was always lush and beautiful and I took it for granted.

I have tried laying sod that died. I have tried planting plugs that just sit there. I have tried broadcasting Bermuda grass seed which has a very low germination rate. Last winter I planted annual rye grass to try and fix some nitrogen in the soil. Then I had run out of my own sparse knowledge and turned to the web and discovered organic gardening. I think I may have discovered what my problems is--no nutrients in the clay and possible chemical contamination of my soil--although that might have leeched out with the rain by now. So I'm going to try and improve the soil. Money is tight--so we aren't able to do anything expensive--like buy compost.

However, I have bought some "soil activator" and worm castings from a mail order outfit and applied those to the area just today. Last year I bought some night crawlers and released them in the area. I have seen some in other parts of the yard in some plantings we have back there but I don't know if any stayed in the blighted area of the yard.

I think I have come up with an idea on how to make compost cheaply before I invest in any equipment but I'm not sure if it will work. I saved my last batch of grass clippings from the front yard. They are in plastic trash bags. Would it work to innoculate the bags of clippings with some yeast, add a bit of water, and poke holes in the bags? I plan to keep the bags on a brick and cinderblock path and turn them every once in a while. Will this turn my clippings into compost?

Another idea I had was to get one of the root feeders and just plunge it into the earth to aerate the area. The clay in compacted and moss is growing in some areas close to the house where it is shaded.

We have never been organic or chemical here. We just mowed the lawn and trimmed the hedges and swept it up and until the City arrived to fix what wasn't broken we've never had any trouble with growing things just in the builder's sand and what organic material accumulated over the years. It's not fancy but until the City came it was the healthiest looking yard on the block.

It's funny in a way. My Mom always felt deprived because my Dad would not spring for fancy fertilizers or insecticides but it turned out to be the best way to go--results wise. In his early years my Dad made his living as a chemist--and now I'm wondering if he knew something we didn't know--either that or he was just cheap. :) Being a country boy, I don't think he understood how important lawns and such are to us city folk.

Anyway, I'm asking for your opinions on whether or not my cheap composting scheme will work. I plan to try top-dressing the area with the compost when it's done to see if it helps.

I live in Houston, TX in zone 9. We get plenty of rainfall--rarely need to water the lawn unless there is a drought. We have a long warm growing season. We've always kept the St. Augustine cut long and haven't had any problem with weeds. If I see a weed when I'm mowing, I just pull it out and try to get all of the roots. It's usually just dallis grass that comes over from our neighbor who uses a lawn service. (As you might have guessed, Mom doesn't do the yard work anymore, I do it now.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might have and thank you for all of the information I've already gleaned from your posts and conversations.

Bullsigh

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