Temporary Garden solution -- good idea?
I recently cleaned out my garden, which looked somewhat like the Tsunami hit it. It’s now level, relatively, but the dirt that remains is still a mish mash of stones, old concrete, and unhealthy loooking dirt. I wouldn’t want to roast a weiner while standing on it. Ultimately, I want to pave it over with…
I recently cleaned out my garden, which looked somewhat like the Tsunami hit it. It’s now level, relatively, but the dirt that remains is still a mish mash of stones, old concrete, and unhealthy loooking dirt. I wouldn’t want to roast a weiner while standing on it.
Ultimately, I want to pave it over with brick, bluestone, or decorative concrete, but it’s not really in my budget right now. (I closed in march and am doing a remodel.) I was thinking of a temporary solutiion of laying over some new top soil and planting grass. It’s not a huge area, just 18×25 and about 20 feet away from the house. (don’t ask what’s in between…)
My question really is: would planting grass be a mistake if I ultimately want to pave it over? I was also thinking about gravel. I want a place to put a picnic table and grill until I can deal with a long-term solution.
Any tips appreciated.
if you can figure out a way to budget for the garden while doing the remodel, you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble. we did our remodel first, and then the garden, removing dirt and old concrete. the new floors took a beating. you may be able to find free bricks on craigs list..that’s where i got rid of the extras from my yard.
also, we tried grass seed, and then sod. it was a great idea, but like the other poster said, it really needs perfect conditions and a ton of water and work to have it look good.
It will take at least three years to grow a grass lawn from seed- so not a temporary surface.
Maybe put down a roll of fake grass carpet.
Mulch is not usually put down where you are walk as it will stick to you shoes, get scuffed around, and the tree bark type is too coarse for walking on. Its purposes are to hold weeds down ( by preventing light from reaching them) and holding moisture in the ground to help desired plants. It is usually put on soil of some sort. It will decompose into the soil itself over time, and then it is necessary to add more. Gravel, on the other hand, doesn’t decay and must be removed when you are done with it. If it has become mixed in with soil it can be unpleasant to remove.
I gotta say, grass is a pain. I have a tiny oval (10′ x 8′) that I spend an inordinate amount of time fussing over. Dug down and seriously amended the soil, prepped for the sod v. carefully, fertilized, overseeded, and still it looks pretty crummy. Light (shade is a challenge) and soil conditions are critical. And don’t even talk to me about how much water it requires. If it’s a temporary solution you’re looking for, I’d go with gravel. Good luck.
OP Here:
Great suggestions. About the wood mulch, is that something you can hang out on, put a grill and chairs on, etc? (I’m a lifelong apartment dweller, so thanks for humoring me.)
Thanks again.
Gravel is good for short term but if you leave it over a year or so it will begin to accumulate debris (leaves, twigs) and these will be able to support plant life – i.e. weeds. At this point you have to start weeding your gravel, and that is not fun. So short term good, long term not good.
I’m midway through laying down gravel. Cost effective and will look nice. Cutting in some big flower beds and edging them to break up the unformity. Gravel for my 20×50 yard is 4-500 bucks. And easy for a non-handy person like myself to do.
Grass in a back yard I think is tough to keep nice – from the small sample of yards I can see from my deck. Also requires a lot of watering and some chemicals, both of which I’d rather not use.
What about putting down the weed block fabric and just put down some kind of wood mulch over it for this year? You could put down some flower containers in strategic spots to add something pretty to look at. It also means that next year when you want to do the patio that it won’t mean digging up anything with roots.
Best of luck!
I did the same thing except that I got rid of the debris as I dug down and leveled the earth.
Once the yard was clean and level, the weeds just wanted to come up. I had to fight the weeds every two weeks for almost a year. It was worth it though.
I’m about to lay my new stone patio and I read up that you have to remove all the roots that are under the patio. Any root over 1/2″ in diameter has to come out or it will come out later and damage the patio or its foundation. So I was lucky that I didn’t let anything grow.
I would suggest that if you are going to let it sit, consider putting some gardeners fabric over the cleared earth, then put soil and sod over that. Overlap the edges of the fabric 6″.
The grass will strangle most of the weeds from growing and the gardeners fabric won’t allow anything to grow from underneath it.
Later on, you can rip up the sod and literally pickup the fabric and get back the earth that you see today.
That’s what I would try. I don’t know for sure if it would help. If anyone else knows better, please share.