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Planting on my lawn

moruga

moruga

I have a rather large backyard- 50 X 100. My idea is to set aside the back 50 X 50 lot and put my pepper plants there. My question is- how do I turn a grass backyard into a growing area for plants? My idea was to buy that black roll of plastic you put over plants to kill them and cut holes every 3 feet or so for a plant. Will this work? Lay down black plastic, cut holes and plant them there? Or should I get a few tons of top soil?

My lawn slopes downward for 100 feet perhaps 10 feet from the back of the backyard to the house. That is, the parking spot at the back of the backyard is 10 feet higher than the main floor of this house. One thought I had was to cut the backyard in half with railroad ties and make a 4 foot wall, then drop topsoil on the back to give me a two-tiered backyard that's more level. It's expensive and a lot of labor, but if it gives me a growing area it might be worth it. My current plan is to put the peppers in 5 gallon buckets, that way I can put them in the house over the winter. But buckets are $3.00 each and I want 100+ plants... so do I need the bucket or not? Help!
 
Yep, that'll work... leave the plastic down for a couple of weeks to make sure the grass is good and dead so it doesn't compete with the pepper plants for nutrients.

If it were me, I'd go rent a tiller and till up the dirt, remove the grass to the root, and then make rows. Should be able to rent on e for a day or two for pretty cheap. Definitely much cheaper than buying top soil.

Or you could always build an above ground bed. Lay out your gardening fabric (serves the same purpose as the plastic, preventing weed and grass growth and such, but allows the water to drain through it), put up a treated wood frame around it (about 12 inches high), then fill it with soil and have at it!

BTW.... sounds like you're gonna have a great grow... you're putting a lot of thought and commitment behind it! Welcome to the addiction!

I'm stuck with buckets and planters because I don't have a gardenable yard. But I'd love to have the space to plant in ground. I miss my acreage so much! The plants will need less watering in the ground than in buckets
 
I want one plant per 4 feet in the backyard. Or put differently, each plant that's planted has 2 feet of room on all sides of it to grow. This layout yields: 50 X 50 = 144 plants 17.36 square feet per plant. So the way to go is to lay down that black stuff and dig holes every 4 feet for plants?? I would rather put them in the ground than in buckets- 144 buckets is $432.00. I can over-winter them in September and buy buckets then. What do you guys think?
 
I say go for it. Lay down your mat, cut a 4 inch "X" in the mat everywhere you want to put a plant, and have at it! Some grass will still grow through the "Xs" , but you can manage that by pulling it as it pops up.
 
Do you still want a wife ?? Turning a lawn into a pepper patch ?? Pure madness

What you want to do with the plastic will work. After you layout the bed /beds ... use that plastic that's left over or what you just used on any spots that may hard to get to later .

Good luck & Peace
P.Dreade
 
I would till the soil, but a garden on a hill can be challenging. Erosion could be a problem.

I would also recommend having your soil tested, and amending it accordingly.
 
If your going to lay down a mat, use a quality landscape fabric, not the home depot junk. I would also rent a good tiller before hand. For my customers and for myself I only install products from terrafix, luckily for me they are based out of Toronto, and their products are standard for all landscape contractors here, me being one of them. I would suggest a woven geotextile if you don't want water to permeate through, or a filter fabric, which will let water through. For rolls that are ~4'x360' of filter fabric are about $100, and 11' x 300' ft rolls are ~$300. Home depot junk deteriorates quickly. I would contact one of your local landscape supply stores and ask them where you can get a quality fabric. Most landscapers install this stuff everywhere they want water to flow through but not soil; gardens, retaining walls, etc. Plastics are no good, UV will destroy them quick. Landscape fabric and woven textiles however are black, and can get quite hot. Filter fabric does breath which may be better in your situation. I would go with landscape fabric over anything that doesn't permeate. Woven geotextile is good if your concerned about erosion but you may run into ponding on the surface, there are also a bunch of ways to avoid erosion too. Post a picture of your layout and where you are located so I can better understand what we are trying to accomplish here. Also what is your budget for this? If this were my house, I would use a sod cutter, and strip the weeds and grass off. I would till whats underneath and then build a PT 4x4 barrier to box in the the area and then line the 4x4's with filter cloth. I would want at least 6" of quality soil, for this I would truck in 92 Yards of premium soils. 50'x100'x.6')/27=92 cu/yd About 3 1/2 Tri Axle dump truck loads. Also make sure you get contractor pricing for that much volume. For that quantity of solid you would need to rent a bobcat or dedicate a few days with a walk behind machine.
 
I need something that I can do that's not going to make me insane or go broke doing. In fact, I am debating whether to over-winter them or just kill them and start a new crop... is there a difference?

I am willing to lay material down to make a garden and make holes in it then till the holes then plant the plant. Is that a happy medium?

I mean, I could go nuts with the backyard but don't want to start a project too big to fufill.
 
^Yeah, do you know much about the soil in your backyard? Even fertile soil could be in need of some amendments to improve its structure, pH, drainage, etc. Mulch is also worth considering if you're thinking of planting in-ground, instead of 5-gals. I only suggest because it sounds like you may be willing to spend a few bucks on the project. Hope it pays off! I've just got 22 plants this year, and that's still a lot of 5-gals for me to have to pot up. You should start a Grow Log when you get things started!
 
Here is my backyard:
backyard_zps96728d21.jpg
The red box is the back half of the lawn which is 50 X 50. The area has a 5% slope towards the house. The shed directly in the back is the end of my property- it's not my shed. Years ago I tried planting corn in the backyard but it didn't come up good. This is the area I would like to turn into a field. ALSO- on the middle right you see a stroller, below that is a 4 X 4 planter- I grew jolokias there years ago.

This would be where I would lay railroad ties and build up a 2 foot wall, then have tons of dirt dropped in the back half of the backyard for crops. I don't know what that would cost, and it may be overkill.
 
Honestly it all depends on how your growing, organic, or you gonna use synthetic fertz. If you were growing organic I wouldn't till the soil. I'd just strip the sod and turn the soil over with a pitchfork. You can also send in a soil sample to get tested. It would tell you a ton about your soil. And as far as the next year plants you could always over winter a few and use them for mother plants for clones, that way you wouldn't have to start seeds every year. All sorts of possibilities man. When I use to grow ganj I'd just dig a big hole and throw a bag of good soil in it. Really all depends on how you want to grow and how much cash you want to spend.
 
Look into raised rows with plastic mulch. It works great for me. Also, I only till and amend the rows, not the entire plot. It's less work, and less money. Landscape fabric between the rows makes for a tidy and weed-free garden.
 
If you have any slope going towards your house this would be my main concern about letting water get to it, damaging your foundation. So I would say any form of plastic or woven textile is out of the question, as it will shed the water towards your foundation. (unless the 5% slope is going towards the front of your house not to it.) You should check your soil ph as you have coniferous trees behind and their needles cause soil to become acidic. If you dig just holes and fill them with quality soil you will find that your holes will become places for water to sit, potentially drowning your plants, so you want to ensure you are planting with good drainage. Your best bet would be to create rows of raised beds and plant in those. Then cover the rows in filter fabric to prevent weeds etc from popping up. Space the rows at least 2' apart so you can still run your lawn mower in between them. Cultivating your that much area seems extensive, that's a really large area to cover and even with weeds out of the issue will take a lot of maintenance. I would use a sod cutter and cut out the rows you need, get a small bin to dispose of the grass you remove, or make a compost bunker for it. Cut out strips 2' wide for your rows, then turn the soil heavily with a tiller. Depending on how many rows you cut out run some numbers on how much soil to purchase. 1 yd = 27 cu/ft so (LxWxH)/27. If the number seems large it probably isn't go with the math. If you cut out 10 rows 2' wide x 50' and mound the soil 1ft high your looking at at least 37 yds. Once you get nice mounds going cover with your filter fabric. You can even take 5 gal buckets and cut out the bottoms and poke a lot of holes in them, plant the buckets and then plant in them, making removal for overwintering a breeze. If you want buckets for free find a professional painter, they have been a reliable source for free buckets for me, or find a local landscaper, some larger companies keep their planter buckets in their yard and save them for the nursery to recycle, but they are usually more than happy to give them away. To edge your rows I wouldn't use wood because for that much linear ft it would get quite expensive, a natural edge will do. Tack down your filter cloth using 9' galvanized spikes are the cheapest way to do it, u shaped ones are expensive. Grab a box, usually they are cheaper at places that sell interlock for brick edging, 1 every 3' is sufficient. Put them through some large washers to increase holding surface area. You'll probably need a couple boxes (~$100 a box of $125.) Adding filter fabric to any job gets pricey quick. Personally I would avoid it, hand pick the weeds, spending $500 to not weed my beds doesn't work for me. In healthy soil they are easy to pull out, (make sure you get the root out.) Plus every year you'll have to lift up all the fabric, turn the soil, and re-install it. Also make sure you install the beds parallel with your grade. Also in your raised rows it makes installing soaker hose really effective
 
I agree that covering the entire area with plastic is a bad idea, but covering only the raised rows should work great.
 
I have my lawn mowed by someone in town... It's a small town folk thing. I want to eliminate half my lawn with black so he won't mow it! I want half of the lawn turned into a farm.

The concensus is to cover with something, till the area and either add fettilizer or Miracle Grow to each spot. That's my attack plan.

As far as drainage is concerned, there's the other 50 X 50 of the lawn to absorb the excess spillage/rainwater/etc... and the back of my house was concreted up years ago. It does flood maybe once a week in April-May but down towards the house, not up in the backyard. There's also a spring going under the block including the back of the backyard. I know this because my neighbor had the spring diverted years ago because he was getting too much rain water- I haven't had that problem yet.
 
Don't ad Miracle Grow. Miracle grow is 1.Expensive, 2. Probably infested with nasty bugs. For that much area you have to order bulk or you will spend a ton of cash. Miracle Grow Bags 18l = 0.63 cuft @ $3.00/bag. You are going to need a minimum of 30 Yards. 30 yards = 810 cuft / 0.63 cuft bag = 1285 Bags = Minimum $3857 in soil. You buy bags for this project please take a picture lol, prices for bulk quality soil are 30/yd max + delivery. If you don't want to pay your lawn guy to mow half your lawn put down 3/4 clear gravel on top of your filter cloth in between the rows. If you have 10 rows, 2' wide 2"thick you will need 6 cu yards (Gravel is usually sold by the ton so 8.4 Ton) 1 yd = 1.4 Ton.

I own a landscaping business. I make a lot of money from fixing customers mistakes. Please don't dig up your lawn before you know what you are getting into. You are getting into a large project. To do what I described, clearing the land, tilling, adding 20 yards of soil, covering with filter cloth, putting rocks in between here would be my estimate for you in terms of cost & time:


(Toronto Prices)

1. Clear 2500sqft 50'x50' Grass From Land

Rental of sod cutter: $40
10 Yard Disposal Bin $175
Rental of Tiller $40
Time: 5 man Hours (no machine to load barrels)

2. Add Soil in Rows

20 Yards of soil (being skimpy) $540
Installation 1 Yard into wheel barrows takes 1 man 20 min (working super hard with a shovel)
6 Hours Hard Labor

3. Installation of filter cloth

1 Roll Cloth $100
2 Boxes of nails $250
4 Hour Install

4. Installation of stone

8 Tons Of Stone $370
1 Ton of stone takes 40 Min Hard labour to install
5 Hours Hard labour

Total Job Cost: $1515
Labour: 20 Hours

This is of course if you do things properly so they look appealing using quality materials. I wouldn't do it any differently. If you are up for the challenge go for it, would love to see the results. I would also go over your measurements again, something tells me that your looking around 30'x30' going off references on your property. The difference of 900sqft to 2500sqft is huge. Oh and I would only knock off at most $3 on your lawn cutting bill. Farming aint easy, nor is it cheap, but the rewards are great!
 
Measured the backyard and it's 44 feet from the fence on the left to the bushes on the right. That would give me 40 feet to work with, so I will have to measure out the depth tomorrow to see where that lands me.
 
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