Note: I have a brown thumb. Everything I touch seems to go from green to brown. Any help would be appreciated.
I have heard that foam dust is good for adding to soil for water retention. My lawn seems to drink up a lot of water, and is then dry again the next day. Has anyone ever added the it to their lawn? I imagine that you would need to mix it in with some soil, in order to keep it from blowing all over the neighborhood. Can you use either PU or EPS foam dust? Is one better than the other?
Swied,
There is a polymer used by lawn care people that retains and time releases moisture. It kind of looks like polystyrene (EPS) beads at certain stages.It can be found for us unprofessionals in Scott's Turf Builder Plus. Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any of this stuff. Be prepared to mow a little more often.
Tom
This is my lawn after years of mixing in foam dust from both religions.
The only other things this garden gets is sunshine/rain and neglect.
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/s19.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/SURFFOILS/s11.jpg[/IMG]
I havent seen any odd runoff or zombie palms, yet....
.
[quote="$1"]
I have heard that foam dust is good for adding to soil for water retention. [/quote]
Uh Huh.
And eatin' dirt is good for digestion, butter is good for burns and the moon is made of green cheese.
Unless you are making boards out of wood or some other grown material, your dust is ALMOST toxic waste and far from earth friendly.
Please bag it and put it in the trash.
If you really must have a lawn and need better water retention, please use something made for the purpose.
http://www.frostproof.com/catalog/a342.html
http://www.soilmoist.com/products/landscapers.php
Or, seed the area with native CA. grass seed at the beginning of the rain season(NOV-DEC_FEb.). It’ll be green during the wet season, pretty short in SD, and brown during the dry season. But, it will never need to be watered once it’s established unless you want it to be green during the summer. Then water it once a week. It will be brown until the next rainy season. Survive our droughts, etc. I never mow it. Sometimes I rake it. Don’t need to fertilize it. I have 2 small native grass lawns. One was an experiment, the other is food for my CA desert tortoise who eats it and shits it all summer. Mike
Try mixing in Vermiculite or pearlite. They are for water retention and are organic material that is their intended use. Most lawns need to be aerated after a few years and folks overlook this treatment. Aerate (poke holes) and add a mix of fertilizer and vermiculite raking it in and spread evenly.
Rooster, what species of seed are you planting?
Grumpy’s right.
[quote="$1"]
There is a polymer used by lawn care people that retains and time releases moisture. It kind of looks like polystyrene (EPS) beads at certain stages.It can be found for us unprofessionals in Scott's Turf Builder Plus. Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any of this stuff. Be prepared to mow a little more often.
[/quote]
I was at HD yesterday, and checked the price on the Scott's Turf Builder Plus. It was $23 for a little bag, which is a little too rich for my blood. I would probably need about three or four bags for my lawn. It looks like spreading foam around the yard is not commonly done around here, so I'll try something else.
[quote="$1"]
Try mixing in Vermiculite or pearlite. They are for water retention and are organic material that is their intended use. Most lawns need to be aerated after a few years and folks overlook this treatment. Aerate (poke holes) and add a mix of fertilizer and vermiculite raking it in and spread evenly.
[/quote]
I have one of those pokey three pronged airating tools. I used it a few years ago, and remember getting a horrible back ache after stomping around the yard with it. I guess I'll just take a bunch of Aleve beforehand, and grunt through it. I'll look into the price/availability of vermiculite.
Thanks everyone for the help.
Toxic whatever.maybe I'm going to ruin the earth, but I add my foam dust to a huge pile of silty mucky dirt I call top soil, and it make beautiful loomy soil that grows everything from artichokes to cycads. I'm in San Diego too.
My best advice is to turn off the lawn sprinklers and save the water. Lawns are water pigs no matter what you do.
Swied, you can rent a motor drive aerater for about $45 a day, well worth the cost if you have a lot of square footage. Both Vermiculite and Pearlite are “dirt cheap”.
Resinhead, you grow vegs in that stuff? Those things might end up choking more than just Artie.
ps. Lawns ARE water hogs.
tblank,
The seed I use is a mix I buy from a native plant nursery. It includes Nasella pulchra, Mellica imperfecta, Mellica california, Festuca californica, and a couple of others. San Diego probably would do better with a different mix depending on where you live, sun exposure, etc. I’m in central California. Native grasses only require rain once they are established. Of course, they are dormant and brown like most of our plants during the long dry season. Water it during the dry season and it will green up. Like resinhead says, it’s a waste of water. I only water the stuff where the tortoise lives. He wakes up every spring to a green paradise and I try to keep it that way until he ready to go back to sleep in October. Mike
I'm not going to rip out the grass, and plant a bunch of brown scratchy native weeds. That might be fine for all you empty nestors, DINKs, and single people. You can sit out on your quiet porches sipping your evening cocktails, and feel good about how your are saving the environment. However, I am doing my part to increase the worlds population, and to waste tons of water all the while.
I'll let you know how the Vermiculite goes.
Dinks?!?!?!? Dinks!!! You dinky dao!!!
ps. WTFO? Dink?
[quote=“$1”]
I’m not going to rip out the grass, and plant a bunch of brown scratchy native weeds. That might be fine for all you empty nestors, DINKs, and single people. You can sit out on your quiet porches sipping your evening cocktails, and feel good about how your are saving the environment. However, I am doing my part to increase the worlds population, and to waste tons of water all the while.
I’ll let you know how the Vermiculite goes.
[/quote That’s funny. What the f…k is a DINK? I don’t fit into the described demographic by a long shot. I take nice naps on my ‘scratchy weeds.’ I waste my water in other places in the yard. And long hot showers after surfing. A DINK??? Is that a dinky dick? How’d you know? Mike
Not a wedding tackle reference,
D ouble
I ncome
N o
K ids
Aka DINK
Gotta have a space to let the rug rats run
have a look at the AMAYZOY that they sell plugs for in the back of popular science.
takes over and only needs to be mowed once or twice a summer, doesn’t need water.
My frankengrass looks really nice, don’t know how it would work out there though.
Pete
Ah so, Double Income No Kids…Boy, have things changed. That’s a new one on me. Any old RTO’s out there?
Swied, more power to you . Have as many babies as you can afford. And try to keep a nice lawn for them to play on . For cryin’ out loud!
Try fewer waterings and water deeper. Keep grass about 3-4 inches long in summer. In the fall, cut as close to the ground as your lawnmower will get. Aerate. Fertilize (raking it in). Maybe throw some winter rye seed out during that period. Springtime, after first cut make a brew of water and compost (let it soak for 24-48 hrs). mixing tthoroughly 5-10 mins. Strain. Pour it into a Hudson sprayer and cover lawn and water in. Then…Go make babies. After that, start a game of Pickle or just catch. SPREAD YOUR SEED, SWIED!
Rooster, are you familiar with the Theodore Payne Foundation? Check out the website. They are more important now than ever since the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden was destroyed in the Tea Fire.