Yea, Dave, I too was considering building a wall around the wood... that may be the easiest way to deal with the issue.
Our home is Adobe, so termites aren't an issue, but I wouldn't want to stack it against the house because the point of stacking it along the fence is so that the wind passes through the fire wood. That way the firewood will season faster (dry out). Seasoning fire wood is super important if you use a very efficient wood burning stove, its not that important if you just have a fire place or fire pit.
I nearly missed this post. What a terrific job. I bet you guys are feeling the 5 Star effect of having such a fabulous setup.
Brad~ Here is a good sample of grasses that can be used in your landscaping. This particular grass is called "Mexican Feather Grass" or "Ponytail Grass"; it is in the Stipa family of grasses. Right now it is seeding and I can send you a bag full of seeds. They do not require much, and even where neglected they manage to survive. What I do is take a small bunch of seed and dig a small divit in the ground and then smooth over the soil. I ususally water it down to harden up the surface and then forget them. here is a better perspective of the size
Let me know, I think these grasses would make a great way of making an obstacle course. The pups will have to look up and above the grasses to see each other, and they can hide easily and then pounce their prey. You can purposely create paths with these grass, but once you plant them and try to transplant them they usually fail.
Ron - Those are great! Thanx! I think that type of grass would make a great addition to our plans... I like the idea of using them to mark pathways. We have been planning on using rock to mark our pathways but I am just kinda getting sick of rock... that's all we have around here.
A few questions...
- Will they do ok in the wind? It has been just ridiculously windy here.
- You mentioned you plant them and forget about them, do you not have to water them daily?
- Will they survive the cold & snow in the winter or would we have to re-seed for them each spring?
- Do you usually sell these seed, I would love some and would be willing to pay... How would you ship them?
Thanx soooo much! )
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Rudi is a lucky dog to have such a lush garden to hangout in!
These are perennials and can survive the frost line. They are excellent for erosion control since the roots bind as a root ball and very thick too, and I highly doubt you have winds like we do. We live in that corridor that kills Phoenix, Az and Deming, NM. I have even seen the freeway shut down due to sand drifts...but, yes wind is a grass's freind.
When I plant the seeds I usually water the topsoil to refirm after I make a little furrow. I do not plant them deeper than 1/4 inch. I plant them in clumps (the seeds). I do not charge for these. I am happy to send them out to you for free. I can bag enough to cover the continent. LOL
OK, now the plants themselves. Here is a picture of a clump that has just surfaced this season. It is a new clump of grass from last years seeds. Three clumps to be exact.
If this clump goes through the year with minimal watering (lets say less than twice a month) then it will remain small and will not reach the fullness you want. It is best to nurture the young clumps enough to get them to the adult size (at least a season) and then water less. I say put the clumps on a once a week watering until you get them to the height you want.
Then all that you need to do is to cut them back seasonally. I cut mine down to 4 inch tall ball-shaped mounds. Then they regrow almost immediately. I cut them in the fall and then sometimes mid summer after they have grown a full season. Sometimes at the end of the year, in winter, I will take a torch and burn the tops, but that can hurt the plant if you are not there to monitor and put out the flames after it takes off the dried.
At any rate, the seeds are free so why not try. I always find plants do good where they are grown, rather than transplanted. I can even push the Zone if I plant by seeds with some species, fooling them into thinking that the desert is where they should be. If you are worried about the neighbor seeing you use water, try using a hand-held watering can. This way you control the water and who could possibly complain about that.
I guess you have my email address, but if not you can reach me at Greensage44@dishmail.net and I can get your address to mail these off to; also I can offer some other seeds throughout the growing season. Some will fail, some will fit right in, the best thing to do is alway seed and if out of all those thousands of seeds you finally get something then you accomplished alot. The only real way to find out I would say.
Comments
Our home is Adobe, so termites aren't an issue, but I wouldn't want to stack it against the house because the point of stacking it along the fence is so that the wind passes through the fire wood. That way the firewood will season faster (dry out). Seasoning fire wood is super important if you use a very efficient wood burning stove, its not that important if you just have a fire place or fire pit.
Brandon - I knew nothing about fire wood till I moved out here.
Rui - That's funny... When I type "adobe" I usually capitalize it because I'm so used to writing it in in reference to software. lol.
I nearly missed this post. What a terrific job. I bet you guys are feeling the 5 Star effect of having such a fabulous setup.
Brad~
Here is a good sample of grasses that can be used in your landscaping. This particular grass is called "Mexican Feather Grass" or "Ponytail Grass"; it is in the Stipa family of grasses. Right now it is seeding and I can send you a bag full of seeds. They do not require much, and even where neglected they manage to survive. What I do is take a small bunch of seed and dig a small divit in the ground and then smooth over the soil. I ususally water it down to harden up the surface and then forget them.
here is a better perspective of the size
Let me know, I think these grasses would make a great way of making an obstacle course. The pups will have to look up and above the grasses to see each other, and they can hide easily and then pounce their prey. You can purposely create paths with these grass, but once you plant them and try to transplant them they usually fail.
A few questions...
- Will they do ok in the wind? It has been just ridiculously windy here.
- You mentioned you plant them and forget about them, do you not have to water them daily?
- Will they survive the cold & snow in the winter or would we have to re-seed for them each spring?
- Do you usually sell these seed, I would love some and would be willing to pay... How would you ship them?
Thanx soooo much!
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Rudi is a lucky dog to have such a lush garden to hangout in!
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Let's see, make sure I do not miss a question.
These are perennials and can survive the frost line. They are excellent for erosion control since the roots bind as a root ball and very thick too, and I highly doubt you have winds like we do. We live in that corridor that kills Phoenix, Az and Deming, NM. I have even seen the freeway shut down due to sand drifts...but, yes wind is a grass's freind.
When I plant the seeds I usually water the topsoil to refirm after I make a little furrow. I do not plant them deeper than 1/4 inch. I plant them in clumps (the seeds). I do not charge for these. I am happy to send them out to you for free. I can bag enough to cover the continent. LOL
OK, now the plants themselves. Here is a picture of a clump that has just surfaced this season. It is a new clump of grass from last years seeds.
If this clump goes through the year with minimal watering (lets say less than twice a month) then it will remain small and will not reach the fullness you want. It is best to nurture the young clumps enough to get them to the adult size (at least a season) and then water less. I say put the clumps on a once a week watering until you get them to the height you want.
Then all that you need to do is to cut them back seasonally. I cut mine down to 4 inch tall ball-shaped mounds. Then they regrow almost immediately. I cut them in the fall and then sometimes mid summer after they have grown a full season. Sometimes at the end of the year, in winter, I will take a torch and burn the tops, but that can hurt the plant if you are not there to monitor and put out the flames after it takes off the dried.
At any rate, the seeds are free so why not try. I always find plants do good where they are grown, rather than transplanted. I can even push the Zone if I plant by seeds with some species, fooling them into thinking that the desert is where they should be. If you are worried about the neighbor seeing you use water, try using a hand-held watering can. This way you control the water and who could possibly complain about that.
I guess you have my email address, but if not you can reach me at Greensage44@dishmail.net and I can get your address to mail these off to; also I can offer some other seeds throughout the growing season. Some will fail, some will fit right in, the best thing to do is alway seed and if out of all those thousands of seeds you finally get something then you accomplished alot. The only real way to find out I would say.
Talk soon, Ron
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Great news Brad! You're dog park wonderland is coming along nicely! :-)