Disaster Watch 2013: Cutting Edge Controversy

As the time nears for some sort of ground cover in the World's Worst Backyard, I've found myself embroiled in some kind of lawn-based controversy. I call it a "contro-grassy." Just kidding, I never called it that until just now.

Anyway, I've been leaning toward just saying sod, because of the instant gratification of it all, and was only wondering whether I should install it myself or pay the sod suppliers to do it. But in the back of my mind I was tempted by the more inexpensive option - grass seed.

I've heard that grass seed is difficult to grow (and I have never successfully grown something from a seed - ever), but now that I have sprinklers on an automatic timer, I'm thinking how hard can it be? As long as I can keep Daisy off of it, isn't it worth a shot? We're talking 7 cents a square foot, instead of $1.50 for installed sod.

Which brings me to the contro-grassy (it's catching on!). I was watching TV last night, when an infomercial came on for a product called Cutting Edge. No, it's not the knives that cut through soda cans. It's a special variety of grass that puts down crazy long roots, and therefore is more drought tolerant, and hardy. It also only grows to 2-4" high, so you don't need to mow as often, if ever. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Actually yes, Garrett noticed that one of the images on the infomercial was photoshopped (and badly) but that doesn't mean it's fake right? Maybe they just didn't get a good picture? RIGHT??

I decided to do some research, and there are several types of grass seed out there that claim to grow drought resistant, no mow lawns. They have mixed reviews, no one can definitively say they are good or bad. So I signed up with a forum called The Helpful Gardener. They have a thread about Cutting Edge grass, and the webmaster is actually offering free samples to those who want to try it out for themselves. 

I'll let you all know how it turns out. After all, what's the worst that can happen?

Veggie Garden!

Ever since my dad and I built our redwood planter, I have been itching to fill it up with something fun. This weekend, I finally had my chance!

I realize it's a little late in the season to plant a vegetable garden, but I am hoping our mild California weather will trick the plants into thinking it's still spring time.

I planted seeds for lettuce, scallions, bush beans, and zucchini, which were all part of an "easy to grow" farmer's seed kit. Not willing to trust my future salads to my notorious brown thumb, I also planted a few things that had already been started - basil, strawberries, beefsteak tomatoes, and dill.

All of these plants required "semi-moist" soil (how can you judge if something is "semi-moist"??), but the rosemary plant I had required "arid" soil, so I planted that in a separate pot. I am sincerely hoping that "arid" means I can forget to water it, and it'll grow anyway.

Disaster Watch 2013: Redwood Planter

Hope you're not too addicted to my Backyard Disaster Zone tales of woe, because they are rapidly approaching an end! Last weekend, my dad and I (with the help of Jose from Home Depot) installed a brand new sprinkler system in the backyard! Huzzah!

Next major step will be sod, but there are a few little plantings I want to get done before then. And my dad (God bless him, he just has a way of creating more work for himself) had the brilliant idea to add a raised redwood planter along the walkway to Garrett's studio. Genius!

Through some divine DIY karma, the planter area was exactly twelve feet long. Which meant that we were able to buy twelve foot boards, and not have to cut anything other than the sides. We decided to make the planter eighteen inches deep, basically just for logistical reasons - we would be able to get eight pieces out of one board, so we made our planter four boards high. Bringing our grand total of materials to just nine 12 ft redwood boards - everything else we already had on hand.

Now, I realize this view of the backyard isn't exactly inspiring, but let's take a moment to ponder where we came from...

We've come a long way, baby!

Where Once Was a Window

One of my favorite parts of the new deck is this area right outside my bedroom door. Once upon a time it was just the top of the driveway, used to store trashcans and other assorted demo debris. But now it's a private little nook, just waiting to be given a purpose.

When I asked my brother, Monty, to build me a gate on the other side of my bedroom window, I was really just setting him up for the eventual request to replace that window with a door. And being the awesome guy that he is, this weekend he kindly obliged. 

First, the old window had to go. 

Then the scary part - cutting out the wall!

In a crazy stroke of luck, the window was almost exactly the right width and height for the door replacement. Only very minor adjustments had to be made.

Oh boy, that pic probably should have been censored...

And voila! Door is in! A little trim work, patch, plaster, and paint, and I officially have a walk out from my bedroom! And just check out the exterior...

Too freaking cute! And here is the overall view, all dressed up for a Sunday BBQ...

 

The rest of the backyard is still a disaster, but I love that I now have one (small) outdoor space that is officially finished. It makes me so motivated to get the rest done!!

Awfully Big Deck You Got There

When my parents and I walked through my house, before I bought it, the first thing my mom said was "I would rip down this patio cover and open this all up." At the time I thought she was crazy. First of all, SHADE! Secondly, it's a covered outdoor space, who doesn't love that? 

Two and a half years later, I am willing to admit my mom was right (didya hear that Mom??). The roof had gotten progressively leakier over the years, not to mention sustained quite a bit of termite damage. And the cement floor was severely sloped (toward the house), so if I ever wanted to level it out, it would mean the roof would be incredibly low on one side. I finally decided to give up putting lipstick on the pig, and just take it all down.

Here is the before...

I'm not going to lie, this was way more work that I expected. The roof was tarred right up to the siding of the house, so taking that down meant damaging quite a bit of the siding. And then about a third of the cement floor had to be chipped up and thrown into a dumpster (such back-breaking work), just so we could make a level frame for the deck. 

Once that groundwork was laid, the actual decking went in pretty quickly, thanks to this handy tool. 

Not only does it help people who are not that great at drilling screws in straight (ahem), but it also puts the screws into the sides of the board, so they're hidden. And check out the results!

Pretty fancy, eh? It's amazing how much brighter the space is - it feels like a whole new backyard!

Disaster Watch 2013: Bobcatting!

The holidays are over, people, and so is the time for slacking off! We've been chipping away at the World's Worst Backyard, while fervently hoping that someone from HGTV would just whisk us away on a luxury vacation and install water features and fire pits while we're getting spa treatments. Apparently there is no Santa Claus, because that did not happen.

And while we'd been eating holiday cookies and sipping eggnog, our weed collection has been thriving! Check out Garrett, attempting to stem the tide (pun intended).

No, that's not grass he's standing on, those are geranium weeds that he's chopped down to the nub. Seeing how much work there was still to do, and feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all, I decided to put aside the wimpy weed whackers and wheelbarrows, and call in the big guns.

That's right, we rented a Bobcat! I had first answered a craigslist ad for a Bobcat operator who would also haul the dirt away, but he wanted over $1500! Then I found American Rentals, who rents and delivers Bobcats for the bargain price of $441.50. After renting a dumpster for $166, I was still at less than half of the price of the first estimate. Plus we got to drive the Bobcat, which was good fun. 

The trickest part was getting it up the driveway, under the patio cover, and into the yard, without unintentionally tearing anything down. But we did it! And after a long day's work, our Disaster is a little less dire. 

All the stumps and plastic bins of questionable contents have been removed and disposed of. I never though it would be so nice to see a backyard composed entirely of dirt!