Hi all, I am a long time renter and when I moved in there was a lawn, but the sprinklers broke early on and it died off year after year from that point. I was fine with that until it turned into a mess of weeds and more importantly a large majority of it was taken over by foxtails – which if you don't know are very unsafe for dogs see my story below.
After doing some research I would like to replace with a drought tolerant micro clover that can prevent the foxtails from taking over the yard next year but also prevent a total muddy mess when it rains.
Any advice on how to go about replacing this weed/dirt mess with something that will keep the weeds from taking over the yard? I was thinking microclover but im entirely open to suggestions and not afraid of getting my hands dirty. I'm in zone 9b northern California for reference.
Dog/foxtail issue explained:
For those who don't know foxtails are extremely problematic for dogs, and I almost lost my dog after a foxtail pierced his skin and slowly worked its way into his body causing a horrible infection and abscess. I took him to the vet who misdiagnosed and gave him steroids and within a week he was "on deaths door". 5k and emergency surgery later he recovered.
by Lonely_Space_241
7 Comments
How hard is your dirt? Lol that sounds funny but, genuinely- have you dug a hole at all if so how far could you go down on the first push? (Unless you know more technical aspects of your spil makeup that will give me a good idea), im an east coaster so Cali is definitely not my forte but the process is pretty similar regardless but as for the how knowing even just that would help, or if its hard clay vs candyvs rocky
Throwing seeds on top without some type of prep isn’t gonna get tou very far but if you’re a lurker you probably know atleast that too – clover does well in a lot of soil but if youre specifically looking for the microclover look I personally have yet to see real micro clover in person, its usually just young clover. Kind kf like the mini pigs that still grow into hogs lol but if being a little taller isn’t a bother that still isn’t a bad way to go. I normally recommend native seed for obvious reasons but anything is better than bare dirt , or harmful stuff. Which leads me to… did you spray? For the fox tail? Or is that still an issue you need to also address?
Not sure if you have “rainy” seasons, but if so you definitely wanna try and get SOMEthing down before then. Clover tends to like steady water some are more drought tolerant than others, but generally only after established ao still plan to be watering it atleast until its a few inches unless you time it with consistent rain. If no irrigation lines, and not rock hard ground especially with the size lot it looks you have it may be worth renting an aerator or overseeder, aerator isn’t really made for that but theyre in my experience easier to find if you dont have a hardware rental store (home depot even tho I dont have any stake in where personally) , and then hand broadcast seed if youre not using the overseeder directly (will cut slits and the seed goes right in). If you’ve ever used a push mower its similar but , more like using a heavy floor buffer lol but not difficult at all. The transporting is usually more cumbersome than anything in my experience
My back yard has turned into something similar over the last few years. And recently just started to remedy it.
I spread a cubic yard of mulch over the whole area. Its about 1200 sq ft so the mulch was very thin. We added mulch to help our very sandy soil retail some more mostiure.
Found some guy in Facebook market place and he rototilled the whole are.
At this point you can plant your clover or something similar. I personally would do a mix. Where I live clover will die back in the winter so having some grass is helpful. I’m using this [fluer de lawn mix](https://ptlawnseed.com/products/fleur-de-lawn?variant=141703872) but they have some other mixes that you might like better.
Phyla nodiflora
I was considering a true micro clover seed from this company that seems reputable but it’s not native to my area, I don’t think microclover is native anywhere for that matter:
Microclover | DLF Seeds & Science | Rocky Mountain BioAg https://share.google/EXfIxsk6jWYunofN5
I’d get a chip drop personally. Maybe layer with cardboard initially and spread the mulch over that. It’ll take awhile to break down, but it’ll hold moisture better than what you’ve got.
I’m in the mits of doing this right now, in March I mowed until dirt, then sowed $100 of micro-clover – nothing showed up, so in early August when the grass started to sprout in brute force I killed it all again with glufosinate ammonium [Ike’s] unfortunately the micro-clover was just showing up, but it was too late as I already spayed most of the yard.
So I bought a lawn dethatcher and dragged it around to make furrows, then sowed 10lbs of white & crimson clover, but these can be 8″ tall and not the 4″ that the more expensive micro-clover professes. I’m rural so it’s not a big deal. Plus they are drought & low temp tolerant. I’m doing a 100′ x 100′ area or 10,000 sqft.
I planted the new ‘inoculated’ clover on August 29th and now have a nice mat of clover growing well before any wild grass/weed seeds can take hold. My area of the mid-south has been in a drought for the last 2 months so I’ve used about 20,000 gallons of water to keep them moist and they have germinated nicely.
It takes a while for micro clover to take hold, and multiple sowings, but hot dang is it impressive and tolerates ABUSE. I’m forever picking the dried seed heads and transplanting them to other areas in my compact clay front yard.