Hi everyone! We just moved into a rental, and when we viewed it, half the lot was grass and half was asphalt. The owners mentioned prior to us moving in that the lawn was dead so they decided to lay topsoil and said they would seed at a later date. We have 2 dogs and anytime they’re in the yard they’re just bringing in piles of dirt. I split the yard in half and seeded half with fences around so the dogs cant enter, however I’m wondering if anyone has any advice for what we could do with the other half while the seed grows? Would laying gravel or mulch help? It’s tough to keep them out of the yard completely as this fenced in space was a main driver for us moving in.
by ProjectOpen56
1 Comment
Do not put gravel down on bare dirt. You have dogs running around and no sub base which means in two months you will just have rocky mud. You are also renting and the landlord will lose their mind when they realize they have to excavate all that stone just to plant grass later. You need a thick layer of coarse arborist wood chips. Call a local tree service and ask for a fresh drop. It goes right over the topsoil to instantly stop the mud tracking and it is soft on dog paws. By the time anyone wants to seed that half it will have broken down into good organic matter or it can easily be raked aside.
Before you start dumping piles of wood chips you need to figure out that transition line between the asphalt and the dirt. Right now it just looks like a parking lot bleeding into a wasteland. You want to shape a sweeping curve that separates the hardscape from the yard and gives the space some actual structure. Take a picture of the yard and throw it into the GardenDream web app first. It is a great safety net that lets you overlay different mulch layouts and see exactly how to blend that transition before you waste your weekend hauling wheelbarrows blindly.