OT: yard work and eventually house stuff

[BanjoSaysWoof]

Okay guys, I can’t bear to ask in the actual OT, but if anyone in my circle is gonna know this stuff it’s y’all.

long and short is I’m moving back with my dad to provide him companionship and care. A lot of deferred maintenance at the house slowly getting addressed. One is the yard.

the yard has weeds. Some are growing where the stone masonry has “seams” and where the stone meets the driveway. I want to make the house and yard constantly presentable.

1) weed removal: MUST BE PET FRIENDLY. what do you guys suggest?

2) tools for the trade? I need a dope battery powered light use leaf blower to keep the attached garage, walkway, and driveway clean. If the system has an interchangeable battery and I can use it for a weed whacker, leaf blower and anything else I need, it’s a home run. Anyone like and use the ryobi system?

this is for light use. Someone will be coming for lawn mowing and likely snow shoveling too. This is just for day to day light maintence.

 

[butchinmi]

Greenworks- I’ve had them for about 5yrs. Interchangeable with every tool. I live in Phoenix so not a big yard, turf for grass, so the gas powered stuff I had when I lived in the Midwest was a little much for here.

Felt like I was trading in my man card to with electric but they work.

 

[el dub]

Let’s all spread a little poison on the ground to keep it looking neat and toxic.

 

[T8KUDWN]

Bend over & pull the weeds instead of spraying that round up crap everywhere

 

[el dub]

Bend over & pull the weeds instead of spraying that round up crap everywhere

There is so much life in soil that is affected by application of poison. Keeping pets off the contaminated area is the least of the problems, imo. Just think if everyone decided to spread poison on their property…

Ben Dover

 

[el dub]

There is so much life in soil that is affected by application of poison. Keeping pets off the contaminated area is the least of the problems, imo. Just think if everyone decided to spread poison on their property…

Ben Dover

Next up….. leaf blowers.

Really? I think you came here to mess with some of us crunchy folks today, mon. Get a feking broom. Lol

 

[el dub]

Okay guys, I can’t bear to ask in the actual OT, but if anyone in my circle is gonna know this stuff it’s y’all.

long and short is I’m moving back with my dad to provide him companionship and care. A lot of deferred maintenance at the house slowly getting addressed. One is the yard.

the yard has weeds. Some are growing where the stone masonry has “seams” and where the stone meets the driveway. I want to make the house and yard constantly presentable.

1) weed removal: MUST BE PET FRIENDLY. what do you guys suggest?

2) tools for the trade? I need a dope battery powered light use leaf blower to keep the attached garage, walkway, and driveway clean. If the system has an interchangeable battery and I can use it for a weed whacker, leaf blower and anything else I need, it’s a home run. Anyone like and use the ryobi system?

this is for light use. Someone will be coming for lawn mowing and likely snow shoveling too. This is just for day to day light maintence.

Congrats, Banjo. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve seriously considered coming back to Iowa for a visit. You might have an a$$ whooping coming your way.

Btw, I know you’re in Jersey. But that’s about as close as I’ll come. So you might have to meet me under a bridge in one of the 99 Iowa counties of your choice.

 

[BanjoSaysWoof]

Next up….. leaf blowers.

Really? I think you came here to mess with some of us crunchy folks today, mon. Get a feking broom. Lol

Bend over & pull the weeds instead of spraying that round up crap everywhere

so I won’t use a broom daily. No use kidding myself.

I’m bougie. At my own home (a condo) everything is taken care of for me.

as for weed killer, I def will not use round up. I’ve heard just spraying white vinegar will work, and then simply salting the ground where I don’t want anything to grow back.

Unless it’s 100% pet friendly (anything with a chemical I can’t pronounce fails the test), it’s not going on the lawn. The lawn is for the dog.

 

[BanjoSaysWoof]

Congrats, Banjo. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve seriously considered coming back to Iowa for a visit. You might have an a$$ whooping coming your way.

Btw, I know you’re in Jersey. But that’s about as close as I’ll come. So you might have to meet me under a bridge in one of the 99 Iowa counties of your choice.

The family stuff will be 10x easier with dad than it was my mom. If I can make a carver trip this winter I will. It’s gotta be a marquee match.

 

[el dub]

The family stuff will be 10x easier with dad than it was my mom. If I can make a carver trip this winter I will. It’s gotta be a marquee match.

Good on you, bruddah. A trip to Carver for a big match would be fun.

 

[PD4thespawn]

so I won’t use a broom daily. No use kidding myself.

I’m bougie. At my own home (a condo) everything is taken care of for me.

as for weed killer, I def will not use round up. I’ve heard just spraying white vinegar will work, and then simply salting the ground where I don’t want anything to grow back.

Unless it’s 100% pet friendly (anything with a chemical I can’t pronounce fails the test), it’s not going on the lawn. The lawn is for the dog.

Vinegar, salt and dawn dish soap works for me

 

[Bullethawk31]

i have a dewalt battery powered leaf blower that works great. doesn't suck down the battery bad at all and usually only have to change batteries a couple times a year (20v). My old man has the dewalt weed whip that runs on 20v and he loves it

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Depending on how many weeds you’re talking about, a little pulling does wonders. Another option is boiling water, most weeds do not tolerate that well and you can’t get anything more environmentally friendly than that.

 

[tigerguy_]

Vinegar, salt and dawn dish soap works for me

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Grip220]

For any masonry and bordering the best thing is to powerwash the existing dirt and weeds out of the gaps then apply polymetric sand that fills the gaps and prevents weeds from coming back.

 

[McIlraveysMullet]

Since there is a weed conversation going on... I have a strawberry patch, but it is over run with weeds. Anybody know of something that will kill weeds but now strawberry plants?

 

[BanjoSaysWoof]

i have a dewalt battery powered leaf blower that works great. doesn't suck down the battery bad at all and usually only have to change batteries a couple times a year (20v). My old man has the dewalt weed whip that runs on 20v and he loves it

does your battery work on his weed whip and Vice versa?

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Since there is a weed conversation going on... I have a strawberry patch, but it is over run with weeds. Anybody know of something that will kill weeds but now strawberry plants?

If you can get the weeds down a bit with some pulling, then get a bale of straw and use it like a mulch around the plants. Should take care of the majority of them. It also helps keep the fruits off the ground to prevent rotting and in the winter it acts like an insulator from the hard winter cold that can kill off the plants.

 

[ZachJump]

I like the Hart brand tools...was actually shocked at how well they worked when I tried them. Have changed every tool in my garage over

 

[Bullethawk31]

does your battery work on his weed whip and Vice versa?

they run off of the standard Dewalt 20v batteries which are interchangeable with drills/sawzall/grinder etc. Obviously not as big of a deal if you don't own other dewalt tools but if you do the yard tools are a no brainer

 

[el dub]

Since there is a weed conversation going on... I have a strawberry patch, but it is over run with weeds. Anybody know of something that will kill weeds but now strawberry plants?

Pull them by hand.

 

[Trapper85]

so I won’t use a broom daily. No use kidding myself.

I’m bougie. At my own home (a condo) everything is taken care of for me.

as for weed killer, I def will not use round up. I’ve heard just spraying white vinegar will work, and then simply salting the ground where I don’t want anything to grow back.

Unless it’s 100% pet friendly (anything with a chemical I can’t pronounce fails the test), it’s not going on the lawn. The lawn is for the dog.

If the dog is a male, buy some female in heat dog urine and spray on weeds. Male dog will piss all over even more and kill the grass/weeds. Or buy the dog a goat friend - goat will take care of grass and weeds.

 

[el dub]

so I won’t use a broom daily. No use kidding myself.

I’m bougie. At my own home (a condo) everything is taken care of for me.

as for weed killer, I def will not use round up. I’ve heard just spraying white vinegar will work, and then simply salting the ground where I don’t want anything to grow back.

Unless it’s 100% pet friendly (anything with a chemical I can’t pronounce fails the test), it’s not going on the lawn. The lawn is for the dog.

Why would anyone sweep or blow leaves daily?

 

[BanjoSaysWoof]

Why would anyone sweep or blow leaves daily?

because I don’t want the porch and patio and garage to get dusty/dirty. It will track into the garage and then the house. I don’t have mental energy for that.

 

[PD4thespawn]

because I don’t want the porch and patio and garage to get dusty/dirty. It will track into the garage and then the house. I don’t have mental energy for that.

Take off your shoes

 

[BanjoSaysWoof]

Take off your shoes

we do that, but my dad is an old man. If he wants to get the mail barefoot in basketball shorts he will. All the “dad don’t do that” in the world won’t change a thing.

rather than fight with my dad I wanna set him up for success as my roommate. That means picking battles. If 5 minutes with a leaf blower and a few hundred bucks up front for the equipment means we don’t fight about little things, I’ll take it. I already upped the cleaning service from every two weeks to every week, and I split the bill with him.

I alluded to this earlier, and some guys know, but I was my moms caretaker when she was sick. This is round 2, wanna make sure I am offering as much companionship as possible and as little “labor”. I would rather spend evenings playing bridge or chess with my dad and do a little labor outside than spend whatever time we have discussing how to keep the house clean. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But here, an ounce of prevention is worth a metric ton of time with my old man.

 

[McIlraveysMullet]

If you can get the weeds down a bit with some pulling, then get a bale of straw and use it like a mulch around the plants. Should take care of the majority of them. It also helps keep the fruits off the ground to prevent rotting and in the winter it acts like an insulator from the hard winter cold that can kill off the plants.

Pull them by hand.

I did that this spring and then mulched everything, but they cam back in force. I have started pulling weeds again by hand and will mulch when done. The patch was neglected for a number of years, prior to me moving in. Guessing it will just take some time to get it under control.

 

[el dub]

I did that this spring and then mulched everything, but they cam back in force. I have started pulling weeds again by hand and will mulch when done. The patch was neglected for a number of years, prior to me moving in. Guessing it will just take some time to get it under control.

Sounds about right. Lots of seeds have prolly been dropped in that neglected patch and eventually the strawberries will take over but there will always be weeds to pull.

 

[grapplefann]

Bend over & pull the weeds instead of spraying that round up crap everywhere

Bingo, we have a winner.
As my neighbor said of my yard, "If you are going to have a lawn and a garden, you better like pulling weeds."

 

[grapplefann]

I did that this spring and then mulched everything, but they cam back in force. I have started pulling weeds again by hand and will mulch when done. The patch was neglected for a number of years, prior to me moving in. Guessing it will just take some time to get it under control.

Yeah, like the rest of your life.
To paraphrase the war on drugs: "This is your lawn. This is your lawn with weeds. The difference is you."
You can also use a weed "preventer" like Preen each Spring, It keeps plants from germinating. It's probably safer than Roundup, but I'm not sure how much.

 

[herkyihawks]

For a pretty cheap option you can get Worx brand everything. I use them and haven't had any problems as long as you have 2 batteries.

 

[johnstownsteel]

we do that, but my dad is an old man. If he wants to get the mail barefoot in basketball shorts he will. All the “dad don’t do that” in the world won’t change a thing.

rather than fight with my dad I wanna set him up for success as my roommate. That means picking battles. If 5 minutes with a leaf blower and a few hundred bucks up front for the equipment means we don’t fight about little things, I’ll take it. I already upped the cleaning service from every two weeks to every week, and I split the bill with him.

I alluded to this earlier, and some guys know, but I was my moms caretaker when she was sick. This is round 2, wanna make sure I am offering as much companionship as possible and as little “labor”. I would rather spend evenings playing bridge or chess with my dad and do a little labor outside than spend whatever time we have discussing how to keep the house clean. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But here, an ounce of prevention is worth a metric ton of time with my old man.

Take it from an old guy, he doesn't want you picking battles. He wants you to stay away from them completely. If he wants to piss off of the back porch....you let him. Keep your mouth shut about the way the man lives. If you don't, he'd rather just do without the companionship... lol

 

[dwdsonii]

I have three Ryobi tools all with 40 v. Love them. Also have a couple Dewalt with 20 volt. Dewalt batteries dont last as longfor me. Got ryobi on sale at home depot. They have on sale regularly

 

[BanjoSaysWoof]

Take it from an old guy, he doesn't want you picking battles. He wants you to stay away from them completely. If he wants to piss off of the back porch....you let him. Keep your mouth shut about the way the man lives. If you don't, he'd rather just do without the companionship... lol

you’re right. But some battles have to be picked, for example I need him to agree to always keep the front porch gate shut because the dog is a runner. I need that win. If he wants to piss off the back porch, I’ll get a power wash system that works. I don’t need a lot from him, so what I need has to be critically important.

 

[johnstownsteel]

you’re right. But some battles have to be picked, for example I need him to agree to always keep the front porch gate shut because the dog is a runner. I need that win. If he wants to piss off the back porch, I’ll get a power wash system that works. I don’t need a lot from him, so what I need has to be critically important.

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Because I care....

 

[el dub]

I’d like to see leaf blowers outlawed. And most weed killers.

 

[Hawk170]

Vinegar, salt and dawn dish soap works for me

I assume you mix all that into a solution? What's the ratio? I'd like to try it.

 

[thom67]

I assume you mix all that into a solution? What's the ratio? I'd like to try it.

That solution works well. There are several others that you can get by googling it. Also you can purchase natural weed killers that you can get on Amazon. They are similar to the vinegar mixture. Totally safe. One is Whitney Farms weed and grass control. I use that one and it kills everything without poisoning anything.

 

[PD4thespawn]

I assume you mix all that into a solution? What's the ratio? I'd like to try it.

1 gal white vinegar, 1/2cup of cheap salt and a dollop of dawn dish soap. I use an old 1/2 quart 409 spray- head to pinpoint spray.

 

[Hawk170]

Thank you much! I'm definitely trying this. 25 years ago I was told round up was the safest chemical in the world by my local county conservation dept I think we are learning otherwise