I'm Dusty, and I'm from the Central Gulf Coast of Florida, Zone 9...I see Betty from Homosassa is new here also.. I'm about 40 miles down the road from her.. I've been gardening since my Grandaddy used the wheelbarrow to haul me along with him in his 5 acre garden,and now I'm a GreatGramma, so its been awhile..
I don't consider myself a Master Gardener..just a middle of the road sort..I do well with some things, and crash and burn on others.
I downsized to a smaller house last fall, to a bigger yard with 6 foot stockade fence all around the back and nothing but sandy soil and weeds inside, sloping from the back to the house..Ill tell ya how bad it is..about 4 weeks ago, we got 12 inches of rain in about 12 hours..The house sits on a hill and 1/2 of the front yard wound up in the street, and 1/2 of the back yard wound up against the back of the house.
Soooooo Needless to say...I'm garden-ly challenged at the moment I decided to join here to see what help and suggestions I could get to assist me in getting this soil stable before the monsoon season hits here in June. Being on a very tight budget, the word SOD is strictly taboo. Besides, Id rather have just about anything BUT grass front and back..however open to any ideas for a quick fix that will hold me until I can garner the budget to do otherwise..The neighbor behind me to the south has several huge oak trees, and I have 3 huge pines in the SW corner so the yard is sporadic in where the shade and sun is depending on the time of day.. Thank you all in advance for any suggestions!!
posted
so you wernet that far from collingwood, you are right though, we do get wild seasons up here but very pretty in the fall you will enjoy it here and jump right in, go check out the banter hall coffee house. enjoy
Welcome to the Forum! You are going to love it here and you will learn a lot because everyone is very helpful and friendly.
Have a GREAT day!
pstches
* * * * "Lord, I love you and I need you, come into my heart, and bless me, my family, my home, and my friends, in Jesus' name. Amen!" Plants: 6492 | From: Illinois | Registered: Feb 2006
| Seeded: 199.217.139.106
posted
Hi DustyDS Welcome to the forum Nice to meet you.
* * * * "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens". Plants: 12383 | From: Manchester. England | Registered: Oct 2004
| Seeded: 195.93.21.3
gardenmom32210
guest
posted
Hi neighbor It's a pleasure to meet you I'm up here in Jacksonville.
A friend of mine had the same problem you are experiencing. What they did was,every 10 feet,starting from their home going towards the back of the property...they laid railroad ties across the length of the property. They dug them in so they were flat. Their sloped yard then became a controlled gradient yard. They have different plants and flowers on each level. The best thing is that they got the railroad ties and landscape timbers for free off of Freecycle It didn't cost them anything for materials,all it took was some hard work. They didn't even have to pay for any plants,she got seeds,cuttings and plants in trades(people give away plants on Freecycle too) Hope this info helps some
posted
lookd like you need something to really take root and stabilize your yard. dont really know what grows well in florida but ive got a bunch of vines growing in my backyard that would conquer the world if let to thier own devices. i didnt plant them,they were here when i bought the place(actually been trying to get rid of them).i really like the railroad tie deal. would make a nice tiered effect with different planting zones.the budget thing sounds kinda tuff. maybe watch for places being torn down and see if you can rescue the plantings(only cost is labor) look for overgrown canna beds and beg for rizomes? good luck in your efforts
Plants: 180 | From: st louis mo | Registered: Mar 2006
| Seeded: 70.133.171.1
I am new to this site too and live in on the Gulf-coast in Central Florida. I have the same problem...my soil is very sandy. I too would like to get my yard in shape before hurricane season. I have a lot of plants that grow well in my yard with direct sunlight. My problem is that I don't know all the names...need to research a bit. I do know that i have sago pals and crate myrtles that grow well and can handle drought-like conditions.
Plants: 9 | From: Tampa, FL | Registered: Mar 2006
| Seeded: 70.119.254.176
DustyDS
guest
posted
Hi there New Planter!! You are just across the Bay from me if you are in Tampa... Im in Holiday.
Welcome to this wonderful forum!! Come join us in the Banter Hall in the coffee house for **Real Time** Chat..
login | 
| 
| 
![[wavey]](graemlins/wavey.gif)
![[grin]](graemlins/grinnnn.gif)
![[Mad]](mad.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[muggs]](graemlins/mugggggs.gif)
![[flower]](graemlins/flower.gif)
![[thumb]](graemlins/thumb.gif)
![[Love]](graemlins/love.gif)
it here and you will learn a lot because everyone is very helpful and friendly. ![[kitty]](graemlins/kitty.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this garden