Need Landscape help PICS & Video

[cjmedina]

Hi,

I need help with my backyard landscaping.

Many years of erosion has wiped out feet of soil into a brook that runs behind the fence.


There use to be a fence mid way that ran across the backyard that I removed last year. This fence helped to hold back the erosion. but beyond that you can see the drop and erosion of top soil.

My yard is actually below the level of our neighbors by about a foot or so!

I can't stand looking out our back door to see such a bad site, specially after a rain!


I need fill dirt big time!

ftp://cj136.gotdns.com/files/Landscape/DSC_0376.JPG

ftp://cj136.gotdns.com/files/Landscape/DSC_0378.JPG

ftp://cj136.gotdns.com/files/Landscape/DSC_0380.JPG

ftp://cj136.gotdns.com/files/Landscape/DSC_0384.JPG



I will be doing all the work with my son.

How do I figure how much fill dirt I need and where can I get the dirt cheap. I need suggestion of all kinds.....Please Help....


VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MneHq9j2kRE



Thanks, CJ

[betmr]

Looked at the video & pics. In my opinion, you should clean it all up. before you start trying to do the lawn.

[ALLPro Landscaping]

you would need top soil, not fill, measure the back, you are looking for square footage, length X width = sqft, then you need to figure out how many inches you need to come up, I would say at least 4 to get over those roots

[benjammin]

holy plastic pots!

in your volume calculation, don't mix units (feet and inches). If you think 4 inches is what you need, call it 0.25 feet. Then divide the total by 27 (cubic feet) to get yards.

150 yards should cover everything.

[benjammin]

holy plastic pots!

in your volume calculation, don't mix units (feet and inches). If you think 4 inches is what you need, call it 0.33 feet. Then divide the total by 27 (cubic feet) to get yards.

150 yards should cover everything.

edit: opps, 4inches =0.33feet

[mybowtie]

Depends on how much u want to raise the grade. If you have areas that need 5" or more use some gravel first. You realy dont need 5"+ of top. Gets real $$ and will erode faster if there isnt a good base for drainage.

[betmr]

In Central Jersey there are plenty of top soil places, Just give them Sq. Ft. & depth and they will tell you how much you need.

Two points of interest to me. 1) how Benjamin figures 150 yards, when I don't see any mention of Sq. footage, and 2) I would not suggest using gravel as fill material. Any farmed knows "Stones grow" Slowly they will migrate to the surface, with freeze thaw cycles and what have you.

[benjammin]

...

Two points of interest to me. 1) how Benjamin figures 150 yards, when I don't see any mention of Sq. footage, and ...

I was just being a smart ass and figuring 50feet by 50feet and 1.5 to 2 feet thick should be thick enough to cover up all the plastic pots.:laugh:

[betmr]

I was just being a smart ass and figuring 50feet by 50feet and 1.5 to 2 feet thick should be thick enough to cover up all the plastic pots.:laugh:

That was kind of my point before, looks like a lot more needs to be done there before worrying about top soil and seed. By the time all is ready, it should be early fall and the prime time for planting grass in this area. Too many home owners think it's just a matter of raking out some top soil and scattering some seeds. Maybe, once it's all cleaned up, all that's needed is to loosen up the soil that's there, fill in a little around the roots, and put down the right seed. In my opinion, I don't think all the soil just washed away, I think mostly, the grass died off from too much shade, traffic & neglect. If the grass is thick and healthy, the soil will not just wash away.

I'm not trying to be offensive. Everything I'm saying is just what I see, when I look at those pictures. I mean, what is your plan...To spread 4 inches of top soil around all the junk laying around out there?

About your neighbors yard being higher than your's. What does theirs have that your's is missing...A decent stand of grass. Grass, along with its root structure, makes for excellent erosion control, letting it die off, opens the soil to erosion, I'm guessing, that when that fence was in the middle, the other side of it was rarely thought of and neglected, left to nature. With out some care, all things will revert to Nature. Nature, here in Central Jersey, wants to be a forest, this is not the land of prairies and meadows.

I also notice the trees. Although they are bare in the pix, when they are in full leaf, I'll bet they block a good amount of sunlight. All Grass needs sun, some less than others. This needs to be taken into account when choosing your seed type. Leaf litter, twigs and branches are another issue. In the process of decomposition, decaying matter draws Nitrogen FROM the soil, it is not until way later in the process that it begins to release it back. That is why many Composter's will add nitrogen fertilizer to their compost pile, to speed it up. So, that little twig or that small patch of leaves, that is laying in the yard, is actually drawing off some of the nitrogen your lawn needs. And leaves laying on the lawn, will shade out the grass under it, then bingo, bare spots, and back to the weeds & erosion.

This brings me to one more point I would like to make. "Mulching Mowing". How does nature fertilize a forest, or most any plant? Is there someone going out there and spreading fertilizer in the dead of night? of course not. Decomposition. Now you might say that my previous statement refutes that. But looking at the time of a forest, all the good stuff is down deep, and the as yet un-composted stuff is on top year after year the cycle goes on. In basically the same manner, the grass clippings you leave in the lawn, return Nutrients and organic matter back to the soil, There-by minimizing the need for fertilizer. Please don't read that as Negating, I say Minimizing.

There is much to do there, if you are serious about fixing your yard, but the first thing is to clean it up. By the way, what is the yellow Caution tape about.

[WirelessG]

I read this post shortly after it was first posted and I'm still scratching my head. It would have been better if, at the end of this thread, there was a page you could lick and it tasted like Kool-Aid.