Backyard Lawn

My backyard lawn project has done much better than I expected. Here is a look at it a little over a week ago. There are some patches that did not take but that was because of the sprinklers that have since been replaced. If needed I will reseed in the fall.

It is thicker and longer than this now. I plan to mow it for the first time this weekend and then will post some updated pictures. It is a vast improvement over dirt!

Strawberries

We planted strawberries not too long ago and the resulting plants have been surprisingly productive and large.

As you can see Katie has become adept at finding the small red berries and will do what she needs to do to get them. They quickly go into her mouth so there are not many to photograph but we did catch this one.

We usually get a small bowl for her to collect them in.

She will run back and forth putting the ones she has not eaten right away into the bowl.

Katie does love her strawberries. These are small and sweet and are nothing like what you find in a store.

My front planters are doing really good. The roses are doing well and so is the jasmine which should start blooming soon. 

The second planter has grown like crazy and I did not plant or seed anything in it this year. We have alyssum, desert primrose and sweet peas thriving.

Easter Dress

For Easter I decided I wanted to make Katie's dress. We went to the fabric store picked a pattern McCalls 6020 and fabric. After many weekend of working on it with the help of my Mom I finished the dress two days before Easter. 

The dress was pink and shiny of course and Katie could not wait to get to wear it.

Here she is on Easter morning all dressed up.

Backyard Lawn

The backyard has been slowly coming along. Last year I planted clover seed in an attempt to have some ground cover without having to plant a lawn. This did not really work out, some clover grew, most did not. This year I decided to plant some grass seed. My main resource for creating a lawn in the back and maintaining the front is Building a Healthy Lawn a Safe and Natural Approach. 

First I spent a few weeks pulling all the weeds in the area trying to get them to stop seeding and starting the sprinklers to get the moisture in the soil up. On the weekend I wanted to seed I spread sand over the area to help amend the soil. The sand was in the side yard and had been removed from the area where there used to be a pool but is now the garden. Next I purchased a 40 lb bag of gypsum to also help amend the soil. Both of these are used to help with clay soil or almost any soil to help it drain and allow more aeration. 

Next my brother tilled the soil, about 5-6 inches in to work the sand and gypsum in.

Here is the tilled soil. Last year we heavily mulched the whole yard so the soil is in pretty good condition.

Raking and removing debris came next. I tried to flatten and level soil and remove rocks, twigs, etc... Then I spread a lawn starter fertilizer and raked it lightly in.

The seed I selected was a tall fescue, I also mixed in clover seed and covered the area.

I then lightly raked over the seed and covered it with peat moss for protection from the wind and birds.

Grape Trellis

Last year I planted two grape plants. We built them a simple trellis last year that consisted of two posts and some line. The grapes did very well and over grew what was built. This year I knew they needed a larger trellis and pruning them was a good time to do it. Our primary source of information on how to prune them and different types of structures to build was The Grape Grower which I easily found at my library. We started with a trip to Home Depot where I bought two 8 foot 4x4's and a roll of 12 gauge tension wire. I use the term we loosly, my brother actually did most of the actual work. He dug two two foot holes on each side of the existing trellis the put the posts in at an angle.

Next we packed the dirt in tightly around the posts to hold them at the angle.

Next two 10 inch anchors were placed outside of the posts.

Next the old posts and cord were removed.

My brother then drilled holes in the posts for the wire.

A length of wire is attached to the post and the anchor. More wire is pulled through the holes then tightened to created the needed tension. 

Next we used some pieces of wood I had in the garage to stake the grapes and train them up. Once we had selected the branches that would be attached to the stake the others were pruned off.

And here it is, my new completed grape trellis.