Hello I am new to gardening and have a huge problem with my yard. Need help please.

[Julia]

Hi
My name is Julia and I recently started homeschooling my son. We live in northern CA, right on the coast. We have fog in the morning and extreme temperature changes during the day.
We also bought a home with a rather large back and front yard about a year ago. Unfortunately, both of the yards have been neglected and need serious attention. I have never been a gardener, nor do I have a green thumb (I grew up in a large city). However, due to the fact, that I am home with my son, I would like to start gardening and planting. The problem is the state of our yard right now. It is so overgrown with weeds that I don't even know where to start. I have once tried to pull all the weeds, which was very labor intensive. Only to realize that they grew back very quickly. I could spend every day pulling weeds, just to maintain it.

Here is what I would like to do, or the advice I am looking for:
How can I efficiently kill the weeds, or get rid of them, so that they don't come back right away?
I would like to plant some grass, in the middle of the yard, with a walkway around it. Maybe a couple of fruit trees.
We already have two plumb trees and on large fig tree. I would like to plant an avocado tree.
I also would like to get the planters fixed up again. Not sure, if that means I have to take the soil out and replace it with different soil, so that weeds don't come back. Need advice on that too. However, I would like to plant vegetables and I also need to get water supply to it. I would need advice on when the best time is to plant vegetables.
Since we also would like to plant some grass, I would like some advice on how to do that and what type of grass seed I should use for our climate. Since we don't have very much water during the summer, I need grass that can be heat resistant.
Ok, I guess I have a lot of questions. Anyway, I just wanted to say "Hi" and that I hope to find all the answers here.
Thank you,
Julia

 

[Chuck]

Hi
My name is Julia and I recently started homeschooling my son. We live in northern CA, right on the coast. We have fog in the morning and extreme temperature changes during the day.
We also bought a home with a rather large back and front yard about a year ago. Unfortunately, both of the yards have been neglected and need serious attention. I have never been a gardener, nor do I have a green thumb (I grew up in a large city). However, due to the fact, that I am home with my son, I would like to start gardening and planting. The problem is the state of our yard right now. It is so overgrown with weeds that I don't even know where to start. I have once tried to pull all the weeds, which was very labor intensive. Only to realize that they grew back very quickly. I could spend every day pulling weeds, just to maintain it.

Here is what I would like to do, or the advice I am looking for:
How can I efficiently kill the weeds, or get rid of them, so that they don't come back right away?
I would like to plant some grass, in the middle of the yard, with a walkway around it. Maybe a couple of fruit trees.
We already have two plumb trees and on large fig tree. I would like to plant an avocado tree.
I also would like to get the planters fixed up again. Not sure, if that means I have to take the soil out and replace it with different soil, so that weeds don't come back. Need advice on that too. However, I would like to plant vegetables and I also need to get water supply to it. I would need advice on when the best time is to plant vegetables.
Since we also would like to plant some grass, I would like some advice on how to do that and what type of grass seed I should use for our climate. Since we don't have very much water during the summer, I need grass that can be heat resistant.
Ok, I guess I have a lot of questions. Anyway, I just wanted to say "Hi" and that I hope to find all the answers here.
Thank you,
Julia

That doesn't look so bad. Most of what you see are winter weeds. I see Horse Herb, Dandylions, Morning Glory and even some squash plants. You even have a ready made raised bed garden. It will still take a lot of time but you don,t have to do the entire thing at once, but what I would do first is to mow everything down before it goes to seed. Then I would get a tiller and till under everything. Then I would get a big roll of black plastic sheeting, water everything that you do not want to mess with right away and cover it up with the plastic for 2 or 3 months. After it has been really warm/hot for at least 2 months I would remove the plastic and sow your grass seed or lay down sod. You will not need to remove any soil and I guarantee that somewhere out there that there is a hose connection for your water needs. Weeds will always come back, it is never ending, as weed seeds fly in on the wind. I would start small and only start what you can finish. I would get some of the raised beds ready now as Northern Calif. planting time is coming up shortly. What I have said is just a general plan of attack. It would take forever to explain everything at one time. Find a locally owned nursery and make friends with them. They will know what grows best and the correct times to do things but get started quickly.

 

[Beverly]

A warm welcome to you @Julia. @Chuck has given you some really good advice. Take a deep breath and know that gardening is a process, not an event, and a great learning experience for you and for your son. Start little project by little project and soon you will be harvesting what you have planted. It is a wonderful feeling. Of course there are always some disappointments along the way. Slugs, for example. But if you have this forum to turn to you can find out what to do when the disappointments happen and you can also share the successes. Mulch is a great way to discourage the weeds. Leaves are just one example of a good mulch. Eventually they will break down and enrich the soil, keep adding leaves. Of course there are dozens of good mulches. The plastic sheet in the way Chuck advised will be good for a start. Most importantly (imho) is to enjoy the process.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[Beth_B]

Welcome, can't add to the great advice you've already received.
Definitely cultivate a relationship with a good garden center (not big box store). Your yard has fantastic potential!

 

[Julia]

Great, thank you all so much for all your good advice. I think that is what we will do today. We will look for a garden center and talk to people and maybe attack one of the garden beds. Small start but that could be a start. Will have to figure out how to mow down that large area and how to till it all down. Don't really have equipment either yet. When do weeds come to seed?
Anyway, glad to be here. Thanks again for all your help.
Julia

 

[Chuck]

Great, thank you all so much for all your good advice. I think that is what we will do today. We will look for a garden center and talk to people and maybe attack one of the garden beds. Small start but that could be a start. Will have to figure out how to mow down that large area and how to till it all down. Don't really have equipment either yet. When do weeds come to seed?
Anyway, glad to be here. Thanks again for all your help.
Julia

If you don't own a tiller or mower you can rent them from a tool rental store.

 

[Beth_B]

I'm of the opinion that weeds are just plants I don't want around.* Most of the "weeds" on my property are native plants, have pretty flowers, attract pollinators, birds, etc. So I leave the ones I like alone.

Three years ago I bought the empty lot next to mine; it was midsummer and the weeds were literally taller than me! So I hired someone to mow everything to the ground. But along the back there are raspberry and blackberry canes in a tangle with other things. Lots of lilies, dames rocket, some sort of bamboo stuff and perennial bush I can't identify that has really pretty white flowers, and then little berries. So I have the main part of the yard mowed regularly, and leave the edges alone.

The main part of my yard that's fenced for the dogs is very lush and green, and I do little to take care of it. It's probably over 50 percent "weeds" though...Clover, creeping charlie, dandelions, ground violets, etc. But as long as I keep it mowed it's fine. Most seeds result from the flowers...mow them before they flower.

*Creeping charlie is pretty much impossible to get rid of! To prevent it strangling my veggies, I just have to stay in the habit of hand-pulling it.

 

[Sheal]

Welcome to the forum Julia.

 

[roadrunner]

I started a yard that had similar problems, but I would add was less biologically diverse than yours, judging by your pictures; I mostly had Bermuda Grass to deal with and that stuff is awfully invasive. Judging by your pics, I think you might have some good plants that serve a purpose in attracting pollinators. I've found that many plants called weeds, actually serve a purpose in my yard and especially the early bloomers provide a food source for the pollinators. So I recommend not to worry too much about the weeds, rather observe them and see how they fit into your local ecology. I only pull the ones where I need to plant things.

However, the biggest benefit to my yard was my decision to build up my soil, I do this by heavily mulching my garden; most people will tell you that mulching is important for trapping moisture in the soil, but it goes way beyond that. Mulching creates habitat, not only for soil organisms that create the soil, but also for various insects, including ladybugs and other very beneficial animals. I don't just use one type of material for my mulch, also when a plant has served its purpose I don't remove it from the garden, I mulch it into the garden.

I just happened to see this video yesterday and thought of this thread. This is basically what I do and what I recommend for you to get started.

 

[Julia]

Hi
As we have been weeding away...Three planters have been cleaned and are free of weeds as of today (we started with the planters, since that seemed the smaller job). As we are spending all this time in the garden now and have gone to a local garden center, a new question came up. Irrigation????? We have no irrigation in place. After some research, I think a drip line or even an underground drip line would be beneficial for our climate. What is everyone else using. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Julia

 

[Beth_B]

We get enough rain that I don't often need to water... Occasionally the vegetable beds and annuals in containers. So I just put a garden hose on trickle and water everything individually. I use the time while the soil gets soaked to deadhead, pull weeds or whatever.

I do it early in the morning, so it's a happy time to commune with and tend to my plants.

 

[Chuck]

Hi
As we have been weeding away...Three planters have been cleaned and are free of weeds as of today (we started with the planters, since that seemed the smaller job). As we are spending all this time in the garden now and have gone to a local garden center, a new question came up. Irrigation????? We have no irrigation in place. After some research, I think a drip line or even an underground drip line would be beneficial for our climate. What is everyone else using. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Julia

I have drip irrigation and as far as I am concerned it is the best system there is. Set it up correctly and you can water any portion or the entire garden. Plus, it saves water.. Check these folks out. www.dripworks.com

 

[Julia]

I have drip irrigation and as far as I am concerned it is the best system there is. Set it up correctly and you can water any portion or the entire garden. Plus, it saves water.. Check these folks out. www.dripworks.com

Great, thank you. I think a drip irrigation sounds like a plan. There is so much to learn. Thanks for the info.

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

Welcome, Julia. It depend how you want it to be done, I have made channels and put a plastic tank near for water,
if you want grass you need to sprinkler, for plant dripper will save lot of water.

I am also starting my garden over again, I suggest working small piece of land at a time, as removing weeds will make the soil lose its fertility and will harden the top soil.

weeds have a bad habit of coming back, so clear small portion start planting the desired plant then move to the next patch of land.