Garden/Landscape/Wild Field Reclamation

[GreenGoo]

So far it has been slow going. I'm not getting out as often as I could and time is passing by as it always does. That said, we've made enough progress that I'm not completely despondent and am enjoying the improvements, as few as they are.

My small field of stumps (most smaller than 3-4" in diameter) is being suppressed with regular stripping of new growth and the occasional addition of vinegar into holes drilled into them. They are still alive, but they are struggling. Good. That said, there are a few that are growing very well and I need to get out and make it less easy for them.

I have not rototilled and planted new grass anywhere.

I have grape vines that found their way into my yard from my neighbours and they are trying to take over. Anyone know how to get rid of vines? Because holy hell they are trying to pull down my cable/phone wires and are insanely tough to remove.

I have made good progress on my lilac tree in the back yard. I have chainsawed several other species of trees that had found their way into the middle of it and grown inside it. Think many, many trunks (of middling size) with most being lilac, but some being other invasive trees. So it's looking a bit bare at the moment as all that empty space used to be other tree trunks. I do need to trim it back (by a third, I understand) to encourage new flowering growth next year, and to reduce the size of the tree. It's a huge messy tangle of bare bark, twigs and occasional flowering branches (well, not flowering now, but a month ago).

We have started to edge the front yard, and even the most simple, least skilled edging has made a vast improvement to the aesthetic.

I have a mock orange that I nearly killed years ago by heavily trimming during the wrong time, and it has only just started flowering again. There are a ton of dead branches though that I need to remove, some covered in moss (an issue with mock oranges, I have learned). What I have learned is that the mock orange and the lilac are both about the same kind of care. Prune a third, after flowering season. Careful trimming the top as most new growth is there and trimming too much will shock it badly.

I whipper snipped the hell out of the weeds and grass growing up through my patio stones (loose walkway from driveway to front door) and it looks tidier. I need to go back and do it again as some of it is recovering.

I have a ton of branches and small logs that I need to cut up and bundle for yard waste removal. I've already done a ton so from that metric alone I've made decent progress.

I'm loving the black and decker 40v weed whacker, although until I get through a couple of seasons, the jury is tentative about the verdict.

So basically I'm still cutting, chopping, whacking, digging, pruning and trimming everything in sight. We have 2 bird baths that are getting lots of usage, so the cats and kids are loving that. the yard is still to big a mess for the baths to be a design choice. Right now they are literally there just for the functionality of providing birds some water and encouraging them to stick around.

I've done better this summer than in many previous years, yet I still feel like I'm barely keeping up with new growth. Of course this is on me. It has been a HOT summer, and I'm extremely lazy in my aging, sedentary body so willpower has been in short supply.

Still, chin up, making progress, keep at it, etc.

[Kraken]

Rototilling is really, REALLY hard work. I’d hire that job out.

[GreenGoo]

Rototilling is really, REALLY hard work. I’d hire that job out.

I can still handle it, I think. Yes, the machine bucks and wrenches back and forth, but if I go slow I think I can handle it.

That said, I'm so far from rototilling that I don't think it will even happen this summer.

[GreenGoo]

I am disappointed to find that every time my research determines a quality product to use, it is not available in Canada. Oh well.

2,4-D products are against the law in Ontario, despite being legal in a number of other provinces. We have to make due with iron based targeted herbicides, which are much less effective. So no Tenacity of Killex for me.

And Roundup, a kill-all green herbicide is also restricted to landscaping companies and use against harmful to humans plants in the wild.

No wonder everyone's lawns are covered in crab grass and dandelions. I just thought I was a bad neighbour

And grass seed. Most stores here sell generic Scott's grass seed, which is fine I guess, but it's not as high quality as some other products, most of which I can't find here. I'd rather pay more for a higher percentage of germination, than less for a bag that is likely to only have 50% germination or whatever.

I'm relatively happy to say that I have made some progress. Not much, but it's noticeable (to me) and more importantly I'm actually getting outside more often than once a month, so things are less bad than they were. Still bad, but less so.

[GreenGoo]

My current plan is to use Scott's Weed B-Gon Max once we have a few days without rain, then aerate after it has done its work, then overseed everywhere.

Then simply water and wait.

I'll rent a plug aerator. I haven't rototilled yet, and might not do it at all, depending on how this works.

[Isgrimnur]

Time to start that black market garden import business.

[GreenGoo]

Time to start that black market garden import business.

There are many. Facebook marketplace has a number, as one example. I have not used any.

Yet.

[Moliere]

I have raised planter boxes in the backyard. This morning I planted watermelons and broccoli. Hopefully the 5 minutes of online research regarding seed depth, distance, and sun/water requirements pays off in a few months.

[em2nought]

Never thought about bees in regard to weed killer before https://www.backyardfocus.com/bees-and-weed-killer/

[Daehawk]

Heard that years ago. Bees go we go.

[em2nought]

Bees go we go.

You'd think bees are what we should be trying to clone.

[Isgrimnur]

Cloning doesn't do shit if the environment we've created just keeps killing them off.

[em2nought]

Cloning doesn't do shit if the environment we've created just keeps killing them off.

[Isgrimnur]

You're right. You want to be part of the 6th?

[em2nought]

You're right. You want to be part of the 6th?

I don't think we have much say in it one way or the other.

[stessier]

You're right. You want to be part of the 6th?

I don't think we have much say in it one way or the other.

You are wrong.

[GreenGoo]

So I'm late getting started, again. Well, I did a few things in April but haven't been consistent.

I took care of the vines weighing down my power/cable/phone lines coming in from the backyard post, for one thing. I have a TON of cutting and bundling of branches so the yard waste people will take them. Sigh.

Anyway, I'm here because I think I need a new tool. Let me know what you think.

My backyard lilac is a tree now. I think I mentioned it. I've done my homework and it will take a number of years to shrink it back down to a pretty bush without killing it. I started last year, so this will be year number 2.

My frontyard lilacs are overgrown. They aren't trees yet, but they want to be, and they want to spread too. The problem is that they are bushy enough that trimming them by hand would be onerous. There are just too many little branches, twigs and even thicker branches to do with a hand clipper or manual tree trimmer. In my opinion anyway.

Also, I have these weird tree-like things right in front of my bay window. My wife planted them at some point and then walked away. They started as small, 1 foot high bushes. They are in danger of becoming trees, and the top tips are just brushing the eaves. They are woody. They are also an amazing deep red colour in the fall. We get many compliments during that time, despite them not being maintained at all. I'm not going to lie, they are beautiful, and while I'm annoyed at my wife planting things for me to take care of some day (these were planted at least 5 years ago) I don't want to kill them and remove them. So I want to trim them back without killing them.

Ok, to the point of the matter. I think I need a hedge trimmer-like device. I do have cedars on one side of my backyard, but my neighbour is more than happy to maintain both sides of them, so he comes over every year to do my side too. But (hedge) cedars tend to have small, flexible branches. The lilacs and firebushthings are more woody and stiff.

I need a tool that I can just glide over the outside of these plants and trim them back, hopefully without killing them. They are a little too thick and tough for regular hedge trimmers (maybe) but too abundant and small for chainsaw work. They are also way too abundant to do by hand. Or I'm too old and lazy. Choose whichever.

Any ideas? If needed I can provide pictures, but if you have any experience with lilacs, just imagine those growing wild, but before they are an actual tree.

They are also infringing on my neighbours (who I don't like interacting with at all) property a smidge. I'd like to take care of that before things become an issue requiring communication.

Lil' Help?

[TheMix]

I picked up this in 2013:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004A82W0E

It's been pretty good. It'll cut through woody branches that about the thickness of a finger (well, my fingers - I don't have big or fat hands ) and smaller. It will also happily cut through an extension cord.

I've used it on our juniper bushes in the front as well as some cedars.

As an aside, what exactly should I be doing with my lilacs? I'm just ignored them for 20+ years. But lately I've been wondering if maybe that isn't the right approach.

[The Meal]

Exact same product and review here. (Though mine was purchased in July 2021.)

Don’t skimp on eye protection.

[Isgrimnur]

The next step up is a pole saw.

[TheMix]

The next step up is a pole saw.

I got one of those too. I thought it was a pretty good one. It's crap. At least the saw part. It does also have built-in loppers. That part works. I may end up opting for one of the mini-chainsaws on a pole instead. I was really disappointed in the pole saw.

[GreenGoo]

Don’t skimp on eye protection.

Thanks for the reminder!

Do you think a cordless version would do the job? I have a cordless chainsaw and it is just fine for my purposes, which is actually a fair bit given my wild, unkempt lot.

Now that I've been using cordless tools it would be hard to go back to a corded one.

For the record that product is exactly what I think of when I think of a hedge trimmer. If you guys think it can handle up to pinkie sized branches, that would be great. Anything bigger I can use a long armed manual cutter probably. There won't be many of those.

I suppose I could get a pole version of it, but my imagined use case is well within step ladder height.

[Isgrimnur]

The next step up is a pole saw.

I got one of those too. I thought it was a pretty good one. It's crap. At least the saw part. It does also have built-in loppers. That part works. I may end up opting for one of the mini-chainsaws on a pole instead. I was really disappointed in the pole saw.

When I say pole saw, I mean powered.

[TheMix]

I went the other way. When my batteries died for my set of power tools after about 5 years and I discovered that buying a new battery would cost almost as much as the set cost me the first time...

I've been switching to more corded things. While the cord can be a nuisance, I never have to worry about the battery being dead or having to buy a replacement because it stopped holding a charge. Comes down to how long you intend to keep and potentially use the tool. And whether you are okay with spending more money on it down the road.

I have 4 18v batteries from/for various products. Not a single one of them holds a charge now. So if I want to edge my yard, I am either going to have to buy another battery (and two if I want a backup), or buy myself a corded edger and never worry about that again.

I'll only have to worry about repairing my extension cords when I inevitably damage them.

[TheMix]

The next step up is a pole saw.

I got one of those too. I thought it was a pretty good one. It's crap. At least the saw part. It does also have built-in loppers. That part works. I may end up opting for one of the mini-chainsaws on a pole instead. I was really disappointed in the pole saw.

When I say pole saw, I mean powered.

That's exactly what I should have gone with the first time.

[TheMix]

For the record that product is exactly what I think of when I think of a hedge trimmer. If you guys think it can handle up to pinkie sized branches, that would be great.

Mine will absolutely handle pinky sized. The website says 3/4 inch thick branches. That's probably about right. You might even be able to handle slightly bigger, but it might take several attempts.

[GreenGoo]

As an aside, what exactly should I be doing with my lilacs? I'm just ignored them for 20+ years. But lately I've been wondering if maybe that isn't the right approach.

Well, my reading is that in order to shrink them and still leave them healthy, you can trim up to 1/3 of the entire mass every year, after they've finished blooming. Since my backyard one is a tree (literally, must be 5-6 inch diameter trunk(s)) and there are several trunks, I am cutting down one entire trunk each year until nothing that size is left, and then I will start trimming the smaller growths. That's why it will take years to accomplish.

For a regular bush, just shaping it and keeping the new sprouts under control is probably good enough. I'm no expert and am only regurgitating what I've read and/or watched. I may end up killing them, we'll just have to wait and see. The backyard tree has survived 1 major cutting action though, so it's so far so good there.

My front yard lilacs are probably 10-12 feet tall at this point. They take up a lot of space and anything inside the outer layer are just bare branches. Only the surface area has any flowers on them. So that's a LOT of space for not much in the way of flowers, proportionality. They are also trying to extend over the sidewalk, forcing people to watch where they walk to avoid getting poked. That's going to stop. For the record, I've cut them back on the sidewalk side a few times over the years, so I haven't left them completely alone.

If you've left them alone for 20+ years (that's what I did) and they aren't a problem, then there's no problem. Mine are bulky, encroaching on everything, spreading in all directions, and have fewer flowers than their size warrants. So they are getting my attention. It helps that nothing complicated is involved. Wait, cut 1/3, wait.

[GreenGoo]

Mine will absolutely handle pinky sized. The website says 3/4 inch thick branches. That's probably about right. You might even be able to handle slightly bigger, but it might take several attempts.

Awesome. I was worried they couldn't handle anything besides a cedar hedge. Now I know better.

[TheMix]

Thanks. I'm hoping they will grow more. I had three trees in front providing good interference from folks walking on the sidewalk. Two have died. So now I have this big open area. I'd love for the lilacs to fill in a bit. But they don't seem to be growing great. I was wondering if doing some pruning would actually stimulate growth.

[GreenGoo]

Thanks. I'm hoping they will grow more. I had three trees in front providing good interference from folks walking on the sidewalk. Two have died. So now I have this big open area. I'd love for the lilacs to fill in a bit. But they don't seem to be growing great. I was wondering if doing some pruning would actually stimulate growth.

It could be. My problem is the opposite, so that's all I've searched for and read about. I do know that mine have runners that push up from the ground every year, farther, and farther from the parent roots. Like vines that grown underground and then grow upwards once they are far enough away from the main bush. So they spread on their own in my yard. You could probably take a cutting and plant it in the gap and it will thrive (mine seem unkillable) possibly. Could be soil quality too. My entire property is basically clay so I don't know why they are doing well.

I would love to be able to help, but I don't know enough about any of this. I do not have a green thumb or the experience that goes with it.

[The Meal]

I like cords on a few things — this trimmer and any leaf blower. (I do have a battery-powered leaf mulcher, however, but that sucks ‘em up and pulverizes them — the battery excuse here is that I have to reach the entire yard, and I wear out at just about the same timing as two batteries). (Nearly?) everything else is cordless or manual. I do have a manual branch trimmer for the big stuff and for one bush that’s just a hair outside the trimmer extension cord length. If I had more outlying bushes, I’d probably have investigated cordless options, but I wanted to be sure I had enough power to make the job as frictionless as possible (as I know the sorts of excuses I can dream up if I’m hesitant to do a job such as bush trimming).

From what I remember of your yard, I think I’d look at battery options. But remember batteries are heavier than a loose cord dangling behind.

[GreenGoo]

Batteries are so expensive. But convenience-wise, I find it hard to go back. I do have a cordless Mikita drill and one of two batteries is no longer taking charge. It's old enough that the form-factor has changed so once this second battery goes, the whole thing gets tossed.

[Daehawk]

Hedge trimmer


Pole saw


Lopper / Bill Lopper / Bird billed lopper


Shears