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mickeyd9

Plan for large area

11 years ago

I moved into a house with 11 acres of grass. Grass that is not woods. Other than the time involved in fertilizing or weed killing the cost of feeding 300,000 sq feet is a bit much.

Although my flower and shrub beds are irrigated the lawn is not.


What is a plan for such a large area that will to result me being thrown in debtors prison due to outrageous costs for fertilizer etc.

Comments (5)

  • 11 years ago

    Yes it will. Figure 479,000 square feet minus paved areas and buildings. Here are a few things to consider instead of turf...

    alternatives to grass on large acreage

    accent lighting in trees
    arbors (for vines)
    bamboo
    beds (perennials, annuals, bulbs, herbs, ferns, roses, hostas, container plants, rock, and
    fruits).
    bee keeping
    benches
    butterfly garden
    decks
    decorative gates (may be free standing)
    dog run or kennel
    edibles (veggies)
    fences (accent)
    fences (privacy)
    fountains
    fragrance garden
    gazebo
    greenhouse
    ground covers
    hedges
    herb garden
    hot tubs
    hummingbird garden
    Japanese garden
    jogging track
    moon garden (plants and lights for night time viewing)
    orchard
    ornamental grass garden
    other groundcovers
    out buildings (like sheds)
    outdoor theater
    overhead sunshades
    parcours (exercise stations)
    parking area
    party room (free standing for games, theater, pool table, etc.)
    patios
    picnic or barbecue area
    play yard for children
    ponds or garden pools
    pools
    potting bench or shed
    putting green
    rock garden
    rolling hills
    rose garden
    screened rooms (free standing)
    screens (foliage hedges or growing on a wire mesh)
    sitting or reading area
    sports courts
    statuary
    steps
    storage buildings
    sun room (free standing)
    swimming pools
    tool shed
    topiary
    trees (shade)
    trees (accent or decorative)
    tulip garden
    vining plant garden
    walkway (formal paved)
    walkway (informal path)
    walls (retaining)
    walls (accent or decorative)
    wildflowers
    Zen garden

  • 11 years ago

    Where do you live? That might make some difference.


    Join your local farmers and ranchers co-op. They will have the best prices for everything. For example, if for some reason you decide to spray molasses on your fields, molasses costs $15 per gallon anywhere. At the co-op it will be more like $1.10 per gallon if you bring in your own containers. If you were to apply organics, typically we buy in 50-pound bags. You would be buying in feed lot quantities, unbagged. We're talking 7,000 pounds at a time to apply at 15 pounds per 1,000 square feet. That would be 3.5 tons of stuff. I'm thinking around 5 cubic yards. Of course you'll need real farm equipment to apply anything or to mow.

  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    par 3 golf course with a koi pond? :)

  • 11 years ago

    What did the former owners do? Are there nearby farmers who might want to raise crops on the land? If you do nothing but let stuff grow however it will, you will at least need to cut it down periodically to keep it from growing up wild. If you put up a fence maybe you could keep a few goats to keep it from growing up too much.

  • 11 years ago

    For the below, I'm assuming you're in the northern tier of the nation. Southern answers will vary, so let us know your general location.

    If you want lawn in that huge area...oh, heavens, am I going to hear about this one...

    For most of it? I think I'd go with cheap, low-maintenance, high durability grass like K31. If you mow it and overseed a bit every few years, it'll look fine. Nothing spectacular, but fine, and it'll tolerate neglect that most other grasses won't. The seed is also incredibly cheap.

    On 11 acres, copses of trees would also be a possibility, provide some wind breaks, and areas for animals to live. If you like having animals about (I do), that is.

    Then I'd maintain a designated area around the house, perhaps 10,000 to 20,000 square feet, that you really care for. That would be the area of lawn that you use, look at a lot, play on, and enjoy most of the time. That reduces the amount you need to expend much effort on considerably and reduces the price of most maintenance to 1/15th what it would be on the whole property.