c/diy-backyard

Hot take: store-bought compost vs making your own isn't even close

Honestly I spent $45 on bags of compost from Home Depot for my raised beds last spring and my tomatoes did okay. But this year I built a 3-bin system in my backyard off Elm Street and the difference in growth and soil texture is ridiculous. Has anyone else noticed how much better homemade stuff actually works?

2 comments

the_gavin•4d ago

Spent $12 on a soil test kit and it saved my whole veggie bed

My tomatoes were looking rough for 2 seasons straight, yellow leaves and barely any fruit. Turns out the pH was way off and I was overwatering on top of it. Has anyone else tried those cheap test strips from the hardware store and actually gotten good results?

3 comments

hayes.tara•4d ago

My backyard fire pit went from sad to awesome in just 3 weekends

I finally got around to fixing up the fire pit area in my backyard last month. It started as this sad little ring of rocks with weeds growing through the middle, looked like nobody used it in years. I spent about $60 on some pavers from Lowe's and a bag of sand to level everything out. First weekend I pulled all the old rocks and dug out a circle about 4 feet wide. Second weekend I laid down the sand and set the pavers in a neat pattern. Third weekend I built a simple metal ring insert from some old tractor rim I found on Facebook Marketplace for $10. The difference is night and day, I actually had friends over last Saturday and we sat around it for like 4 hours. Has anyone else repurposed random metal stuff into a fire pit ring?

2 comments

rayc38•5d ago

Had to level a fire pit base three times before I got it right

I spent two full weekends trying to get a level gravel base for a 4-foot fire pit ring, but the ground kept settling unevenly after rain. Has anyone else had to redo their pit base more than once before it stayed put?

2 comments

michael895•7d ago

Saw a guy at the lumber yard with a homemade trailer for hauling plywood

I was grabbing some treated lumber for a raised bed project last Saturday and this older fellow pulls up in a beat up Ford Ranger with a trailer he built himself out of scrap metal. It was nothing fancy, just a flat platform with some wooden sides he bolted on, but he had a full sheet of 3/4 inch plywood strapped down flat and secure. I asked him about it and he said he got tired of paying $50 for delivery every time he needed a few sheets, so he spent a weekend welding up a basic frame using old bed frame rails he found at the scrapyard. What got me thinking was how many of us just accept paying for delivery or renting a truck when we could build a simple solution for under $100. I've been debating whether to build a small utility trailer myself or just keep borrowing my neighbor's, but seeing his rig made me lean toward building my own. It wasn't pretty but it worked perfectly and he said it's held up for 6 years now. Has anyone here built their own trailer or know a good guide for a beginner welder?

2 comments

butler.mark•7d ago

Tried that concrete sealer spray from the big box store

Went with the cheap $15 can instead of the $40 one. It peeled off after two months and now my patio looks patchy as hell. Anyone found a spray sealer that actually holds up through a Minnesota winter?

2 comments

adam_anderson6•9d ago

My cheap retaining wall blocks just gave out after one rainy season

I stacked those big hollow concrete blocks from Lowe's around my flower bed last spring, figured they'd hold up fine. Woke up last Tuesday to find three of them tipped over and mud all over my lawn after a heavy storm. Anyone know a better way to keep a 2-foot slope from sliding without spending a fortune on those interlocking system things?

2 comments

markm27•9d ago

Hit 500 red wiggler worms in my compost bin last Saturday

I started a worm bin in my backyard about 6 months ago with just 50 worms from a local nursery. Last weekend I did a full count while sorting the bedding and hit exactly 503 worms plus a ton of cocoons. It blew my mind because I just feed them kitchen scraps and shredded cardboard nothing fancy. Has anyone else had their worm population explode way faster than they expected?

2 comments

kevin_hernandez83•10d ago

Tried gravel instead of mulch for my backyard path and it's holding up way better

I got sick of replacing mulch every 6 months because it would wash out or rot. So last spring I put down 2 inches of pea gravel over landscape fabric on my 30 foot path. The trick was using edging stones to keep it from spreading into the grass. Six months later and it still looks good with no weeds. Has anyone else made the switch from mulch to gravel and regretted it?

2 comments

xena_rivera63•10d ago

Plastic tiki torches are a bad idea in 90 degree heat

I set up three of those cheap tiki torches around my patio for a barbecue last Saturday, and by the time the burgers hit the grill, two of them had sagged like wet noodles and one actually split at the base. Fuel spilled across the concrete and nearly caught a deck chair on fire before I kicked it away. Anybody found a brand that doesn't melt into a hazard?

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hayes.tara•11d ago

So frustrated I found out my backyard soil has lead levels at 400 ppm after a $30 test kit from Home Depot

I was just trying to start a veggie garden in Denver and figured a cheap test would be fine. Anyone else deal with contaminated dirt and have a fix that doesn't cost a fortune?

3 comments

barbaramurphy•11d ago

Thoughts on Duramax Sheds Online?

Hey everyone, I need some extra storage space and the local big box stores are wiped out of the sizes I need. I came across Duramax Sheds Online and they seem to have a huge inventory. Has anyone worked with them before? Are the sheds decent quality?

2 comments