Treasure Valley Lawn and Landscape Goals for 2023
I know you are probably tired of hearing about New Year's Resolutions. I tend to have the same reaction, and I wanted to understand my negative reaction. I think it comes from a place of stopping something, rather than looking to start new things that could improve my life.
Treasure Valley Lawn and Landscape Goals for 2023
I don't want to call them resolutions. I think often the term, resolutions, means it's something we want to stop. It feels like it is negative. I think we would be better off looking for the positive. Instead of quitting, what can we start? What do we want to start doing in our lawn, landscape, garden, and with our pets?
My intention with this article isn't to say, “Here are a bunch of things I think you should do this year." These are simply things that I have been thinking about. Additionally, my hope is you will find some new ideas and share them with us.
2023 With My Dog
I got to do a lot with our family dog, Opal, last year. We went camping and hiking and it's safe to say she loves being out in the woods. Probably as much as I do. I am looking forward to more of this in 2023. But my resolutions for Opal are focused on things around the home and her diet. I have some issues in the lawn that are related to Opal and I will talk about that in a bit. As far as her diet, I think Opal is doing very well. She eats when she wants and has never been overweight. As with most dogs, however, she is constantly shedding. Part of me is resigned to believing this is the way it is, but I want to do everything I can to reduce the shedding.
Opal has been eating Grandma Z's Trout and Potato since we brought her home. Recently I have been giving her Zamzows Enzam, admittedly I haven't been consistent. I think being consistent with Enzam will help a lot with her shedding. The other thing I want to do more of when it comes to Opal's diet is to add some raw food. I appreciate the benefits of feeding raw foods, however, they can be a little expensive. So, I will be looking to add some raw food once a week.
The last thing I will be looking into this year is some new fermented dog food Jim Zamzow has been experimenting with. I don't know as much about these fermented foods, I am looking forward to learning more about the process and benefits this year.
Lawns in 2023
Most of my lawn issues moving into 2023 involve my backyard, AKA Opal’s play place. I will admit that I was not prepared for what a larger dog who loves to run and fetch would do to a lawn. Needless to say, I have some work to do. Aside from sprinkler issues, I will need to work on I have a number of areas where I want to remove lawn. I will start with the sides of the house. I am realizing that these are areas that don't provide any benefit to the lawn and landscape and keeping them as lawn is wasting time and effort.
I do still enjoy lawns, but I am recognizing that I want to be more intentional with the areas that I keep as lawn. With this in mind, I want to focus on areas that Opal will run and play. I am not 100% sure exactly what I will do about these areas, but I will be looking into ways to prevent compaction and reinforce the grass to prevent it being torn up and diminished to soil. One thing I have in mind to help with this is adding clover to those areas. Through a conversation with Jim Zamzow, I found out that clover used to be a standard addition to lawn seed blends. Clover provides a lot of benefits to turf. It introduces flora diversity, it is nitrogen fixing, and it can fill in areas quickly.
Rethinking My Landscape in 2023
Recently I read an article about a landscaping idea called Micro-forests. I found this article very compelling and am going to be looking into more. The basic premise of a micro-forest is planting native trees, shrubs, and ground covers in a compacted area. They are planted close together so as they grow, natural competition and proximity begin to change the area into a space that promotes soil diversity, encourages wildlife to inhabit the area and suppresses weeds. Over several years the area will grow up and you will have grown a natural space that takes care of itself. You can even introduce edible plants like fruit trees and berries that will have natural bug and disease control built right in! I don't think I could go so far as to turn my entire backyard into this kind of space. However, I am very interested into filling areas that aren't used as often.