c/backyard-living

That one time a squirrel stole my whole bag of charcoal right off the deck

I was at my cousin's place in Austin last July and a fat little gray squirrel somehow dragged a 10-pound bag of Kingsford down two steps and into a bush, so now I store my grill supplies in a metal locker and check for acorn stashes before every cookout, anybody else have critters ruin your setup?

That $350 mosquito net setup either saved my summer or made things worse

I spent $350 on a full screened-in gazebo from Amazon to keep the bugs out, but now I feel like I'm trapped in a mesh box while the rest of the yard is unusable. Has anyone else found a better balance between staying bite-free and actually enjoying open air?

Found a weird tip for keeping fire ants out of my raised beds

Old timer at the local nursery in Austin told me to sprinkle coffee grounds around the edges. I tried it last weekend after a big rain and haven't seen a single mound near my tomatoes yet. Anyone else had luck with this or is it just placebo?

That chat with my neighbor about native plants changed my whole backyard plan

My neighbor Dave saw me digging up a patch of grass last Saturday. He asked what I was planting. I said some generic flowers from the big box store. He just laughed and told me I was wasting my money. Said those plants would die by August here in Texas. He pointed at his yard full of wild looking stuff. Called it native landscaping. Said he waters maybe twice a month total. I spent $85 on those flowers too. Now I'm looking at his yard and he's got bees and butterflies everywhere. Has anyone switched over to native plants and seen a big difference in their water bill?

Rolled my eyes at my neighbor's rain barrel setup 3 years ago

Now I'm on my second one and my water bill dropped by $15 a month during summer. Anyone else cave and try something you thought was hippie nonsense?

Met an older guy at the community garden who had the wildest tomato setup

He showed me these 5-gallon buckets with holes drilled in the sides and said he grows 8 plants per bucket instead of 1... told me he hasn't bought store tomatoes in 12 years. Anyone else seen weird container tricks that actually work better than the normal way?

My neighbor's comment about our compost bin hit different last weekend

Swapped my cheap plastic hose for a rubber one after it burst on me twice in one month

Used to buy those $10 garden hoses from the hardware store every spring because I didn't want to spend $60 on a rubber one, but after the second one split open while I was watering my tomato bed in July I finally shelled out for a better hose and now I don't have to deal with kinks or leaks every time I turn the spigot on has anyone else made that switch or are you still fighting with the cheap stuff?

Dropped $900 on a fancy fire pit table and now I'm second guessing it

I bought this nice gas fire pit table from a local shop in Phoenix back in March, figured it'd be great for hosting backyard hangouts. First two weekends were awesome, but then the flame started flickering weird and the ignition button broke after just 4 uses. Am I the only one who thinks these things are overpriced junk or did I just pick a bad one?

Was skeptical about those fancy outdoor string lights, now I'm a convert

I used to think people were wasting money on those expensive Edison bulb string lights for their backyard. Figured regular hardware store lights would do the same job for way less. But after three months with the cheap ones that kept flickering and two bulbs died, I finally tried a $40 set from a local garden center. They've held up through two rainstorms and look way better at night. Has anyone else been burned by going budget on backyard lighting?

Can we talk about how I spent 3 summers overwatering my tomato plants?

I was out there every evening with the hose for at least 10 minutes per plant, thinking more water meant bigger tomatoes. Then my neighbor from down the street told me my leaves were turning yellow from root rot, not dehydration. Anyone else figure out they were killing their garden with kindness?

Realized my mosquito problem was a me problem after 2 summers of fighting it

I spent like 18 months buying bug sprays, torches, citronella candles, even one of those fancy propane traps. Nothing worked. Then my neighbor casually mentioned I had a birdbath and a clogged gutter both holding water. Drained them both last August and the difference was NIGHT and DAY. Has anyone else found that the solution was way simpler than all the stuff you buy?

Found a cheap trick to keep mosquitoes out of my backyard

Tried putting a box fan on low near my patio table and it cut down bites by like 90%. Has anyone tested this with a specific fan speed or setup?

Woke up to a flooded backyard after that big storm last Tuesday in Houston

We had that crazy downpour last week and my whole yard turned into a pond. Water was sitting 4 inches deep near the fence line for almost two days. Turns out the gutter downspout was clogged with leaves and the water had nowhere to go but sideways into the grass. I spent Saturday digging a small trench to a dry well I put in near the shed. Has anyone else dealt with drainage after heavy rain or found a cheap fix that actually works?

The article about wasps that got me to stop hating them

I used to kill every wasp that got near my backyard. Then I read a study from some university entomology department saying they pollinate way more plants than people realize. Something like 1,000 species of figs depend entirely on wasps. Now I just leave them alone and they pretty much ignore me.

Just realized those cheap solar lights are actually pretty good

I was dead set against those $10 solar path lights from Home Depot, figured they'd be junk after a month. Got a set of 12 from Hampton Bay three months ago for my garden in Portland, and they still work like day one. They even held up through two heavy rainstorms without flickering. Anyone else have a budget backyard buy that surprised them?

Vent: The neighbor's inflatable Halloween display nearly took out my grill

So Tuesday night a big windstorm rolled through our street here in Akron, and I'm watching from the kitchen window as this 12-foot skeleton starts tilting toward my patio. Before I could run out there, the thing snapped its tether and flew straight into my gas grill, knocking it over on its side. Now I've got a dented lid and a neighbor who won't stop apologizing. Anyone else ever had backyard gear wrecked by someone else's decorations?

Tried a gas fire pit after years of wood burning and wow what a difference

Spent 4 years dealing with ash cleanup and waiting 45 minutes for a good fire with my wood pit. Switched to a gas one last weekend and it's just on/off, no mess. Anyone else made the swap and felt silly for waiting so long?

Can we talk about how long I was wrong about morning shade?

For 3 summers I put my tomato plants in the sunniest corner of my yard in Austin, watching them struggle with wilt by noon. Then my neighbor pointed out that my backyard gets brutal afternoon heat, not gentle morning light like I thought. Did anyone else realize their garden layout was totally off because of how shadows move through your space?

Took me 7 weeks to figure out my irrigation timer was just set wrong

Spent all spring thinking my lawn was getting too much water in one spot and not enough in another. Moved sprinkler heads, dug up lines, replaced a valve. Finally called a buddy who laughed and pointed out the zones were programmed backwards on the controller. Hours of work over a simple settings error. Anyone else ever overthink something this bad?

My neighbor said my compost pile was too close to the fence and now I'm wondering if I've been doing it wrong for 3 years

He pointed out the smell was seeping into his yard and honestly it hit different because I never thought about how it affected anyone else, has anyone else dealt with a neighbor complaint about their setup?

Overheard my neighbor complaining about his sod last Tuesday

I was out watering my flowers and heard my neighbor on the phone, yelling about how his new sod from Home Depot was already half dead after 5 days. He kept saying he watered it every morning for 20 minutes. I have installed sod 6 times for rental properties I manage, so I walked over and asked if he was watering at night instead. Turns out morning watering just cooks the roots in Texas heat and he lost $280 worth of grass. Has anyone else had a similar fail with new sod installs?

Just realized my new privacy fence is making my garden die

I put up a 6 foot cedar fence last spring to block out my neighbor's loud dogs, but now the tomato plants on that side are barely getting 3 hours of sun a day. The shade killed half my bell peppers and the basil is all leggy and sad. Anyone else deal with this and find a good way to still grow stuff in a suddenly shady spot?

Always thought string lights were just for looks but a 75 degree night changed my mind

I hung up some cheap LED string lights over my patio last month mainly for decoration, but they actually made the space usable after dark without that harsh floodlight feeling. Has anyone else found a simple lighting setup that completely changed how they use their yard at night?

Discovered that planting marigolds next to my tomato plants in the backyard really cut down on aphids this summer

I had tried soap spray and neem oil for two years with barely any luck, but after throwing in a border of marigolds around my raised bed in April, I barely saw any bugs on my tomatoes by July has anyone else had good luck with companion planting for pest control?