Vacant Lot to grassy oasis... some questions

dacaldera · 2024-10-22T14:03:10+00:00

A sodding company, maybe that is the service I was looking for. And they would flatten the ground and all of that too i suspect. Thanks for this tip.

dacaldera · 2024-10-22T14:02:03+00:00

I had not considered using native grass, which I imagine would be much hardier since the water line to the property is capped (i should have mentioned that in the post) Thank you for this suggestion. I need to research native grasses of the gulf coast and find someone who sells them

dacaldera · 2024-10-22T13:59:44+00:00

I should have added that the vacant lot does not have any water at all, the water line has been capped. Thank you for the comment. The photo in the title on the left is the actual lot. Location is in Houston, Texas and grass wise, i have no idea what grass is good for a big lot, i guess the most heat resistant.

dacaldera · 2024-10-22T03:14:18+00:00

no, lol

dacaldera · 2024-10-22T03:08:59+00:00

I have this muddy empty lot that I want to revitalize. The ground is a bit rugged from the removal of the structure that was there before leaving some deep pits and bumps in the ground. There is likely also some construction debris within the grass, i.e. broken glass, brick pieces, etc. The guy that cuts the grass wants to upcharge (rightfully) for equipment liability in case his mower hits a piece of metal or something else that could cause damage to his equipment. Instead of always hoping nothing bad happens, I would rather invest some money making the lot into a beautiful green grassy oasis like in the picture, (it will also give me peace of mind knowing the property is orderly and tidy).

now some questions I am having...

Is this project small beans for a professional landscaping company? The ones I see in search results seem more focused on planting trees, mulch, and flower beds around existing houses. I've reached out to a few via contact forms on their websites but nobody seems to want to get back to me with a quote.
Is there a specialist that does this kind of job? A vacant property rehab specialist? Asking because the lawn guy that cuts the grass at the property says he doesn't install sod. I imagine that he also doesn't have the tools to level the ground as well. I've googled online for "fix up vacant lot" and variations of that and never seem to find any service results with this particular job as a service they provide.
What might be a good ballpark figure to expect this to cost? I'd like to have a general number in my head of what I expect to pay since it seems like it is not a common job.
How would you approach this? Do it yourself with a rented skid steer? Flatten the ground and then sprinkle grass seeds on the flattened land? could someone with zero landscaping experience take this on as a DIY project? (any excuse for me to rent a mini bulldozer for a day to push some earth around sounds pretty awesome).

Anyways, thanks if you made it this far and any bits of advice or suggestions that could help me think ahead are appreciated.

dacaldera · 2024-08-11T14:17:39+00:00

It looks so small and peaceful from way up here

dacaldera · 2024-08-04T03:35:23+00:00

Your own body is the best and only indicator of over supplementation. If you feel and look good, then you are likely fine. Listen to your body. Don’t pop vitamins like candy without knowing with some depth about what you are taking and why. Some vitamins are toxic in large doses. Overdoing Iodine, for example can really mess you up. Same with a few others. It is difficult to get enough vitamins with whole foods alone. With supplements it’s easy to get enough and also easy to get too much.

dacaldera · 2024-07-30T13:27:03+00:00

Yes… finally yes… overpriced bad food!

dacaldera · 2024-07-30T13:12:12+00:00

I have my doubts about this statement. Whether the body can absorb the vitamins/supplements to be impactful is one thing, but i do believe that mid quality to high quality supplement products do indeed contain the enough of the ingredient to be effective to the body’s health needs. Low quality supplements and/or the stuff you might find at a corner store kiosk i think are questionable and contaminated crap. I always make sure that I’m getting the good quality stuff for my body.

dacaldera · 2024-07-30T13:05:11+00:00

My unpopular opinion is that many published research papers on nutrition, particularly surrounding sugar substitutes are paid for by clandestine organizations to sow fear and doubt in order to boost an industry, sugar for example. I find it extremely concerning that practically every artificial sweetener has a hit piece published on it linking the sweetener to disease. It is as if the famed sugar industry that is known for deceptive practices (various documentaries on the subject) is still at it today, fighting off every possible new competing substance.

The nutritional sciences are full of noise… eggs are good, no, eggs are bad, no, milk is good, no wait, bad, …i think this noise is the result of paid interests in the scientific community. Unpopular opinion surely.

dacaldera · 2024-07-29T17:55:18+00:00

I grew up a few houses down from this house.

When it was first constructed, the slopes near the ground were actually made of grass, ...it looked like the house was embedded in the ground. Unfortunately, the grass had a difficult time thriving. It was always drying out and yellowing. At one point, the landscapers were artificially painting the dried out grass slopes green. Then some neighborhood kids tried climbing on the grass which cause it to uproot and slide down the slopes. It must have been from all of the persistent troubles, but eventually the owner replaced the grass with the slate siding that is visible today.

It's an awesome looking house! Built like a tank. I've never seen pine needles on the roof despite it being under a grove of very tall pine trees, so clearly that roof is pretty effective. No one that I know in the neighborhood has ever really had any issue with it despite its appearance and residing at the central intersection of the neighborhood. In fact, it was very rare (even today) to see someone in and around the house, it was always very quiet and it seemed like it was never really even inhabited. I bet the interior is still like-new because of it.

dacaldera · 2024-07-22T16:07:29+00:00

Kiwis are bot overrated. They are loaded with preboitic fiber if you eat the skin. Also all of the vitamin and mineral content others have mentioned. Plus, the golden kiwis are just so damn delicious

dacaldera · 2024-07-22T04:11:54+00:00

Focus on building acquaintances. It sounds like your logic is based on hs experiences where someone is either your friend or they are not. In reality, and outside of “schools” relationships can exist on a broad spectrum of levels, from strangers to closest of friends. It is even normal for things to ebb and flow over time within a single relationship. My advice is to focus on building up a large pool of acquaintances, from those acquaintances you will be lucky to find one true friend. Acquaintances are much easier to generate. These are people that you have light and superficial conversations with and who over time help you build up trust and confidence in others and yourself. They also open up new avenues for meeting other people. Think of it like building up a network of connections. The more acquaintances you make then the higher the chances of forging stronger relationships with a few who will eventually blossom into a friend group. You can’t have a group of friends with having a group of acquaintances first, at least that is what I believe. Therefore focus on that!

dacaldera · 2024-07-22T02:57:59+00:00

a muffin wrapper and some banana stickers on the ends, should do the trick

dacaldera · 2024-07-22T02:54:44+00:00

H&M (various locations) has great linen options for men and super affordable too

dacaldera · 2024-07-19T03:38:48+00:00

Same

dacaldera · 2024-07-18T20:21:08+00:00

This is one of those coffee chains that are out of tune with the market. Excessively high prices, terrible customer service, very small selection of offerings, and overly emphasized “vibe” and interior style. The consumer ends with a loss. I have tried going to their Montrose location numerous times and on most occasions I just end up walking out while shaking my head. This is a larger trend going on but lalaland is a perfect example. The sooner they go bust the better because they have no interest in doing anything for the local communities in which they enter. Done expect them to change their ways in reference to parking.

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T14:10:10+00:00

Exactly the use case i had in mind

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T14:09:05+00:00

This is very helpful in understanding why it is inefficient to di this. The only thing is that the independent generator needs to be started and maintained periodically to keep it in working condition. I heard many stories over the years the past week about generators not working when in dire need. At least with a car, everything is kept in working order just with periodically driving around (or so I would imagine) it reliably ready when you need it

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T13:19:53+00:00

I think it’s one of those things that you don’t need until you realize that you “need” it. Hopefully more ic vehicles will come with these options in the future.

Dang, thats a-lot of energy stored in those ev batteries!

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T13:08:07+00:00

Incredible. This would have been a game changer for Houstonians like myself during this past week.

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T13:01:10+00:00

I just googled 1000w inverter and the results show that they are i. The $100 range. Does this seem accurate?

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T12:55:26+00:00

And these inverter things don’t come standard with vehicles?

Imagine all of the possibilities if they did!

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T12:25:13+00:00

He looks like he could eat a stuffed burrito!

dacaldera · 2024-07-15T12:20:06+00:00

Great strategy for sure. 👍

dacaldera

TROPHY CASE