My Big Front “Yard”: Best Options?... Me, ‘No-LIke Cut Glass’…

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

This probably will not work for thick growth:  Robotic Lawn Mower

 

If you like playing with joy sticks and for heavier growth: Lawn tractor with remote contol

 

Or for a couple thousand baht a month you could probably have someone come cut it for you every week.

No, as I said. Labor cost are increasing because nobody wants to cut grass these days, in the hot sun. 

 

Besides, if I save this money, I might buy a new and faster phone. 

 

 

[Grusa]

Dig a big big hole and fill it with water. Then you can fish, breed prawns, or run around on your jet ski, yacht, whatever.

[Lacessit]

48 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Water buffalo don't get enough salt? 

 

 

Water buffalo is different meat to beef.

When I visited Timor, still a colony of Portugal in 1969, water buffalo steak fried in coconut oil was the island staple for hotels. Quite tasty.

[GammaGlobulin]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

Water buffalo is different meat to beef.

When I visited Timor, still a colony of Portugal in 1969, water buffalo steak fried in coconut oil was the island staple for hotels. Quite tasty.

I did not know that..

Both that you have been to Timor, and that buffalo steak is not considered beef.

I had some decades ago in south Thailand, and did not enjoy it.

BUT, I LOVE water buffalo,

Especially with those gorgeous white birds riding on their backs in the paddy fields, at sunset or sunrise.

I would be Hap, Hap, HAPPY to have a head of water buffalo in my front yard.

That would be  REALLY SUPER COOL, to me.

(I could even plow my front yard, and grow rice, too, maybe.)

But I will not.

I am looking for very low maintenance, but beautiful.

 

I am now leaning toward planting Bougainvillea...

Reminds me of James Michener's writings, at least some of them.

 

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

7 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

I did not know that..

Both that you have been to Timor, and that buffalo steak is not considered beef.

I had some decades ago in south Thailand, and did not enjoy it.

BUT, I LOVE water buffalo,

Especially with those gorgeous white birds riding on their backs in the paddy fields, at sunset or sunrise.

I would be Hap, Hap, HAPPY to have a head of water buffalo in my front yard.

That would be  REALLY SUPER COOL, to me.

(I could even plow my front yard, and grow rice, too, maybe.)

But I will not.

I am looking for very low maintenance, but beautiful.

 

I am now leaning toward planting Bougainvillea...

Reminds me of James Michener's writings, at least some of them.

 

 

 

 

Beef has fat marbling in layers. Buffalo fat seems to be in the form of pinheads distributed evenly but randomly throughout the steak.

Why don't you plant a mix of mango and avocado trees? They would shade out any grass below. Or olives, to add to your pizzas and martinis.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Lacessit

[PeterA]

Eucalyptus trees. They kill most of the grass around them, and grow  a few meters a year.  Ours are 5 years old, and at least 4 or 5 stories tall. The root systems are huge,

so no worries of falling over in strong winds. When you grow tired of  the trees, cut them and sell them for making charcoal or building material.

[KannikaP]

10 hours ago, pomchop said:

hibiscus/chaba very pretty grows pretty fast...does need some watering

 

and bougainvilla....grows fast low maintenance....bougainvilla seems to do better when you just plant it and ignore it...full of thorns as well but can be quite pretty and blooms a lot...

150 x 100  meters of bouganville. low maintenance?

Get some ganja planted.

[MrJ2U]

14 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

My Fellow Horticulturists:

 

I need your HELPFUL and CREATIVE Suggestions, PLEASE…

 

Here is my situation, a plot of land in front of my house, which could be either my pleasure or my curse during the next five years—

 

This plot of land in front of my house (approx 100 meters by 150 meters) was once full of trees. Then, the trees were cut, and now there is nothing but glass.

 

I don’t have a riding lawnmower, and I don’t like the noise of one, either.  Therefore, what might be the best option for this piece of dirt?

 

For example, if I were to plant apple trees, they would not bear fruit for many years, if ever, and so this option is out

 

But what about papaya?  Even that might take more than a few years to produce really BIG fruit, and I don’t want to wait that long.

 

I don’t necessarily want to plant anything that bears fruit, actually. I just don’t want to cut grass, and I don’t want to spread stones over the land instead of grass, and I don’t like snakes, either.

 

I like the idea of planting something, though.

And, I don’t want to become a farmer in the hot sun.

Therefore, I need a solution which will not be so time consuming.

I like beauty, and so I would like to sit on my stoop and feel peaceful as I look at something that is aesthetically pleasing to me.

 

What are my options?

What can I do that will provide me a sense of accomplishment, and also provide me with pleasure each and every time I look out through my sliding glass doors?

 

There must be tens of different solutions, I think.

 

What would be best in my case?

 

REALLY thanking you this time,

Regards

Gamma

 

 

 

It'll just turn into a jungle.

 

Pay a few locals to weed wack it every 3 months.

 

We've a huge yard.  I thought it would be nice.  However it's a curse!

 

Next place, small front and backyards with cement and a few potted plants. 

[Fat is a type of crazy]

1 hour ago, PeterA said:

Eucalyptus trees. They kill most of the grass around them, and grow  a few meters a year.  Ours are 5 years old, and at least 4 or 5 stories tall. The root systems are huge,

so no worries of falling over in strong winds. When you grow tired of  the trees, cut them and sell them for making charcoal or building material.

Have to disagree a bit as they are not the most stable trees and can fall over in strong winds. Have many where I live and they fall from time to time in the area. They drop branches too. They were contemplating using them by roadsides in Melbourne back in the 19th century because they were suited to the conditions but stopped due to their propensity to drop the branches. 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Fat is a type of crazy

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, PeterA said:

Eucalyptus trees. They kill most of the grass around them, and grow  a few meters a year.  Ours are 5 years old, and at least 4 or 5 stories tall. The root systems are huge,

so no worries of falling over in strong winds. When you grow tired of  the trees, cut them and sell them for making charcoal or building material.

At the moment, I am searching for a plant or tree that is toxic to mosquitoes. 

 

If I find the right species, I will plant it. 

 

 

[jojothai]

6 hours ago, sandyf said:

Depending where you are you may get taxed if the land is not used constructively. The owner of the land next to us just got taxed 20k for last year and 20K for this year.

It did have coconuts on it but the old guy got too old to look after it, the insects ate the trees and it became overgrown. A few weeks back the daughter got a JCB in to clear the land and she has planted some bananas to avoid this years tax.

Mangoes and longan are probably easiest to grow, most others need looking after, and the same can be said for decorative plants.

Other option would be to rent it out, a few around here rent out bits of land to the tapioca farmers.

Well said, the OP may have a land tax problem.

if they do not do something to address it then they will find how expensive it may be. 

Most plots i see vacant, now have bananas. Must be the cheapest, but not the vista you want in front of the home.

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, PeterA said:

Eucalyptus trees. They kill most of the grass around them, and grow  a few meters a year.  Ours are 5 years old, and at least 4 or 5 stories tall. The root systems are huge,

so no worries of falling over in strong winds. When you grow tired of  the trees, cut them and sell them for making charcoal or building material.

I think your suggestion could be useful.

 

I might wish to plant trees or plants that will repel mosquitoes, and which will grow FAST.

However, there seems to be some debate about whether or not just the planting of trees would be an effective strategy for repelling mosquitoes.

 

For example, one might need to actually BURN the trees to have the desired repellency effect:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021014766

 

Still, what has been your experience with growing so many trees, and for a number of years?

Have you noticed any appreciable mosquito repellency effect?

This is a very interesting solution. The trees grow super fast, and require little or no irrigation, and might possibly repel mosquitoes.

 

Worth investigating further.

 

And, there is really no need to worry about them falling over...IF one just cuts them down, and plants new trees every few years or so, in a staggered way so that there are always the desired average number of trees sticking up out of the soil.

 

 

 

[FarmerJoe]

If I was at my house in C.M. I'd send a photo of what I did. Same problem in several spots around the land. I planted Singapore Daisy in those spots with a rock border and threw some cactus pieces down. Looks amazing. The daisy is a weed, but easily controlled. Its a creeping ivy.

[GammaGlobulin]

12 minutes ago, FarmerJoe said:

If I was at my house in C.M. I'd send a photo of what I did. Same problem in several spots around the land. I planted Singapore Daisy in those spots with a rock border and threw some cactus pieces down. Looks amazing. The daisy is a weed, but easily controlled. Its a creeping ivy.

When you do return to CM, and if you find the photo you mention, I am sure that posting it here would be most appreciated, as well as being informative to others who are in the same quandary.

 

 

[pomchop]

6 hours ago, KannikaP said:

150 x 100  meters of bouganville. low maintenance?

Get some ganja planted.

I like the ganja idea but that would be a lot of work and have to replant about two or three times per year and no doubt would attract maybe more people than OP wants. to include maybe local cops with their hands out as no permit.

 

..bougainvilla grows like crazy and loves lot of hot sunshine...u can let it grow or if you whack it back with weed wacker once or so a year it will grow and bloom even more...cheap to buy and easy to plant and away u go....lots of colors and after few years the lot would likely be an inpenetrable maze of flowers and thorns

[sandyf]

12 hours ago, jojothai said:

Well said, the OP may have a land tax problem.

if they do not do something to address it then they will find how expensive it may be. 

Most plots i see vacant, now have bananas. Must be the cheapest, but not the vista you want in front of the home.

Yes, bananas would certainly be the cheapest and need very little looking after, can just be left.

As you say would be very unsightly.

[Stevemercer]

Papaya grow fast. You'll have plenty of fruit after 12 months. But they are fragile and need a lotof water. They need calcium and seem to grow best next to concrete.

 

You want to get shade trees in as quickly as possible. Look around for popular natives (e.g. that grow naturally around the area). They will typically be hardy, fast growing, cheap at local nurseries  and only need watering for the first year or so. Start planting around the fenceline and access/walking paths.

 

Weeds and pest species thrive best in sunlight. They don't tend to grow in shade. You won't have much grass or other ground plants once you re-establish the shade.

[thailand49]

7From his post,  he doesn't want to cut the grass,  plus grass attracts snake which he doesn't like. Get sheep he won't cut grass you think he going to clean up sheep <deleted>. 

Sounds like you should have purchased a Condo overlooking the ocean. 

[FarmerJoe]

On 8/19/2023 at 11:18 PM, GammaGlobulin said:

When you do return to CM, and if you find the photo you mention, I am sure that posting it here would be most appreciated, as well as being informative to others who are in the same quandary.

 

 

Hey G.G, back in Chiang Mai now and here are a couple photos of the Singapore Daiseys. I have many more and I thought I had them on my external hard drive here, but it seems they are either lost or on my laptop in the states. Anyway this will give you an idea what they look like. If you let them grow and just trim them from time to time they will cover a lot of area. The second photo was when I came back after 6 months in the U.S. The better ones arte after I made an overhead tressal tunnel down these pavers to the outdoor garders facilities. Very nice looking and not a lot of work. I did start pulling them out when they got too much in some areas, but that was no problem. They don't just grow from nothing like most weeds. These you have to plant or seed. Hope this helps.

[still kicking]

On 8/19/2023 at 7:54 AM, Lacessit said:

Goat stew is quite tasty.

Not if you are vegan ????