Muddy boots and a ruined lawn

[Louis D]

3 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

I’ve had them down for about 2 weeks so the grass has grown a bit but not much as it slows at this time of year. I’ve spent about 5 nights out on the mats with no negative effects on the lawn. When I’ve done that previously without the mats it’s been a mud bath and ruined lawn

So, it might actually improve the health of the lawn overall.  It's too bad it won't drain and dry out on its own after it rains.  Damp lawns like that die here in Texas due to root rot.

[JOC]

On 05/11/2019 at 14:48, Jiggy 67 said:

they are all pegged firmly down (pegs come with the mats) and they work perfectly with no movement whatsoever. No mud, feet perfectly dry no matter the weather 

I just wondered, if the photo is the finished job, and I hesitate to suggest it, are they the right way up?  I've got these in various places on our land and I thought mine were a good deal smoother on the top than yours appear to be.  

[carastro]

I would suggest if you are not going to hammer them into the lawn, that you move them around so that the same bit of grass is not shaded from the sun all the time or you will end up with the pattern on the lawn if you decide to take them up for a garden event or similar.

Carole 

[Jiggy 67]

Yeh I think they are because the holes for the pegs are recessed that way up . I think I tried one both ways and this way worked best. I don’t think it’s a game changer either way though 

[Jiggy 67]

3 minutes ago, carastro said:

I would suggest if you are not going to hammer them into the lawn, that you move them around so that the same bit of grass is not shaded from the sun all the time or you will end up with the pattern on the lawn if you decide to take them up for a garden event or similar.

Carole 

They are only for the winter, I’m hoping the grass will recover in the summer and I intend to lay them down again next winter.....but you’re right, I’ll keep an eye on it

[ApophisAstros]

On 28/09/2019 at 13:08, Jiggy 67 said:

The environment around my house leaves me no option but to set up on my back garden and specifically the lawn. Given the fact that global warming has led to increase rainfall (it hasn't stopped raining for a week now!!) I am conscious that the ground and lawn is sodden. I have put up with this in the past but it appears to be getting worse and I don't want to turn my lawn into a mud bath and ruin the lawn as I walk around the mount.

I am considering pegging out a large plastic sheet and making some holes for the tripod legs to fit through to the ground below it. As I am hoping to keep the mount setup for much of the winter, this will be almost permanent through the winter.

Does anyone have any experience of this??.....How did it work for you??....does anyone have an alternative solution (without involving concrete or slabs) or is there a retail solution anyone can suggest

Thanks guys

Darren

Do you find you get unwanted mount movement during sessions as the earth is so soft? Have you no patio or other firm setting?

Roger

[ApophisAstros]

On 28/09/2019 at 13:08, Jiggy 67 said:

The environment around my house leaves me no option but to set up on my back garden and specifically the lawn. Given the fact that global warming has led to increase rainfall (it hasn't stopped raining for a week now!!) I am conscious that the ground and lawn is sodden. I have put up with this in the past but it appears to be getting worse and I don't want to turn my lawn into a mud bath and ruin the lawn as I walk around the mount.

I am considering pegging out a large plastic sheet and making some holes for the tripod legs to fit through to the ground below it. As I am hoping to keep the mount setup for much of the winter, this will be almost permanent through the winter.

Does anyone have any experience of this??.....How did it work for you??....does anyone have an alternative solution (without involving concrete or slabs) or is there a retail solution anyone can suggest

Thanks guys

Darren

Found theses , 

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/snowshoes-sh100-blue-id_8492871.html?iv_=__iv_p_1_g_61980133654_c_316432589974_w_pla-329717981662_n_g_d_c_v__l__t__r_1o1x_pla_y_15177021_f_online_o_2559465_z_GB_i_en_j_329717981662_s__e__h_9045819_ii__vi__&gclid=CjwKCAiAzanuBRAZEiwA5yf4upSLgXxqx0Bu_6OECq1dzx6P_w_OybDgmo-19TY6oaTjA5b08cAe9BoCK5IQAvD_BwE

🤣

Roger

[Jiggy 67]

15 minutes ago, apophisOAS said:

Do you find you get unwanted mount movement during sessions as the earth is so soft? Have you no patio or other firm setting?

Roger

No I haven’t found movement, probably because the EQ6-R-Pro is a beast and really heavy. I have a patio but it’s not in a good position. The solution above is simply the lesser of two evils, partially disturbed lawn or completely ruined mud bath 😐

[Jiggy 67]

Just now, apophisOAS said:

Found theses , 

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/snowshoes-sh100-blue-id_8492871.html?iv_=__iv_p_1_g_61980133654_c_316432589974_w_pla-329717981662_n_g_d_c_v__l__t__r_1o1x_pla_y_15177021_f_online_o_2559465_z_GB_i_en_j_329717981662_s__e__h_9045819_ii__vi__&gclid=CjwKCAiAzanuBRAZEiwA5yf4upSLgXxqx0Bu_6OECq1dzx6P_w_OybDgmo-19TY6oaTjA5b08cAe9BoCK5IQAvD_BwE

🤣

Roger

For me or the mount 😂

[carastro]

Quote

Do you find you get unwanted mount movement during sessions as the earth is so soft? Have you no patio or other firm setting?

Roger

No I haven’t found movement, probably because the EQ6-R-Pro is a beast and really heavy. I have a patio but it’s not in a good position. The solution above is simply the lesser of two evils, partially disturbed lawn or completely ruined mud bath 

If you have tripod pads under the feet the legs don't sink. 

Carole 

[Louis D]

5 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

They are only for the winter, I’m hoping the grass will recover in the summer and I intend to lay them down again next winter.....but you’re right, I’ll keep an eye on it

That's too bad about your soggy winters.  Our winters in Texas tend to be fairly mild and dry.  Spring and fall tend to be our wet seasons, and everyone knows it is hot and dry in Texas during the summer.

Keep us updated with spring pics to see how your lawn did over the winter with those mats.

[JOC]

Or maybe these if you live in Yorkshire 

Poor Yorkshire!!

[carastro]

OMG indeed, poor Yorkshire, it doesn't bear thinking about. 

Any-one know where the donation website is?

Carole 

[Hallingskies]

If you are leaving your grass mats down then watch out for worm casts.  I have a temporary path I put down the garden to my obbo in winter and the worm casts come up through the slats and can make it quite muddy if you don’t brush them off regularly.  

[Louis D]

This year, I put down hundreds of pounds of pea gravel on the walkways around my house that had become cow paths.  The grass can still grow up through or across it (St. Augustine grass has runners), and water will still drain down through it.  It's been a game changer to reduce mud on my yard shoes.  I also put it on the drainage alongside my side fence that had been eroding badly during each rain.

[Space Hopper]

I read this thread about muddy lawns.....

The best thing you can do with a lawn is improve its drainage.

Aeration, aeration aeration. Keeps the grass healthy, oxygenates the roots, decompresses the lawn and promotes better drainage.

I do it every spring *with 10cm spikes)  and spend a couple of days doing it. It is so worth it.

 

[dark knight]

Cut required m2 out of the lawn and put astro turf back in its place😁

[noah4x4]

I got so fed up with the mud I laid artificial grass and created a rectangular wooden jig for my tripod feet. Works great. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by noah4x4

[Louis D]

23 hours ago, noah4x4 said:

I got so fed up with the mud I laid artificial grass

Given our never ending watering restriction due to droughts, and HOA requirements to have a green lawn, we've been tempted to do the same.  We also can't get any grass type to grown in deep shade under some of the trees, so artificial turf would solve this problem as well.

On 30/12/2020 at 12:44, Space Hopper said:

The best thing you can do with a lawn is improve its drainage.

My problem is my backyard neighbor put in planters along the back fence on his side blocking my yard from draining (acts like a 1 foot high dam).  Water backs up several inches deep and about 4 feet across along the back fence.

[Space Hopper]

2 hours ago, Louis D said:

My problem is my backyard neighbor put in planters along the back fence on his side blocking my yard from draining (acts like a 1 foot high dam).  Water backs up several inches deep and about 4 feet across along the back fence.

It rains in Texas.....?? 😉

[johninderby]

Texas has plenty of bad weather as well as sunshine. Gets more hurricanes than any other state except Florida. 

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Space Hopper said:

It rains in Texas.....?? 😉

Just got an inch today after having gotten nothing for weeks.  Our whole house has shifted mightily due to the dry soil conditions.

The problem is, we don't get slow, gentle rains that last for days on end like the eastern US.  We often get rain measured in inches per hour that can be done in a matter of minutes to hours which leads to flash flooding.

Here's my son's current apartment's underground parking garage being flooded in 2018 (Pointe San Marcos):

And here's the apartment complex he just moved out of being nearly flooded in 2015 while being built (Red Pointe [formerly Woods of] San Marcos):

That's two major flooding events within three years of each other for just one Texas town.  That, and my son has a knack for picking apartments that have flooded in the past.  He never parks on the lowest level of the parking garage, just in case.

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by Louis D

[Space Hopper]

Crikey, i never realised it got as bad as that. Of course the south gets hit by tropical weather, but its such a big state

i assumed most of it would be warm and dry like Arizona with lots of lovely clear nights thrown in.

We have an uncle who lives in El Paso, and has a second property in Taos.

I have on the drawing a board a trip planned for 2024. Around April 8th to be precise.

As long as it stays dry and sunny for that one........

[Louis D]

4 hours ago, Space Hopper said:

I have on the drawing a board a trip planned for 2024. Around April 8th to be precise.

As long as it stays dry and sunny for that one........

I plan to travel down to Uvalde for eclipse viewing since their weather is predictably dry down there most of the year.  April is normally a very wet month for large swaths of Texas and the central to eastern US.  If the eclipse were in July, I could almost guarantee dry, sunny conditions all month long across Texas.

[JeremyS]

41 minutes ago, Louis D said:

I plan to travel down to Uvalde for eclipse viewing since their weather is predictably dry down there most of the year. 

Louis, I'm regularly over in Houston on business (not since Feb '20, tho!).  So I've be looking for (preferably road) trips from there to see the eclipse. I see Uvalde is not too far, just the other side of San Antonio - is this a favoured spot to observe it?