Need ideas for Landscape nightmare

[Sevysia]

Hello =)

We have a shaded (roughly 10 X 10) area underneath some very large pine trees in the corner of our yard by chain link fence. Grass does not grow there and there are many large roots not too far under the surface.

We have two Labs that love to hang out in that area and track in lots of dirt/mud from it into the house. We currently have the house up for sale, but with the market the way it is, we may be here for another year or more.

I am trying to come-up with a solution to the dirt problem that will not harm the dogs (they eat ANYTHING ~ lol) nor cost a lot of money. If anyone has a constructive suggestion, I'd love to hear it!

Thank you in advance,

Sevysia

[bullthistle]

Put in some cobblestones down and that should keep the soil under the trees. Might want to put weed barrier underneath.

[stottlar1]

I would go to a local nursery and get some river jack stone and make a little dry creek bed or just spread the stone over that area and be done with it. Definately put some landscape fabric under it. You will still get some weeds but only from seeds being dropped by birds and what not but not as much as if you had just the river jack on the soil.

[MaineDesigner]

In this situation I would probably just mulch the area. Anything you could plant that would have even a prayer of withstanding the labs is vigorous enough to become a problem. Having worked on projects where we had to remove stone or gravel from prior work I would discourage this path. The short term cosmetic improvement, if any, is likely to become a major aggravation for future homeowners. I would not use landscape fabric. It seems to alter the soil gas transfer and soils never look healthy beneath it. It also tends to want to migrate to the surface, a process your labs might be more than willing to help along.

[Garden Spider]

What I would do is put down a thick layer of hog fuel--this is chipped brush, and looks like irregularly sized pieces of bark mulch. Make sure you get stuff rated for "playground use"--otherwise, you might get stuff from a construction site, with nails, chemicals, etc. Hog fuel is heavy and coarse enough that your dogs won't be able to trample it into the mud easily; it's used in several off-leash dog parks around where I live.

You can also use regular bark mulch. I priced them both; hog fuel was cheaper (that may be different for different parts of the country).

If you use bark mulch or hog fuel, don't pile it right up against the trees, or you'll begin rotting the trunks.

[Kisal]

I have dogs, too, and had a major mud problem all last winter. I chose to put down wood chips, the stuff they use in playgrounds. It was more expensive than some of the other mulches available, but the others (according to the seller) all have stickers and splinters in them. I figured I could pay a little more for the wood chips now, or else pay to take my dogs to the vet later when they got infections in their toes.