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creating new beds.....Question ???
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tweetykiss
On The Way Up
Joined: 03 May 2006
(Map)
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 9:03 pm Post subject: creating new beds.....Question ??? |
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Hi Everyone,
Hope all of you are having a good season this year....now I have a question that I hope someone can answer....this is my first time gardening and I had to hire a landscaper to dig out part of my backyard to create beds for me.
I had him dig the area up to three feet from the garage all along the width of the garage and then dig the area up the three feet away from the fence along the side of the yard....the yard is only no more than 30 feet and for all that digging, weed pulling and removing bad stuff and hauling the debris away, they charged $800.00. Is this about right or was I taken for a ride?
Thank You
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eileen
Moderator & Resident Taxonomist
 Moderator
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Location: Scotland (Map)
Posts: 10505
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 10:18 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Tweetykiss,
I come from Scotland so really don't have a clue if $800 is a fair price or not but someone will be along shortly who can help you out I'm sure. I simply wanted to say hello and welcome you to our forums. I hope you'll stay around and join in the fun that's GardenStew. 
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Frank
Happy Gardening
Administrator
Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Location: Malmö, Sweden
Posts: 8811
PlantStew: 1146 |
| Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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Welcome TweetyKiss  I too, like Eileen don't have a guage of how good (or bad) the price was. Let's see what the other say. Hope you enjoy the site 
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Pinkiered
The Rose Queen
Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Location: Lawton, Ok (Map)
Posts: 927
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| Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 11:56 pm Post subject: |
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I am in the South and I have to say no! Unless there was alot of work to be done.
I would call the guy and have a talk with him to find out why it is so much.
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I do not have a green thumb
My plants just have the will to live.
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tweetykiss
On The Way Up
Joined: 03 May 2006
(Map)
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 2:47 am Post subject: |
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Hi There,
Thanks for responding and welcoming me to the site. I do appreciate you coming on this thread to make an effort. Now Pinkiered, did you mean that is not the right price when you say no? We are calling the horiticulturist who recommended these guys to find out if that is the right price.
Problem is he won't pick up the phone now. 
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jubabe296
Official Garden Fairy
Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Location: south central Texas (Map)
Posts: 1180
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 4:04 am Post subject: |
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I think that is a large amount of money for the work you described!!  I've never paid anyone to do that kind of work, but I think that is absolutely too much!!  Maybe since the horticulturist who recommended these guys and won't answer the phone now, is in on the scam!!!! 
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Pinkiered
The Rose Queen
Joined: 02 Jan 2006
Location: Lawton, Ok (Map)
Posts: 927
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 4:07 am Post subject: |
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YEah Im sorry...I meant no thats too much! I could understand, maybe, $550 or even $600 if there were alot to do as digging up deep weeds, moving rocks, or digging up the little treasures we all find while gardening (kitchen sinks included here). But I still think $800. is too much for that little a space.
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I do not have a green thumb
My plants just have the will to live.
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eileen
Moderator & Resident Taxonomist
Moderator
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Location: Scotland (Map)
Posts: 10505
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| Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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I 'phoned a couple of places here just for the heck of it to see what they would charge for the kind of work you had done.
Highest quote was £325.(approx $598)
They supplied all tools, weeded, planted up the beds, fed and watered plants, (didn't supply plants though) cleared up and the quote also included VAT @ 17.5%
Lowest quote was £250. (approx $460)
They dug over area, weeded, and cleared up. Once again VAT @17.5% was included.
My OH said he'd do it for free but only if he was kept supplied with real ale, sun tan lotion and plenty of food - cheap at the price I reckon. 
I really think you were ripped off!!!! I hope you can get some of your money back but I have this awful feeling you've sen the last of it.
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tweetykiss
On The Way Up
Joined: 03 May 2006
(Map)
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 4:09 am Post subject: |
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Thank you for your response and to you Eileen for making calls for me......one friend of my DH did say that was not too much since they had to pull up some "weed trees" that were ugly....I think now I would say they should have gone down $200.00 in the price....I just learned of lasagna gardening last night and I would never do it since I don't like worms.
So I was trapped in this since lasagna was out for me and the only other alternative would be to dig out those mini "weed trees".
Seems though like all of you said, we paid too much..Thank you for helping....I am very new to gardening....
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Primsong
Flower of the Shire
Joined: 15 Apr 2006
Location: Oregon (Map)
Posts: 1769
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| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 5:21 am Post subject: |
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Sounds high to me too - for that cost I'll be having an arborist come remove 2 full-grown poplars for me that have died (I'm replacing them with saplings to keep the line of poplars intact)... Sounds steep...
You don't like worms?? They're the most wonderful thing for your yard and plants you could ever dream of - I attribute a lot of the success of my own yard to my high earthworm population.
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Frank
Happy Gardening
Administrator
Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Location: Malmö, Sweden
Posts: 8811
PlantStew: 1146 |
| Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 12:31 pm Post subject: |
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| Primsong wrote: | | You don't like worms?? They're the most wonderful thing for your yard and plants you could ever dream of |
Earthworms are like mini gardeners! Wonderful 
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tweetykiss
On The Way Up
Joined: 03 May 2006
(Map)
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 4:54 am Post subject: |
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Hi All,
Sorry for the long absence. Busy in the yard. I have a couple more questions....how do the earthworms help the garden? The reason I don't like them is that they just give me the creeps. LOL!!!
I also planted some seeds the other day and here is how....I put the seeds down and poured the soil over them and watered. Does it seem like success will happen?
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dooley
Official Garden Turtle
Joined: 03 Jul 2005
Location: Arizona, U.S.A (Map)
Posts: 3145
PlantStew: 2 |
| Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 5:07 am Post subject: |
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Worms aerate the soil when they crawl through it and they enrich it with their castings,poo. They don't eat your plants though. I like the earthworms myself. I always cover them up again when I dig them up. My mom always fed them coffee grounds and covered a spot from the sun and kept the ground damp because they used the worms for fishing.
It sounds like you planted right but you have to remember that small seeds need to be covered with less soil that large seeds. Some extremely small seeds just need to be pressed into the soil and not covered.If you cover them with too much soil they won't warm up and germinate(sprout). Hope I helped some. Dooley
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tweetykiss
On The Way Up
Joined: 03 May 2006
(Map)
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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Ok I will remember that about earthworms. Now with the real little seeds, I did cover with the soil but I don't think I did too much. How long before they should germinate and then should I worry about them not getminating?
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toni
Mistress of Garden Junque
Moderator
Joined: 07 Jan 2006
Location: North Texas (Map)
Posts: 4683
PlantStew: 520 |
| Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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I wouldn't worry about the seeds too much. If you had pushed them down an inch or more then you might not see them again. Just make sure you know what the seedlings look like so you don't pull them up thinking they are weeds. Usually the seed packet tells you how long it takes for them to germinate and I think the average is 10-14 days...some longer, some sooner depending on what they are, the weather conditions and how good your soil is to begin with.
I found some camomile plants coming up. I planted one camomile plant two years ago, I thought it lived it's cycle and I didn't think anymore about it. But evidently it dropped a lot of seeds cause I am finding them as far as 4 feet from where the original plant had been.
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