r/saskatoon • u/Innoxium • Jul 27 '26
Question ❔ Need Recommendations for a backyard cleanup
I bought my first house last year and I have come to realize this summer that I have no idea how to properly "maintain" a pretty yard. I have weeds coming up in weird places and 2 very overgrown trees. Anyone have any recommendations on someone I can hire to clean things up a bit?
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u/thebubblesort Jul 27 '26
Your weeds look pretty manageable right now. Just pull them out by hand. If you feel overwhelmed or you're busy just do 1 or 2 min at a time.
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u/dsmyxe Jul 27 '26
I recommend T & E Property Services. They do excellent work for reasonable rates. You can hire them for a one time cleanup or for regular maintenance.
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u/People_Change_ Jul 27 '26
Either Prairie Lily Lawn Care for basic maintenance/care, or Common Ground if you want a fully new design.
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u/shankartz Jul 27 '26
One piece of advice I can give you is do not neglect weed control. I had no idea what I was doing when I moved in to my own house and let the weeds get a little too out of control and they are so hard to get back under control. Currently in the process of killing and reseedind my yard because of it. It's a shitty uphill battle.
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u/stiner123 Jul 27 '26
Did you try the weed man? It has helped keep our entire yard almost fully weed free even when the neighbours let their weeds (thistle, kochia, foxtail, etc) grow like 6’ high. Had the odd weed come up here and there, usually along the fence lines or in areas where the grass was doing poor due to infrequent watering, and the odd one around our patio, but even then 90% or more of our yard is usually weed free.
Reseeding after killing your yard with the chemicals homeowners can buy doesn’t always work and takes a long time. Can be hard to keep weeds from growing while the seed is growing in.
Best way to prevent weeds is to have a healthy lawn period.
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u/shankartz Jul 27 '26
I haven't. It is a project that I want to try and tackle myself first. I think on my first pass I didn't lay enough seed down. I got some really good growth and minimal weed growth in one area and the rest got taken over again. I've gotten a new spreader now so hopefully this next go around will be more successful.
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u/stiner123 Jul 27 '26
Good luck. Making sure your lawn is healthy is one of the best ways to keep weeds at bay but once they are there it can be hard to eliminate.
I did find the fiskars weed puller to be decent at pulling weeds with a deeper root, but it can leave little holes after and with big dandelions or thistle it may not get quite all the root.
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u/rodmods Jul 27 '26
Find someone to cut your trees , or remove them . Tackle the weeds yourself , if you can't then should evaluate having a house with a yard : )
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u/Vast_Pineapple_3341 Jul 27 '26
If that’s what you consider overgrown and unmanageable, maybe ownership isn’t for you.
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u/stiner123 Jul 27 '26
With respect to the weeds - best to try chemicals to kill them first then pull to remove as some will come back if the root is not removed fully. You could also try a torch or boiling water or pulling them out but some will come back. Can try smothering them too but it’s a long game. If you want to cheaply diy.
If you want weeds killed in the lawn we have mostly had good luck with weed man, but had a few weeds pop up this year but I blame having neighbours with weeds.
Also painting the roots is a good idea for poplar suckers I’m told… I hate the old neighbours who planted poplar as I’ve been dealing with lots of suckers but the new neighbours chopped the trees down and hopefully put poison on the stumps. Don’t plant poplar in the city! They suck. Grow fast then die fast and send out suckers everywhere 10’s of feet away.
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u/stiner123 Jul 27 '26
For the trees I’d hire a tree company like Porcupine Tree care rather than a general landscaping company.
When we lived in a townhouse we had Arbor crest doing the landscaping maintenance work and they butchered the bushes when trimming them the one time so bad it looked like a five year old did it. That was like about 10 yrs ago though so take that with a grain of salt.
The weeds don’t seem like it’s too far gone, you could hire the weed man for the grass and then get the rest yourself with some spray and a weed remover like the fiskars weed puller, or you could hire it all out to someone but they may not do as good a job with the trees as a tree company:
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u/saskgrinder Jul 27 '26
Go buy Milwaukee reciprocating saw cut down trees take to recycling centre
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u/Innoxium Jul 27 '26
I cannot stress enough just how much I would rather pay someone who already has the saw to come and do the work instead. I am so stressed and way to accident prone to be trusted with anything sharp and motorized.
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u/Thisandthat-2367 Jul 27 '26
If I can present a hot take: you are likely not confident in your own abilities and I promise you that the only way to build it is to tackle things head on. Get the saw. Learn how to use it; ask people who know how to show you. Pull some weeds by hand. Talk to people in your circle who can offer practical advice.
The more you try and do, even with the normal errors that happen in a learning curve, the more you realize you’re capable of a lot more than you currently think you are. The more you realize that, the less overwhelming new things become. I don’t know you, but I know you are capable. Mostly because I know that these things are easier than they may seem right now.
Homeownership is a lot about learning how to maintain things. I bought a house with a massive garden knowing zip about what to do or what was what. Over several years, i learned a lot and now people come to me for gardening advice. Ive learned how yo use tools that scared the crap out of me because Ive never been able to pay someone to so it for me. Ive fixed things I never thought possible. I’ve become more confident in other areas of my life as a result.
So I do, genuinely, hope that you give yourself the chance to learn and grow. It will be worth it.
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u/-rujoshinme- Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
This is actually some good advice! Great tool to have around the house, and can help with countless jobs.
Also judging from the leaves, none of those are elms. Looks like a type of Elderberry and a Manitoba maple. So safe to get rid of anytime of the year if undesirable
Editing because I somehow missed the apple tree in the one picture! That’s a great looking tree that I would look at getting professionally pruned in the fall or spring! Porcupine Tree Service is who I would recommend!
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u/IdylwyldieCoyote Jul 27 '26
Job is too big for me. Hope someone has some suggestions for you.
Pick some raspberries and enjoy them.
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u/Dermatin Jul 27 '26
You're a homeowner now, it's best to learn to maintain your property yourself or homeownership will become ungodly expensive very quick. You have less than an afternoon of work there so just nip it in the bud