OT: Child's play area

[Pam Sinclair]

Don't know if they are in your area - wherever that may be - but Rainbow
Playstations, a maker of kids' wooden play equipment, sells the ground tire mulch.
Also, my local landscape supply company sells a product called playground chips.
It is a form of wood chip - fairly large size, but flat, and they are tumbled or
something to soften the edges. Don't know how comfy that would be for little bare
feet, tho.

Pam - gardengal
PNW zone 8

NDanke wrote:

> Does anyone know a source for something different than mulch for insides a
> kid's play area. I have mulch in it now but when my son is swimming and wants
> to get out and slide down the slide, it hurts to walk on the mulch. SOmeone
> told me about old tires that are ground up into little chunks but i can't find
> them anywhere. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance
>
> Nick
>
> Who never claims to know everything about anything.
>

[NDanke]

[Ashcrow Larkspurr]

What about a nice green patch of white dutch clover? It's soft, durable, and it
looks really nice!

NDanke wrote:

--
The Ashcrow
Crowin' and Growin' in Zone 9, in the hot SoCal sun.
---
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will
be fought with sticks and stones."
? Albert Einstein

Check out my homepage at http://home.att.net/~ashcrow
Check out my ebay page at http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/ashcrow

[Jean B.]

Ashcrow Larkspurr wrote:
>
> What about a nice green patch of white dutch clover? It's soft, durable, and it
> looks really nice!

One word: bees! That's what's deterring me from adding
more clover, anyway.

Jean B.

[Ann]

Ashcrow Larkspurr <ash...@att.net> expounded:

>What about a nice green patch of white dutch clover? It's soft, durable, and it
>looks really nice!

Except for when it flowers, and all the bees come....I got stung on
toes of each foot simultaneously once walking barefoot in clover. I
love it, don't get me wrong, but it isn't for bare feet.

--
Ann, Gardening in Zone 6a
Just south of Boston, MA
********************************
http://www.annzoid.com

[gkamm]

What about sand? You can get the white kind at lots of home & garden
places.

-gk-

NDanke wrote in message <20000614235907...@ng-ck1.aol.com>...

[Stephen and Dawn Walker]

What about pea gravel? They use that a lot in central Texas park play areas
(where I lived last) and it was surprisingly easy on the feet.

Dawn

[Sandy]

Dawn,
What is pea gravel?

--

Hugs,
-- Sandy --

[Shellie]

I looked into the shredded rubber last year - EXPENSIVE!! I don't know
what kind of mulch you used, but at my source here in Indy, they sell
"Playground Mulch" which is shredded finer and is much softer than , say,
pine bark mulch.....

Shellie
Zone 5
Indy

Stephen and Dawn Walker <nos...@lanminds.net> wrote in article
<3948FF34...@lanminds.net>...

[James Copeland]

Very small, roundish gravel about the size of a pea. It is frequently used
in play areas because it will not compact, thus affording "softer" landings.
<G>

James...
"Sandy" <gra...@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
news:39490ED9...@tampabay.rr.com...

[Stephen and Dawn Walker]

Sandy,

James pretty much covered it. It is smooth, rounded gravel about the
size of a pea. Very easy on the feet and you can sit in it, too. Looks
pretty nice, and won't blow away easily. You could make an enclosure
with railroad ties, put down weed barrier inside and layer about 6" of
pea gravel on top. Easy maintenance play area.

Dawn

[Sandy]

Thanks Dawn and James for the infor. on that . I'll see if I can find
some here for my grandkids play area at my house.

[TOM KAN PA]

I'd go with the pea gravel. Mulch will get insects in it, mold and god knows
what else might grow on/in it.
Plus, if you put down garden cloth, and cover it with 4-6 inches of pea gravel,
you can hose water through it, you can sterilize it with a clorox mix, you can
keep it a hell of a lot cleaner than mulch.
But no matter what you use, you gotta watch out for little ones putting it into
their mouth.
tom kan pa

[James Copeland]

If you put down six inches of pea gravel in a contained area, you don't even
have to worry about the garden cloth, at least I've had no trouble. But
TKP lightly touched a point, I'm going to highlight. Cats don't view pea
gravel as a giant litter box. Dogs seem to avoid it for their squirts, too.

Downside. I build a 10 foot by 10 foot area out of 2x8's and filled it with
pea gravel. I put a park bench in the middle which gave me a great view of
my garden. (People just seem to gravate to that bench, even though we're
talking about a vegetable garden.) However, pea gravel was a mistake, in
this instance. It will not compact into a solid mass, like regular gravel,
so it's always like walking in molasses. It'd be great for the kids, but it
does have to be contained.

James...

"TOM KAN PA" <tomk...@aol.comKMA> wrote in message
news:20000615160038...@ng-ch1.aol.com...

[Mike J Tietel]

In article <KLa25.819$Ai6....@typhoon.kc.rr.com>,

"James Copeland" <jc...@kc.rr.com> writes:
> If you put down six inches of pea gravel in a contained area, you don't even
> have to worry about the garden cloth, at least I've had no trouble. But
> TKP lightly touched a point, I'm going to highlight. Cats don't view pea
> gravel as a giant litter box. Dogs seem to avoid it for their squirts, too.
>

Our neighbor's cat seems to view our pea-gravel play area as a giant
litter box...

--
m...@adc.com

[James Copeland]

Mutant Cat.

James...
"Mike J Tietel" <m...@ingate.adc.com> wrote in message
news:8ibjjr$el...@mercury.adc.com...

[DirtDevil]

My friend has shredded tires that they use as a driveway. It's like driving
in sand! However, the county said that when it rains there is a runoff and
may get in their wells and pollute them! Tires are a petroleum product.

"Bethany" <Beth...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:8iapuf$14ti$1...@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com...
>
> I have the same dilemma as Nick, and I nixed the sand idea because of the
> cats in the area. My son would probably think cat poo is a special kind
of
> play-doh... :oP So now I have a covered sand box, but I am still
> debating on using shredded cedar mulch. I haven't seen anything like the
> ground-up tires around here (SE MI). ~Bethany
>
> gkamm <gk...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:8ian7j$vg$1...@slb0.atl.mindspring.net...

> > What about sand? You can get the white kind at lots of home & garden
> > places.
> >
> > -gk-
> >
> > NDanke wrote in message
<20000614235907...@ng-ck1.aol.com>...

[Chris Owens]

NDanke wrote:
>
> Does anyone know a source for something different than mulch for insides a
> kid's play area. I have mulch in it now but when my son is swimming and wants
> to get out and slide down the slide, it hurts to walk on the mulch. SOmeone
> told me about old tires that are ground up into little chunks but i can't find
> them anywhere. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance

IME, sand is the very best; but it is messy. Aquarium gravel works
well, too; and gets imported less. I've been on playgrounds with the
ground-up tires; they get really hot in the full sun.

Chris Owens

[THRASHBY]

James typed:

<<Downside. I build a 10 foot by 10 foot area out of 2x8's and filled it with

pea gravel.<snip> ...However, pea gravel was a mistake, in this instance. It

will not compact into a solid mass, like regular gravel, so it's always like
walking in molasses.>>

We have a pea gravel driveway. It works best to put a 2-or 3-inch layer of sand
down first, and then a couple inches of pea gravel. Keeps the "molasses" factor
down.

kellye

[Zaphod & Trillian]

We have 24 yards of sand in the back yard. So where do the cats poop-
in the newly planted seed beds. Go figure.
-Trillian

Bethany wrote:
>
> I have the same dilemma as Nick, and I nixed the sand idea because of the
> cats in the area. My son would probably think cat poo is a special kind of
> play-doh... :oP So now I have a covered sand box, but I am still
> debating on using shredded cedar mulch. I haven't seen anything like the
> ground-up tires around here (SE MI). ~Bethany
>
> gkamm <gk...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:8ian7j$vg$1...@slb0.atl.mindspring.net...
> > What about sand? You can get the white kind at lots of home & garden
> > places.
> >
> > -gk-
> >
> > NDanke wrote in message <20000614235907...@ng-ck1.aol.com>...

> > >Does anyone know a source for something different than mulch for insides
> a
> > >kid's play area. I have mulch in it now but when my son is swimming and
> > wants
> > >to get out and slide down the slide, it hurts to walk on the mulch.
> > SOmeone
> > >told me about old tires that are ground up into little chunks but i can't
> > find
> > >them anywhere. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance
> > >

[tvksi]

Gosh! We played on the grass when we were kids and my kids played on the
grass and my kids kids played on the grass and my great grand children
play on the grass... what's wrong with playing on the grass??. Now if
one needs an area for basket ball, then blacktop or cement. I did at one
time have a sand box that was covered and opened only when the children
were there to play in it.... there was a neighborhood cat and we also
had one. We did not use poisons on the lawn. Had beautiful grass that
the children enjoyed.

Leona.

--
Leona [Lee] tv...@juno.com
Non Commercial site http://www.geocities.com/tvksi/
except for Geo pop-ups etc.: )

[tvksi]

Well, that puts a different light on the subject! I had a heavy traffic
area we laughingly called a patio when some of my 5 children were
romping age... had access to some recyclable brick and laid them in an
interesting design and that saved the grass in that high traffic area.
It was about a 12 by 15 foot area and we had lawn chairs on the porch
near it, so worked really well.
Good luck ... we all gotta do what we all gotta do!.
Leona.
Bethany wrote:
>
> Well, my yard is incredibly tiny and I have a little plastic play thingy
> with a slide, and a small sand box... Last year I was dragging them to and
> fro between the garage and the lawn (PIA) so the grass wouldn't die. (With
> our small lawn, half the grass looked brown at any given time because I was
> lazy about putting the heavy toys back into the garage)
> This year I decided to convert my large rectangular flower bed into a play
> area... It is already sectioned off with small logs (from the previous
> owners), so it just seems easier... I have the landscape fabric down, now I
> just have to buy some bags of mulch or pea gravel and be done with it. :o)
> I did create a new raised flower bed along the fence. ~Bethany
>
> tvksi <l...@gower.net> wrote in message news:394DAB1F...@gower.net...