Ground Cover for Shade Area

[Jerry]

I'm in mid-western Wisconsin and I have a camper parked at a resort. My spot has some thick pines that block out most of the sun so very little grass grows. The soil is very loose and brown. On a dry day it's easy to kick up a cloud of dust from the lot. I'd like to plant some sort of ground cover to reduce the amount of dirt and mud that enter the camper. Would clover work for this type of environment? Do you have other suggestions? I'd rather have something that doesn't require a lot of maintenance as we're usually only there on weekends.

[Srgnt Billko]

Indoor-outdoor carpet is the only thing I can think of off hand.

[Eggs Zachtly]

Agreed. The shade isn't the only problem, with the pines. *Maybe* English Ivy would be a good choice, but I'm not so sure, that far north.

[Jerry]

I thought about that too. One thing I forgot to mention is that we have two dogs. I'm not sure if their pee and poop will wash out in the rain or with a hose? Their one of the big reasons for seeking ground cover so their muddy paws don't track dirt into the camper. We've been wiping their paws whenever they come in from the rain and we're fine with that but it's a pain.

[JimR]

You may have two problems -- low light, plus water requirements. Most of the shade-tolerant ground covers that I can think of require a regular source of water. As for tracking in dirt and mud, most of the non-turf ground covers aren't nearly as tolerant of foot traffic as turf is. I don't think clover is an option because of light requirements. Perhaps Boston Ivy, possibly sword ferns (invasive), but both would require regular care and watering, may be outside their range, and it's probably already too late this year.

Early next spring I might plant raspberries to grow in a part of the area unless I needed to be able to walk through the area, plus provide a really heavy mulch of pine straw to keep down dust and mud --

Poison ivy might do well in these conditions -- :-(

[Chas Hurst]

Have you considered moving? What sort of resort has no sun?

[Steveo]

How about pea gravel instead of ground cover? Go with small round stone, it's easier on the bare feet.

[Jerry]

No. We love it there.

One in the woods ;-)

Seriously though, we've been going there for a while now staying at a family member's camper and now we have our own. They have sites that get sun light (some people lay sod and have nice lawns). Since we're on the bottom of the seniority list we get what's left after everyone picks their new spots. We'll probably be there for a couple of years before we're able to move.