Please help:- Moved In New House And Back Garden Destroyed

Please Help - Laying Turf
I have just moved it to house and people who lived there before have destroyed the back garden,it looks like they have just throw a load of concrete on the ground,could some one tell me how i would go about getting the ground etc preparation ready for turf?I have added a few pictures

 

Why on earth have they done that? Its almost like they meant to concrete it over, but were too tight and/or lazy to actually do it even half properly.

At least it looks like its thin enough to come up easily. I'd just hit it with a pick axe or sledge hammer, then collect up and bag up all the concrete. Then I'd do a couple of small test digs to see what the ground was like before deciding on what further action was needed.

 

I'm putting up fence weekend,I was gonna pick axe all concrete tiy it all up,what you think about rotavatoring it?

 

its shocking

 

really horrible....... and yet, ever the optimist - are those nettles growing down the bottom? usually a good sign for soil fertility.

don't despair, clueless is spot on - get as much concrete up as you can and then see what you are left with. I would see what problem weeds you have before using the rotavator. Do you want flower / shrub / veg beds as well as grass?

Emily

 

Hopefully it's only a thin layer of concrete so as Clueless said have a couple of wacks at it and then you can see what you're up against....you never know you could have some good stuff underneath that lot....

 

If the ground is nice and level, and not packed tight (if the spade goes in fairly easy), I'd be tempted to just scrape the surface with a rake, then sow grass seed mixed with sharp sand over it. That way it would be green by the end of May, and almost a lawn by mid summer.

 

Just grass at the moment and was thinking about flower bed

 

It is a thin layer there is nothing underneath concrete they have just through it on to of the soil,most of the concrete lifts up wia spade,

 

I did want to put turf down,as I want grass asap got 2 kids cracking me up to sort garden out lol

 

I'd be tempted to get a mini digger in there and start over. Looking at the pic the fence is knackered and is that an allyway or sumsuch down the side. You could take the fence down to get the digger in (looks like your going to have to replace the fence anyway)
Just a thought, I could be completely wrong about the access tho.

 

I would just remove your old fence and use next doors fence as the barrier. Gained a foot of garden for yourself
The "Concrete" looks like a skim of cement to me, that will easily lift up and bag

The turf laying and prep I will leave to others who have the knowledge to advise you

As a new gardener myself I would bag up the cement, rake it all, treat with weed killer, then after a few weeks, prepare the surface but not by digging deep, fertilize then lay the turfs

Oh and WELCOME to GC

Jack McH

 

Thanks mate,what's weed killer n ferts shall I use and would I need top soil as well or not tryin to keep cost down lol

 

Juvenille, I am much the same as yourself "learning"
So I can not recommend a weed killer, that would be suitable, it depends on animals kept or children,
Once the weed killing is done you wait a couple of weeks, then to prepare the soil
I would not dig very deep just break the surface and rake clean to a nice tilth

"Kristen" a gardener on here has a brilliant idea for leveling the lawn,
You get a ladder or similar and lay it on the soil,a rope attached to each end then drag it along the surface, voila nice and level lawn ahead

Add some type of again suitable fertilizer, no top soil needed
Grass seed, and lots of frequent watering
Beware of "Fast growing grass seed" For it is exactly that, Fast growing, fast to establish and off course fast to grow forever more so whilst it is good to start it is a lot of mowing ahead :-)

Other knowlegeble gardeners, will fill in the blanks ie what weed killer, and fertilizer
and Correct my errors hopefully

Jack McH