Rocks/Paving Slabs/Bricks etc underground

Absolutely, most certainly looking forward to that so I can concentrate on the other ongoing projects...

 

Progress report: The heavy rock is out of the hole and out of the way. After a lot of tidying up of rubble, rubbish etc my next step is to grow some grass on the rather large bare patch. I've never done it before so I'll be asking you good people the best way I can go about it- tools to use etc. I have a patch of grass measuring 18' x 11' with the bare patch (twice the length) at 36' x 12'. My plan is to merge the two seamlessly. I've looked at a couple of youtube videos (mainly companies trying to sell their miracle grass seed) and the word 'overseeding' is mentioned a fair bit. Also they tend to use expensive looking machinery and something called a poly rake, I'm on a bit of a budget and I don't mind a bit of hard graft so any affordable tools/items that'd do the job just as well is what I'm after. So in essence what's the best way to start afresh creating a new lawn to merge with the other existing one and what tools should I look out for to get the ball rolling? And lastly (remembering questions as I type!) how much grass seed would I need?

 

Overseeding means filling in small bare patches in an existing lawn with seed or a lawn that is so thin you can see soil between the grass.

All I've needed in the past for a new lawn is a fork and rake not a poly rake, that is a grass and leaf rake, but a tougher soil rake.

Has the soil been dug over at all?

 

Not yet, as I'm in the process of tidying it up and levelling it out which will be greatly helped once I purchase a garden fork very soon! I've also been told to completely kill everything off with a deep root weedkiller to more or less 'start again'. Plus I'm told that late September is the best time to sow the grass seed is this the case? Furthermore do I only need to spread grass seed on the bare patch- complete novice at this gardening lark so do forgive me if that seems a silly question!

 

Don't worry about the questions LA, we all had to start somewhere. Is it possible for you to post a picture or two of the area please? It would make it easier to see what sort of preparation is needed.

 

Okey dokey. Once I've worked out how to do it (hopefully it's nice and easy!) I'll post a few pics tomorrow (haven't taken them yet!). Cheers for the help!

 

If your pictures are stored on computer they can be posted by hitting the 'upload a file' button at the bottom of the post, when the picture appears it will give you a choice of thumbnail or full size, full size is best. Pictures should be around 800 x 600 in size, if they are a little larger GC will automatically re-size them for you, if they are too big they will be rejected.

 

Excellent. All sounds easy enough!

 

All this sound really familiar.

When we bought our house, the garden was a blank canvas which was a good thing but upon sticking a fork in the ground I quickly found that the garden was full of rubbish. I already had a 80ft concrete driveway to dig up in the garden but quickly found that rubbish was buried where there was bare soil. I must have dug out 100 brick, gods knows how much lumps of plaster and a whole shower tray at one point. I've concluded that the guy who did all this was a cheapskate but at the same time grossly over estimated how much materials he would need for a job, burying the rest in the garden he didn't need. Last year I was finding masses of this white stuff and was worried it was asbestos, dug it out anyway and found that it was plaster that had been used in the house to build a hearth about 4'x1'.

I also had that green netting stuff when I tried to dig up the old lawn. I think they used it in the 80s to hold turf together. The stuff gets everywhere after it's dug out of the ground. I'm sure I have caused permanent damage to my wrist because of my fork begin constantly caught in this stuff.

If you haven't already, get yourself a decent pry bar. I swear by mine now as it's made the demolition work I done much easier to do on my own. Also perhaps get yourself a pick axe and a sledgehammer. Chipping away at a lump with a cold chisel will get you nowhere.

 

Aha, so that's what the nuisance green netting is. After buying a garden fork a nice sturdy sledgehammer is next. Whilst I'm cracking the humongous boulder I think a bit Sam Cooke's homage to the incarcerated will have to be played in the background, might spur me on!

 

Right then gang, here's a few pics of the garden in progress....
As you can see by the last photo that's the state of the soil at the moment. Also I'm getting a lot of this particular weed, what type is it?
What should I be doing next?

 

How long has this part of your garden been laying bare? The reason I ask is weed seeds will be laying in the ground waiting to germinate and there's nothing you can do about those. Any weeds that are showing can be either dug out or sprayed with something like Round-up which contains glyphosate. It is a systemic weed killer, it kills right down to the roots. The weed killer will neutralise on soil contact so won't affect any new plants. Be aware though that it will kill just about anything it comes into contact with, plants, grass and weeds, so be careful when you spray, and on a windless day.

I would start by digging over the surface of the patch to a spade or forks depth, this will break up the surface and allow drainage and air in the soil. Rake and level the whole patch, this can be done by dragging something like a plank or ladder edge across it. Firm down the soil, this can be done by a shuffling sort of walk across it, then rake again to even out the surface and fill any dips. You can then lay topsoil if you intend to use it and repeat the raking, levelling process. Lay your grass seed per the amount given by instructions on the packing and rake gently into the surface. Try and stay off it until it is established and don't forget to keep it watered in dry spells. I've watered mine every day when it doesn't rain.

Any weeds that appear can either be dug out or left until the lawn is established. You shouldn't use a lawn weed killer for approximately six months as it will damage the young lawn, the same applies to fertiliser and neither should be used until the lawn/weeds are actively growing which will be next spring.

When mowing for the first couple of times, adjust your mower to a high cut so it doesn't rip the grass, this will encourage the grass to branch out and thicken up.

Good luck!

 

Lots of turf comes complete with plastic mesh in it to hold it together.

And in my in-laws garden everything was constructed on top of what was previously there, so when I broke up their in-situ concrete paths I found Victorian blue brick paving underneath which I felt my duty to remove for re-use so involving a whole load of additional excavation and backfilling.

 

I started seriously clearing things in about May earlier this year (lots and lots of debris about including a 2 year old fire pit!) I was talking to a local gardener a month or so back who also recommended a systemic weed killer but suggested 'Deep Root' as the best thing to use is 'Round Up' more reliable or are they just as good as each other? Also, would I be better off spraying the solution from a trigger spray or a watering can?