First time gardener needs advice about new lawn!

Hello folks,

Owing to work committments, myself and my girlfriend have not been able to tend to our garden since moving into the house last year and it has grown out of control. We are in the process of basically getting rid of everything in it and starting again. I say we, really it's me doing all the work!

Anyway, after hacking away at it for a few days I am now left with a fairly weed infested lawn and some weed infested flower beds. None of the plants appear worth keeping, so I intend to get rid of all of it before marking out flower beds, patio and vegetable patches and laying a brand new turf lawn. However, i'm concerned the weeds will come back so I would greatly appreciate any advice on how best to go about this.

What I really need to do is turn the whole area into a weed-free area of soil before getting to work.

I was considering rotavating the land and removing weed roots and spraying weed killer, then repeating the process a few times. Is this wise? Will it be effective? Will weed killer harm the earth and the chances of any turf growing in the future? Do i need a specific type of weed killer so as not to damage the soil?

I have read on the internet that one way to get rid of weeds is to cover the earth so no light or water gets in and this will kill everything, but will this effect the soil?

Regarding the lawn, I know where to get it but are there any specific types I should look out for and is there any particular time of year I should preferably do this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am hoping to really get down to work over the summer.

 

Hi Matt, i amsure someone better qualified will be around to answer your message, but in the mean time you'll have to put up with me.

Usually the best time to deal with a lawn is in the spring but you can still do things to help the lawn and beds now.
You can cover the garden ( i recommended just the beds) with a cover for a few months which will kill everything underneath it. Afterward you can dig in composts or fertilizers which will make things grow better.

Give the lawn a good rake. Stick a fork in it and gently lift the lawn up to get air into the soil. You can then apply weed killer/grass seed and feed to the lawn. It will start to look like you have destroyed the lawn initailly as parts of it turn brown, but don't worry it will recover!

But the most important thing to remember is that unless things are maintained weeds will always grow back, and that a weed is only a weed if it doesn't look good in your garden. If for example you like daisy's then a weed becomes a flower instead.

 

Sorry probably didn't answer you questions fully

1) wouldn't bother rotavating the land unless you where growing crops on it.

2) digging up the lawn completely and returfing it is possible. It gives an instant solution. Personally i'm happy to wait so i would try the weed killer/grass feed/seed option. If you were to try the new turf, then i would wait about 6-8 weeks after applying weed killer to lay new turf- note in this time the weeds may well grow back.

Laying a new turf should idealy be done in spring as the plant (the grass) begins to grow. As for the type of turf, this depends on your plans for the future. If you plan on having kids in the next 5-8 years then get a turf that will take a battering (ryegrass based), but if you are happy mowing and regularly maintaining your grass to an anal extent, then buy a more expensive one which isn't as tough but looks more professional