Gardening tips.

db

#chaplife
i'm just settling in to my new house in the 'ford, and it has come to my attention that my garden is a right state.. the guy who lived here before me fancied himself as a landscape gardener, but he had obvious hit the crackpipe once too often as he has left it looking like a fertiliser bomb hit it then scattered seeds randomly amongst the ruins..

it really is so bad that i don't know where to start.. i could do with having the whole thing levelled and starting again.. has anyone got any advice?
 

Silverfish

Well-Known Forumite
Yeah, level it and start again! :)

Seriously, dig up everything that's in there. Get the lawn established first, then build your garden around it. if what's there is beyond rescue, don't try - you'd be better off starting from scratch.
 

db

#chaplife
Silverfish said:
Yeah, level it and start again! :)

Seriously, dig up everything that's in there. Get the lawn established first, then build your garden around it. if what's there is beyond rescue, don't try - you'd be better off starting from scratch.
it really is beyond rescue.. there are 5ft tall weeds covering the entire front garden, and the back garden has been ruined by the installation of a weird brick thing slap bang in the middle.. it's such a shame, because both would be pretty darned huge if they were cleared..

i'm not after anything fancy.. in fact, exactly the opposite - i'd love it to just be completely levelled and wall-to-wall grass, to maximise BBQ potential.. if only real life was as easy as The Sims: Click > Level Terrain > Click > Grass :meh:

anyone any idea how much it would cost to get someone in to do this? or how would i go about tackling it? i mean, once i cut everything away with shears, i'm pretty sure i'll just reveal a dead and tangled mess.. can i just sprinkle some magic compound on it all to make everything rot away, then lay new turf, or sew new seeds, or something?

Lunar Scorpion said:
Just let it grow and then charge people to enter your very own nature reserve!
it wouldn't surprise me if bill oddie is already in there somewhere.. and the last thing i want to see late at night is bill oddie, handling his favourite tits while foraging in my bush!
 

Silverfish

Well-Known Forumite
The weeds are easier than you think to bring down - just cut them to ground level, and then put some black bin liners over them to kill their light. Soon destroys them. If you're going to put down grass seeds in March, this method makes more sense than digging the entire garden, as the ground stays level.
 

cookie_monster

Well-Known Forumite
if you need an extra pair of hands for any hard labour....ill happily pimp my bro out.

you can pay him in cider and he's on here...i just cant remember his username.

he's doing the olds patio at the mo and he's booked for next summer to do my yard, but im sure he'll oblige when i tell him to! :D


x
 

db

#chaplife
Anders_Panders said:
Welcome back dirty!

I didn't realise you were back so soon. where abouts in the ford are you?
hmm, yeah i guess i should have done an "i'm back!" thread or something, innit? thanks for caring, panders :kiss:

i finally moved back at the beginning of october, so been here a couple of weeks now.. living on baswich, so it's back to the southside for me!

cookie_monster said:
if you need an extra pair of hands for any hard labour....ill happily pimp my bro out.
cheers cookie, i'll bear it in mind :D:up:

Silverfish said:
The weeds are easier than you think to bring down - just cut them to ground level, and then put some black bin liners over them to kill their light. Soon destroys them. If you're going to put down grass seeds in March, this method makes more sense than digging the entire garden, as the ground stays level.
i know as much about gardening and horticulture as i do about subtlety - i.e. nothing.. you mention putting "down grass seeds in march" - is there any reason i would put them down in march rather than any other month? what are the main steps i need to take to turn a garden full of waist-high weeds into a serviceable lawn? so far, it seems to be:

1) cut down weeds to lawn level with shears
2) cover entire lawn with black bin bags so no light can get through
3) wait

how long do the bags need to be down for? what do i do once i remove them? how do i turn the mess that is left into a nice flat lawn?

'ppreciate the help so far :)
 

Silverfish

Well-Known Forumite
For some reason, grass seeds have to be sown in March or October, and you've missed October. I'm not sure how long the bin liners have to be down - I think it's around a fortnight - but when they're done, just pull up whatever's left of the weeds, rake over the soil and sew yourself a lawn.

If you have any of those long, spikey vine things (which you probably have), dig down as deep as possible and cut it off with a knife. You'll never dig out the roots, but if you can get 'em around eight inches to a foot under the surface, they won't regrow.
 

db

#chaplife
jchiltz said:
import some californian wild fire. i hear it works a treat on whatever is in the way of it!
when i saw that you had replied to my thread, i thought "brilliant, chiltz knows a thing or too about manual labour, i bet he's got some quality tips" lol..

always thinking outside the box, j man :up: lol

Silverfish said:
For some reason, grass seeds have to be sown in March or October, and you've missed October. I'm not sure how long the bin liners have to be down - I think it's around a fortnight - but when they're done, just pull up whatever's left of the weeds, rake over the soil and sew yourself a lawn.

If you have any of those long, spikey vine things (which you probably have), dig down as deep as possible and cut it off with a knife. You'll never dig out the roots, but if you can get 'em around eight inches to a foot under the surface, they won't regrow.
excellent, cheers boss.. have a skill point :buddy:
 

Astro Boy

Pocket Rocket
dirtybobby said:
jchiltz said:
import some californian wild fire. i hear it works a treat on whatever is in the way of it!
when i saw that you had replied to my thread, i thought "brilliant, chiltz knows a thing or too about manual labour, i bet he's got some quality tips" lol..

always thinking outside the box, j man :up: lol
Er..... well, quality tips im short on. When it comes to manual labour Im a 'clearer'. Destroy, clean up, leave a nice fresh garden / whatever for the 'skilled' to work their magic on. The old man did teach me a few building skills to be fair but its a good job that its not my day job! I take pictures of people working hard...........

Outside the box 'cus Im off me boxx :teef:
 

My Name is URL

Well-Known Forumite
My advice would be don't use grass seed, use turf (from Penkridge turf)... quicker results and much better too (imho)

If your garden is big, you might want to use a tarpaulin instead of binbags to cover everything over to kill it, but really I think you just need to get old clothes on, mates round and rip everything out...
 

Silverfish

Well-Known Forumite
If you're going to use turf, ripping everything out is indeed the way to go, as there's no problem with making the ground less even. Remember, though, turf is a lot more expensive than seed.
 

cat_woman

Well-Known Forumite
once the weeds are dead, it may be worth getting a rotivator in, then levell off the ground for the turf, make sure you leave aboarder around the edge of your lawn, mowers never go all the way to the edge, and it saves you buying a strimmer.
 

Moley

Well-Known Forumite
Just used penkridge turf. £1.80/sqr metre for their best turf that is also hard wearing and low to maintain. This is a really good price. Just levelled most of the garden and laid 9 tonnes of gravel from Simmons (all by myself during half term). You can lay turf at any time of the year with the exception of it being frosty as the supplier can not lift it themselves to deliver. Best time to lay turf is autumn as it is damp and turf loves that. If you need membrane for anything buy it from Wickes. £20 for 150 sqr metres but buy two rolls and get one free.
 

cat_woman

Well-Known Forumite
Moley said:
Just used penkridge turf. £1.80/sqr metre for their best turf that is also hard wearing and low to maintain. This is a really good price. Just levelled most of the garden and laid 9 tonnes of gravel from Simmons (all by myself during half term). You can lay turf at any time of the year with the exception of it being frosty as the supplier can not lift it themselves to deliver. Best time to lay turf is autumn as it is damp and turf loves that. If you need membrane for anything buy it from Wickes. £20 for 150 sqr metres but buy two rolls and get one free.
thanks for the tip on membrane, simmonds the cheapest for gravel to?
 

Silverfish

Well-Known Forumite
Moley said:
Just used penkridge turf. £1.80/sqr metre for their best turf that is also hard wearing and low to maintain.
Now that is cheap. At that price, if you're doing a whole garden, turf would be a better bet than grass seeds. Remember, though, if there's grass already there, it might revive when the weeds are gone. When I lived on the Doxey Road, the lawn was covered in dead branches, assorted junk and whatever. When we cleared it and cut the 5ft-tall grass, the lawn was brown, patchy and dead. It didn't take long to re-establish itself, though.
 
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