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Nightmare garden - how to prepare for grass on clay?

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Posts

  • dchornbydchornby Posts: 15
    Thanks Borderline,

    The plan is just to make it all grass for the time being, so just simple and child friendly.

    I thought about a rotovator, but would it work or just bounce off in the summer when the clay is hard and clump up later in the season when its damp?  Also, im assuming stones and rocks hidden beneath the surface dont play nice with rotovators?!
  • DyersEndDyersEnd Posts: 730
    edited July 2018
    I don't think a rotovator would work on solid clay at this time of year and in this weather. At best the blades would need sharpening every 5 minutes.
  • NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
    edited July 2018
    Try asking your neighbours on both sides and further down the road as they may have been in the same position as you are now.
    No point re inventing the wheel
    Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
  • dchornbydchornby Posts: 15
    So if I decide to rotovate, i'll probably be best waiting to autumn or wetting the soil a few days prior first?

    Yeh. I spoke to next door - they just threw grass seed on theirs and it seemed to take ok
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    How old are the children at the moment ... children and unmarried teenagers between the ages of 7 and 18 used to be employed stone picking on fields ... kept them out of mischief  ;)



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • dchornbydchornby Posts: 15
    haha nearly 3 - he'd probably find the bits of glass that are out there!!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    That's guaranteed lol

    Hope you and your family have fun getting the garden how you want it.  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    edited July 2018
    Plenty of grass grow on clay sub-soils. No need to rotovate if stones are a worry. Dig down and turn the soil, and smash down the turned soil with the back of your fork. Do a section at a time. It’s just about timing. Wait till the weather cools and the soil is moist again.

     In autumn time, put down roughly 5-6 inches of top soil and start digging it into the top 12 inches of soil. Then lay another 2 inches of top-soil and leave to settle for a week or so. Rake the area over and walk over the whole area covering every section. Do this a few times and the soil will be ready for sowing or laying turf.

    Don’t worry too much about small weeds growing, with constant mowing, they will slowly die off.
  • dchornbydchornby Posts: 15
    That's guaranteed lol

    Hope you and your family have fun getting the garden how you want it.  :)


    Thanks! I'm sure we will... Eventually! 

  • dchornbydchornby Posts: 15
    Should I bring in fresh topsoil or could I sieve the dirt we already have at the back of our garden?

    Thanks! 
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