I just want to say well done to you for clearing what sounds to have been a jungle, all on your own. 👍 You have achieved a great result so far with hard work and a lot of effort.
That’s very kind of you thank you! It’s pretty physical but a few hours now and then seems to slowly get through it.
I know you're keen to crack on with this but I think I'd go along with Glasgowdan's advice and use a glyphosate weedkiller in spring when the weeds start growing away strongly.
You'll have to wait 3 or 4 weeks for the weedkiller to work down to the roots and completely kill the weeds. You can then rake out the dead weeds before final levelling / re-raking preparation. I'd also use turf rather than seed - partly for an instant look and more uniform result, but also because you'll be able to mow turf much sooner than grass seed which will help knock back any weeds not zapped by the weedkiller.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
I know you're keen to crack on with this but I think I'd go along with Glasgowdan's advice and use a glyphosate weedkiller in spring when the weeds start growing away strongly.
You'll have to wait 3 or 4 weeks for the weedkiller to work down to the roots and completely kill the weeds. You can then rake out the dead weeds before final levelling / re-raking preparation. I'd also use turf rather than seed - partly for an instant look and more uniform result, but also because you'll be able to mow turf much sooner than grass seed which will help knock back any weeds not zapped by the weedkiller.
Hi TopBird! I am having to wait anyway with this rubbish weather...
Ok so as I understand it, I should get an industrial grade weedkiller and 'nuke' the place?
So far I have been surprised at exactly how much root there is in the ground, its a dense network. The rotavator does a really great job of tearing it all up. I have had to just leave it for the last 10 days or so with the awful weather and its still quite green on top. This is taken now: (Today) You can see there is a clear effort from the grass and stuff under it to grow through, though this is not in the areas I have tilled yet. Also I think those must be bulbs of some kind trying to make an appearance!
You can see the original 'grass' that was at the base of all the growth and weeds is still happily growing and being green!
I did spray the whole area about 10 days ago with roundup but just using the standard lawn guideline concentration, nothing more. Also, it did rain the next day so my uneducated guess is the rain got rid of all the killer as I can't see any kind of difference yet. In fact I think the weeds are treating it like a nutrients the way they are going on!
Can you recommend an industrial grade weed killer, something that will then do all the stuff that is growing? I can then wait a few weeks for it to work and then start again with breaking up the soil and prepping for seed.
I don't have any plans for an immaculate, billiard table lawn, I really just want the mud gone and the stuff growing here replaced with something a little less ugly.
As ever thank you for your comments and anything you can think of is being read and taken on board, along with lots more YT videos.
Spray the weed foliage with Round Up exactly according to instructions when the weeds are growing strongly ... Probably late March, depending on the weather we get. Then leave it alone and sit back and drink tea (or your beverage of choice) and eat cake for three weeks.
That will allow the chemicals to pass down the plants from the leaves to the roots. Only then will the leaves turn brown indicating that the roots are dead and you can clear the ground.
If you attempt to do it before this has happened you will have wasted your time and effort and will have to do it again.
By the way ... the shoots in your second photo are bulbs of some sort ... maybe daffodils or bluebells
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Tea and cake for three weeks sounds like good advice, 👍🏻 OP said he’d dug out loads of bulbs, they look like daffodils, might get a nice show in the Spring.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
No weedkiller that I know of will kill weed roots which are not yet growing. As Dove says, you need to sit on your hands until the weeds are growing strongly from the roots left in the soil, and then use a glyphosate weedkiller at the recommended concentration in the spring, on a day when the weather is going to stay dry for at least six hours. If you make it stronger than the packet says, it won't work. Glyphosate is very effective if you use it correctly, but getting impatient and using it too soon will just be a waste of money.
Bulbs are hard to kill with weedkiller so you'd be better digging them up and moving them to a flower bed - and as Lyn says, enjoying the flowers.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
No weedkiller that I know of will kill weed roots which are not yet growing. As Dove says, you need to sit on your hands until the weeds are growing strongly from the roots left in the soil, and then use a glyphosate weedkiller at the recommended concentration in the spring, on a day when the weather is going to stay dry for at least six hours. If you make it stronger than the packet says, it won't work. Glyphosate is very effective if you use it correctly, but getting impatient and using it too soon will just be a waste of money.
Bulbs are hard to kill with weedkiller so you'd be better digging them up and moving them to a flower bed - and as Lyn says, enjoying the flowers.
Hi Liri! I suspect my excitement is translating into impatience and I want to be clear I’m actually happy to wait.
I just followed the instructions on the bottle for the roundup but it’s been diabolical weather since. It was already quite wet and there absolutely hasn’t been any growth proper since. I would like some kind of reasonable ground cover by the time summer is in full swing though, so I guess I’m trying to determine what my options are and what I can do practically to get the best results.
If the answer is I won’t have a lawn before the end of summer then I’m happy to accept it. This summer may just need to be dedicated to weed eradication. I was just hoping there was something I could do given I can pretty much do anything to it for the next few weeks.
Thanks for the information though, I’m googling and YouTube-ing like a madman at the moment.
Tea and cake for three weeks sounds like good advice, 👍🏻 OP said he’d dug out loads of bulbs, they look like daffodils, might get a nice show in the Spring.
There are bulbs everywhere! I must admit I’m not enjoying digging them up, bulbs don’t feel like a problem plant.
If you go down the wait / weedkiller / wait / rake and level route you will be ready to lay turf by the mid-end of April. Another 6 weeks of watering and keeping off the lawn to give it a chance to become well rooted and you'll have a nice lawn by June.
Patience is the biggest virtue a gardener can have. Random application of weedkiller in the wrong concentration at the wrong time and without enough time to work is bad for your pocket, the environment and is a waste of time.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
If I were doing this I would delay sowing and fallow the site for a few weeks and let weed seeds germinate then hoe off or herbicide the site and then fallow again if time is on your side. I wouldn’t sow until at least the temperature is above 10 degrees or above most days, possibly in April or even May. Let the weather be your guide. The better the prep the better the result will be. Once the grass germinates well within a few weeks it will begin to look like a lawn.
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I know you're keen to crack on with this but I think I'd go along with Glasgowdan's advice and use a glyphosate weedkiller in spring when the weeds start growing away strongly.
You'll have to wait 3 or 4 weeks for the weedkiller to work down to the roots and completely kill the weeds. You can then rake out the dead weeds before final levelling / re-raking preparation. I'd also use turf rather than seed - partly for an instant look and more uniform result, but also because you'll be able to mow turf much sooner than grass seed which will help knock back any weeds not zapped by the weedkiller.
I am having to wait anyway with this rubbish weather...
Ok so as I understand it, I should get an industrial grade weedkiller and 'nuke' the place?
So far I have been surprised at exactly how much root there is in the ground, its a dense network. The rotavator does a really great job of tearing it all up. I have had to just leave it for the last 10 days or so with the awful weather and its still quite green on top.
This is taken now: (Today)
You can see there is a clear effort from the grass and stuff under it to grow through, though this is not in the areas I have tilled yet. Also I think those must be bulbs of some kind trying to make an appearance!
You can see the original 'grass' that was at the base of all the growth and weeds is still happily growing and being green!
I did spray the whole area about 10 days ago with roundup but just using the standard lawn guideline concentration, nothing more. Also, it did rain the next day so my uneducated guess is the rain got rid of all the killer as I can't see any kind of difference yet. In fact I think the weeds are treating it like a nutrients the way they are going on!
Can you recommend an industrial grade weed killer, something that will then do all the stuff that is growing? I can then wait a few weeks for it to work and then start again with breaking up the soil and prepping for seed.
I don't have any plans for an immaculate, billiard table lawn, I really just want the mud gone and the stuff growing here replaced with something a little less ugly.
As ever thank you for your comments and anything you can think of is being read and taken on board, along with lots more YT videos.
Spray the weed foliage with Round Up exactly according to instructions when the weeds are growing strongly ...
Probably late March, depending on the weather we get. Then leave it alone and sit back and drink tea (or your beverage of choice) and eat cake for three weeks.
If you attempt to do it before this has happened you will have wasted your time and effort and will have to do it again.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
OP said he’d dug out loads of bulbs, they look like daffodils, might get a nice show in the Spring.
Bulbs are hard to kill with weedkiller so you'd be better digging them up and moving them to a flower bed - and as Lyn says, enjoying the flowers.
I suspect my excitement is translating into impatience and I want to be clear I’m actually happy to wait.
I would like some kind of reasonable ground cover by the time summer is in full swing though, so I guess I’m trying to determine what my options are and what I can do practically to get the best results.
I must admit I’m not enjoying digging them up, bulbs don’t feel like a problem plant.
I’ll see what I can do to move them.
Patience is the biggest virtue a gardener can have. Random application of weedkiller in the wrong concentration at the wrong time and without enough time to work is bad for your pocket, the environment and is a waste of time.
The better the prep the better the result will be. Once the grass germinates well within a few weeks it will begin to look like a lawn.