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HELP! Clearing a jungle!
Diddyb
Posts: 4
Hi all! I'm new to the forum in desperate need of help with the garden in our new home!
To cut a long story short the garden in question was basically just made up of overgrown bushes and a large paved area from a static caravan.
We would like to clear it all to start growing flowers and have a bit of lawn space but the problem I'm facing is all the soil is over run by enormous root systems.
The garden had a number of different bushes which I have managed to remove along with the main roots (which was a huge job as many were like small tree trunks) but now as I'm trying to turn the soil I just keep finding these long roots snaking absolutely everywhere and I'm at a loss as to how to get rid of them.
Some are cotoneaster and literally run through the soil, under the bits of grass already there and even under the pavings.
I've tried removing as much as I can (filled more than a few tonne bags) but I don't think I can clear them all without bringing in a mini digger, fully emptying the garden down to the clay and starting from scratch which is just impossible.
I wondered if now I had removed the main stems from all the bushes is there any way to almost sterilise the soil and kill off anything still in there or could I get away with rotavating the earth (as it will need doing anyway) and shredding the remains of what's there to break down naturally?
The first picture is from just after I started clearing stuff and the one below it is the piece in front of the summer house now.
To cut a long story short the garden in question was basically just made up of overgrown bushes and a large paved area from a static caravan.
We would like to clear it all to start growing flowers and have a bit of lawn space but the problem I'm facing is all the soil is over run by enormous root systems.
The garden had a number of different bushes which I have managed to remove along with the main roots (which was a huge job as many were like small tree trunks) but now as I'm trying to turn the soil I just keep finding these long roots snaking absolutely everywhere and I'm at a loss as to how to get rid of them.
Some are cotoneaster and literally run through the soil, under the bits of grass already there and even under the pavings.
I've tried removing as much as I can (filled more than a few tonne bags) but I don't think I can clear them all without bringing in a mini digger, fully emptying the garden down to the clay and starting from scratch which is just impossible.
I wondered if now I had removed the main stems from all the bushes is there any way to almost sterilise the soil and kill off anything still in there or could I get away with rotavating the earth (as it will need doing anyway) and shredding the remains of what's there to break down naturally?
The first picture is from just after I started clearing stuff and the one below it is the piece in front of the summer house now.
0
Posts
Might end up going with raised beds on the areas we're keeping for flowers I just don't want anything coming through the grass when I get it down.
I think you may have to deal with these roots when they are a physical obstruction but otherwise, try to ignore them.