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Growing grass in decoration rock infested soil

jamesscalescontact75604jamesscalescontact75604 Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi, I’m a first time
home owner, who obviously underestimated the work needed to get my garden where I want It to be. 

My goal is to get this front garden to have full grass. The previous owner neglected it, and apparently one of their tenants was trigger happy with decoration rocks. There does seem to be a membrane underneath, but strangely only around the stumps. I’ve started off taking as much of the stones out as I can, and using a rotavator to break up the hard ground to get more up.

I’m going to keep going as much as I can, but I feel like it may need a layer of top soil, which I want to avoid as I don’t want the level of soil to rise too much as it’s mostly sloped downwards to allow drainage. And the obvious £100 out of pocket for it.

Is this suitable for growing grass? Or is it going to need top soil.




The left side has a little more cleaner soil as I think there was soil left over when the fence posts were being put in, and after the rotavator it levelled out well.

Any advise is welcomed, I’m young and trying to learn :)

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Are you saying that you want nothing but grass in your front garden?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • jamesscalescontact75604jamesscalescontact75604 Posts: 2
    B3 said:
    Are you saying that you want nothing but grass in your front garden?
    Within the rectangle you you see, of course not where the pathway is.
  • Songbird-2Songbird-2 Posts: 2,349
    edited September 2023
    If you do eventually put  grass down, don't put it butting right up to the fence concrete bases. It will be really awkward to trim the edges there so leave a little gap and then you can trim the edges with some lawn trimmers, strummer or shears etc.

    There are plenty of sites on-line ( via Google ) and some youtube videos which detail how to prepare an area for grass laying and this may  help you decide whether a lawn would be viable there. Good luck @jamesscalescontact75604.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm slightly confused by the photos. Does it look like the first one now? I presume when you say 'decoration rocks' you mean gravel?
    If the first pic is how it looks now, the soil doesn't look great, but it's not easy to tell. I think you'll need to add some decent soil to that though, as there's still a lot of gravel which looks fairly large. Finer gravel - 10mm pea gravel for example, isn't a huge problem, but anything bigger can certainly be, especially if there's a lot of it, as it'll keep working it's way to the surface.  Grass doesn't need a huge amount of good soil to grow well, but proper prep now will pay dividends, so it's worth getting some to add to that before you go any further with the levelling/raking/firming stages.  :)

    A slope doesn't necessarily mean the drainage will be good. It's the structure of the soil itself that helps drainage. That goes for planted beds/borders  too  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Are you planning grass-seed or turf.  With seed you have more control of grass quality, but it needs more careful preparation,  timing and immediate aftercare.

    By definition "topsoil" is just the soil that is on top.  The quality will vary; but it's what you've got.  IF you use turfs you will get some topsoil with it.  Posibly weeds as well.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    @jamesscalescontact75604.

    I think you might struggle to establish grass in that front bed, both because of the slope which will make it difficult to mow and also because of the shade (from a tree?). That's probably why the previous owner laid membane/gravel down for easier maintenance.
    Grass  usually needs cutting once a week throughout the summer - will you have the time/energy?

    If you do opt for grass and I agree with the others that you will need a decent depth of topsoil first, try to find a variety especially suitable for shady conditions.

    Good luck!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm intrigued as to why you think a slope would prevent grass growing @Lizzie27 ! Mowing is fine - you just traverse, you don't go up and down it.  :)
    I've had lawns on shady sites in several gardens. Not really a problem, although they can be mossy. If it's very dry site, the grass won't thrive so well though, and that's when people have to decide if it's worth wasting resources keeping it watered.
    There are better alternatives in that instance, but we'd need to wait until @jamesscalescontact75604 responds to the comments already given, to find out more.  :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    @Fairygirl, I just found mowing on a steepish slope acrossways a bit of a pain handling the lawnmower but then I'm tiny and getting old!
    I suppose it depends on the steepness of the slope (lethal when wet), size of lawnmower and one's overall strength.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    None of us are getting any younger @Lizzie27 :D
    As you say, it does depend on strength, and sometimes stamina, but I don't think that slope, or the size of it, would pose too many problems as the OP says they're young. I always used a lightweight mower on sloping 'lawns' - adjacent to fields, so really just 'grass' rather than posh lawn. Many gardens round here have really severe slopes where the roofs of lower properties are lower than the bottom of the gardens behind them. Most of them are big houses/gardens, so they 'get a man in' though!
    We'd need to wait and see what else @jamesscalescontact75604 can tell us about the site.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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