Clearing stones from garden

stukenhayward57894 · 12 January

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/fd/s338lossjt4p.jpg

Hi,
We have taken on a garden that had been left to run wild for a couple of decades - we've managed to clear it to down with the aid of a digger and have spent the last year clearing residual brambles and weeds. There are still a few left, but we also have a huge amount of little stones spread all across the turf - what is the best way for us to deal with these before reseeding? Is some sort of power rake good for these instances?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

ViewAhead · 12 January

Hello ... and welcome. 🙂

That looks a lovely big space. 👍 I'm envious of the potential.

Now ... stones. I have a very stony garden, living in an area near the south coast where gravel pits abound. Mine tend to be quite large, and I've collected many down the yrs. However, more somehow manage to rise up. If you want to lay turf, presumably you are going to rotivate the area to prepare the ground. Then you can collect the larger stones (maybe using them as a top dressing round any plants in a border) but the smaller ones will have to stay. These should be less trouble under turf than if you were seeding the area.

Good luck with it.

stukenhayward57894 · 12 January

ViewAhead said:

Hello ... and welcome. 🙂

That looks a lovely big space. 👍 I'm envious of the potential.

Now ... stones. I have a very stony garden, living in an area near the south coast where gravel pits abound. Mine tend to be quite large, and I've collected many down the yrs. However, more somehow manage to rise up. If you want to lay turf, presumably you are going to rotivate the area to prepare the ground. Then you can collect the larger stones (maybe using them as a top dressing round any plants in a border) but the smaller ones will have to stay. These should be less trouble under turf than if you were seeding the area.

Good luck with it.

Thank you for the response! Ah, yes - we're on the south coast too! We were hoping to reseed - do you think the smaller ones will be an issue? Sounds like we might be fighting a losing battle trying to deal with all the little stones!

Dovefromabove · 12 January

Soil needs small stones to aid drainage … if you get rid of all the small stones it could make the ground quite boggy.

stukenhayward57894 · 12 January

Dovefromabove said:

Soil needs small stones to aid drainage … if you get rid of all the small stones it could make the ground quite boggy.

Thank you for the response. I hadn't realised the benefits. Is it fine to reseed around these?

Dovefromabove · 13 January

This tells you what you need to do to prepare to sow your lawn … as you’ll see once you’ve done this you can pick off any larger ones before sowing.

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-prepare-ground-for-a-new-lawn/

I would sow the seed in late May once the soil has warmed up … however you’ll have to be prepared to water generously most days for quite a while … or even for most of the if we get a dry one.

There are some real lawn experts who pop into the forum now and again … hopefully one of them … perhaps @rossdriscoll13 … will see this and add to or amend my suggestions. 🤞

stukenhayward57894 · 13 January

Dovefromabove said:

This tells you what you need to do to prepare to sow your lawn … as you’ll see once you’ve done this you can pick off any larger ones before sowing.

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-prepare-ground-for-a-new-lawn/

I would sow the seed in late May once the soil has warmed up … however you’ll have to be prepared to water generously most days for quite a while … or even for most of the if we get a dry one.

There are some real lawn experts who pop into the forum now and again … hopefully one of them … perhaps @rossdriscoll13 … will see this and add to or amend my suggestions. 🤞

Thank you - really appreciate the advice!

rossdriscoll13 · 13 January

@stukenhayward57894 Grass seed can be sown from Mid March- September, when the temperatures are consistently 8-10 degrees Celsius and above.

Dig the soil over to a depth of 20-25cm, removing any stones the size of a matchbox.

Rake the area to get a level seedbed.

Leave the area for 10-14 days. This allows any dormant weed seeds to appear which can be removed by hand.

Sow the grass seed at a rate of 50g per square metre using a rotary spreader.

Water deeply and daily for around 6 weeks, apart from when it rains.

You can make yourself a drag mat to help you level the area and to make sure you have excellent seed to soil contact. All you need is a heavy duty drainage door mat, a piece of wood, some cable ties and a length of rope. Attach the length of wood to the mat using the cable ties and the rope to the piece of wood and voila.

Dovefromabove · 13 January

😊

stukenhayward57894 · 13 January

rossdriscoll13 said:

@stukenhayward57894 Grass seed can be sown from Mid March- September, when the temperatures are consistently 8-10 degrees Celsius and above.

Dig the soil over to a depth of 20-25cm, removing any stones the size of a matchbox.

Rake the area to get a level seedbed.

Leave the area for 10-14 days. This allows any dormant weed seeds to appear which can be removed by hand.

Sow the grass seed at a rate of 50g per square metre using a rotary spreader.

Water deeply and daily for around 6 weeks, apart from when it rains.

You can make yourself a drag mat to help you level the area and to make sure you have excellent seed to soil contact. All you need is a heavy duty drainage door mat, a piece of wood, some cable ties and a length of rope. Attach the length of wood to the mat using the cable ties and the rope to the piece of wood and voila.

Thank you for the detailed response - really appreciate it 😊

Clearing stones from garden

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