Well I have my topsoil coming on Tuesday, I have also ordered my seed and pre seed fertilizer. A quick question I have is I have 5KG of seed coming and it is recommended to sow at 35g per sq meter, this will leave me with about a KG of seed over, Would it hurt to sow 40g per sqm? or should I stick to the 35g and save the rest for any over seeding?
I am not looking forward to spreading the 6 large bags of topsoil myself.
If you can accurately spread to a 5g per sq metre accuracy you're a better man than me. As you are only looking at about a 10% over spread I wouldn't worry about it.
I did read somewhere that you should sow at half the rate from side to side walking backwards and then sow at half the rate walking backwards at 90 degrees from the first lot, to give a more even coverage.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Thanks Dove, There has been a long pause between clearing the garden and getting to putting down the topsoil, a combination of work and a holiday got in the way, I have a week off this week so I will be spending the majority of that preparing for seed. The seed and pre seed fertilizer are coming today also.
I can see my OCD making sure the topsoil is well trodden and as level as possible, other wise an uneven lawn will irritate the hell out of me.
Great time to get seed sown too Mr T. You sound like your time off work is being spent the same as mine!
A nice lawn is a lovely thing to have but you'll always have a little dip or two as it all settles - which is easily sorted, so don't get too worried about it.
We don't want to see you out at midnight filling little bits in with a spoon muttering to yourself...
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Lol Fairy, The plan was to get the topsoil down and level, leave for a week to settle, the fertilize then a week later seed, I can mix the fert and seed when sowing but I thought it best to do the fert first although the soil I got is meant to have fert's in.
"Watmore's Blended Topsoil contains organic compost and as dug virgin topsoil which is specially designed for all round use with a neutral ph ideal for lawns, garden boarders, veg plots or for raising garden levels. Our blended topsoil is the cheapest of our soil range but never the less, still a finely screened 10mm soil, which is is 100% safe, clean and tested to the highest standard. Free from glass, stones and debrie"
"Added Natural Fertiliser This product has been produced with our unique added natural fertiliser which has all the goodness your plants need Nitrogen for top growth Phosphates for root growth, Potash for flowering and fruiting & Trace elements for taste and colour."
"Why by from us? We only add virgin soil to our blends.The soil is inspected, screened to a fine consistency and then mixed with sand, compost, manure, mushroom compost or peat depended on blend. and other products to bring it to a consistent quality that conforms to British Standards. Every part of this "recipe" is there for a reason! Nothing is there as a "filler". It's what is done to bring you a consistent, top quality growing medium. All our soil's are then stored in large sheds until they contain very little moisture to make sure you receive a high quality, friable growing medium!"
Good heavens! When you buy topsoil in France it's pot luck. Mine for the veg. garden was clay, full of stones, bindweed and bramble roots.
I'm afraid I wasn't very encouraging at the beginning because it sounded as though you were destroying a garden, but I must congratulate you on what you have done. You are creating a new garden suitable for your family's needs and you've worked very hard.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Thanks Busy, I knew I would have a lot of negatives comments from people when I first posted, the thing was we bought this house with a view of being here for many many years, Both me and the wife are not really into gardening and we felt the garden was not suitable for the kids and would have ended up being an overgrown mess.
What is right for one is not right for all, after getting quotes that seemed well over priced I decided to do all the work myself.
I was going to do some hardscaping first but due to cost I decided to get the lawn established first and do the hardscaping next year.
Posts
Well I have my topsoil coming on Tuesday, I have also ordered my seed and pre seed fertilizer. A quick question I have is I have 5KG of seed coming and it is recommended to sow at 35g per sq meter, this will leave me with about a KG of seed over, Would it hurt to sow 40g per sqm? or should I stick to the 35g and save the rest for any over seeding?
I am not looking forward to spreading the 6 large bags of topsoil myself.
If you can accurately spread to a 5g per sq metre accuracy you're a better man than me.
As you are only looking at about a 10% over spread I wouldn't worry about it.
I did read somewhere that you should sow at half the rate from side to side walking backwards and then sow at half the rate walking backwards at 90 degrees from the first lot, to give a more even coverage.
The top soil delivery driver seems as keen as me and was knocking on my door at 6.30am this morning.
Fantastic! Glad the weather held for you
And I'm so glad you kept that tree in the corner - it's going to help your garden look established and give it character.
I hope you're feeling very proud of yourself - you've done amazingly
Time for a bacon bap
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove, There has been a long pause between clearing the garden and getting to putting down the topsoil, a combination of work and a holiday got in the way, I have a week off this week so I will be spending the majority of that preparing for seed. The seed and pre seed fertilizer are coming today also.
I can see my OCD making sure the topsoil is well trodden and as level as possible, other wise an uneven lawn will irritate the hell out of me.
Great time to get seed sown too Mr T. You sound like your time off work is being spent the same as mine!
A nice lawn is a lovely thing to have but you'll always have a little dip or two as it all settles - which is easily sorted, so don't get too worried about it.
We don't want to see you out at midnight filling little bits in with a spoon muttering to yourself...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Lol Fairy, The plan was to get the topsoil down and level, leave for a week to settle, the fertilize then a week later seed, I can mix the fert and seed when sowing but I thought it best to do the fert first although the soil I got is meant to have fert's in.
"Watmore's Blended Topsoil contains organic compost and as dug virgin topsoil which is specially designed for all round use with a neutral ph ideal for lawns, garden boarders, veg plots or for raising garden levels. Our blended topsoil is the cheapest of our soil range but never the less, still a finely screened 10mm soil, which is is 100% safe, clean and tested to the highest standard. Free from glass, stones and debrie"
"Added Natural Fertiliser This product has been produced with our unique added natural fertiliser which has all the goodness your plants need Nitrogen for top growth Phosphates for root growth, Potash for flowering and fruiting & Trace elements for taste and colour."
"Why by from us? We only add virgin soil to our blends.The soil is inspected, screened to a fine consistency and then mixed with sand, compost, manure, mushroom compost or peat depended on blend. and other products to bring it to a consistent quality that conforms to British Standards. Every part of this "recipe" is there for a reason! Nothing is there as a "filler". It's what is done to bring you a consistent, top quality growing medium. All our soil's are then stored in large sheds until they contain very little moisture to make sure you receive a high quality, friable growing medium!"
Good heavens! When you buy topsoil in France it's pot luck. Mine for the veg. garden was clay, full of stones, bindweed and bramble roots.
I'm afraid I wasn't very encouraging at the beginning because it sounded as though you were destroying a garden, but I must congratulate you on what you have done. You are creating a new garden suitable for your family's needs and you've worked very hard.
Thanks Busy, I knew I would have a lot of negatives comments from people when I first posted, the thing was we bought this house with a view of being here for many many years, Both me and the wife are not really into gardening and we felt the garden was not suitable for the kids and would have ended up being an overgrown mess.
What is right for one is not right for all, after getting quotes that seemed well over priced I decided to do all the work myself.
I was going to do some hardscaping first but due to cost I decided to get the lawn established first and do the hardscaping next year.