where to start!
clueless4
Posts: 2
Hi - new to all this and, as it says on the tin, pretty clueless. I have moved into a terraced house with a 40m garden - not much in it except a large old apple tree at the far end in the middle (not looking at all happy, with lots of very unappetising apples!) and grass/weeds. The garden has obviously had a few greenhouses/structures in the past and the ground is very uneven, with some bits of concrete (which I think i have got out now) + old bin liners etc. Think you probably get the picture. Basically where do I start? I would like some lawn and would like to build a few raised beds down the sides - thinking of using sleepers (one side of the garden has a fence with concrete posts and base and I thought that raised beds would cover the concrete at the base. Do I start with getting it rotivated? Do I need to kill the grass and weeds first or let the rotivator do its stuff? Help gratefully received - getting depressed with no plants in the garden. Thanks
Posts
Hi clueless. If I was you I'd get the raised beds done first. That way, you can get some plants in - bulbs for spring right away! The lawn is a different ball game and a lot depends on your finances and time. A recent new member to the forum has cleared his established garden, levelled it all and sown a new lawn but it has taken a huge amount of work as I'm sure you can imagine. If you want to clear it and level it then it's best to use weedkiller - possibly more than once - to get rid of everything, and that will give you a clean slate to work with. Rotivating can create problems as it's easy to chop up any remaining weeds and make the problem worse so just be aware of that. It's usually better to use a fork,spade, rake and elbow grease to get the soil sorted!
Bearing in mind the time of year, you may want to leave the grass till next year unless you can afford to get a company in to do it, simply because you might have a sea of mud over winter if you don't complete the project quickly .
If you do a search for the thread 'Clearing a garden' on here, that will bring up Mr Toast's thread about the garden I mentioned and you can see what was involved. If I can find it, I'll bump it up to the first page here for you
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi Fairygirl. thanks for the advice. I've just found the thread on Mr Toast's garden - think it might take me a while to read, but its already giving me a idea of what I could do. Not sure that I can match the work load there though - know I can't!
That's a big project isn't it! Time and finances play a big part in anything you undertake in a garden so just take on what you're able to do, and do a bit at a time. It lets you get to know your plot too. You'll get lots of help, advice and suggestions here on the forum as you go along.
If you're handy with a saw and a screwdriver, the raised beds are in your capabilities. Sleepers are easier if you only need them one sleeper high - very little prep required. It would allow you to get something to look at over winter while you make all your plans for next year. It'll be here before you know it!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Clueless, don't start a lawn now, wait till spring, bit late now. Do as Fairygirl has suggested, raised beds first, they'll take time on their own and you have the opportunity to see how they do over winter and next spring.
In spring, I'd use glyphosate to kill off the whole lawn area, treat twice as it'll take a few weeks to all die back
As .fairygirl has said, using machines to turn the soil can cause more problems than it's worth, digging is the better bet even though it's hard work the results will be better.
There is plenty of guidance on sowing or turfing a lawn in the HOW TO section on the site. It's simple and easy to follow and leaving it till spring will give you time to consider what else you want to do in the garden as well.
Hi Clueless, Being a non gardener type myself I was very daunted by what I had to undertake, Once I got stuck in and with loads of support on this forum I managed to clear my garden by myself at weekends and get a new lawn established.
To be honest without the support of this forum I would have probably given up but I stuck with it.
The financial out lay was not huge, the main out lay was for the weedkiller, topsoil and seed.
In a couple of months my garden went from this (Lovely for some, impractical for my family)
To a much more family friendly garden