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New gardener & new garden
rachaelbrown.1227
Posts: 5
Hi everyone
I've just moved into my first house and back garden is completely flagged but I want to have grass, plant borders etc. So I've pulled the flags up and underneath it was a thin layer of sand and underneath that there is a larger layer of like rocks. Is this suitable for putting down topsoil, compost etc and then grass seeds? Or is sand and rocks not good for your average garden?
I'm a complete gardening novice other than the hours spent with my dad in his allotment so go easy on me if I come out with obvious answer questions.
Thanks in advance!
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Posts
Welcome Rachael. I think you'll need to get rid of the hardcore too. You'll find the soil underneath. Hopefully they didn't remove your topsoil before they prepared the base for the slabs.
Right ok, looks like I've got some heavy digging to do!
Wish me luck and thanks for your help
I'd definitely remove the rocks, but the sand may be ok to keep and mixed with soil. Having just tackled a moss covered lawn, everything I read advised on improving drainage to prevent moss regrowth - sandy soil will certainly do that!
Yeah our front garden when we moved in was completely overgrown so I mowed it with my puny little lawnmower which took hours and underneath the grass was mostly either dead or moss. I'm just mowing it and raking it once every two weeks and hoping it eventually becomes just normal grass, hoping being the key word!
sounds like you have good instincts Rachael, that's exactly what I would do to get back to normal grass. If this doesn't work then you can dig the lot over and re-turf (I've done this in the past successfully). If I were to do this, then I'd add a tonne or two of sand and dig that in to improve drainage and help level it and prevent future moss.
Hope this is helpful.
This is a picture of how deep I need to dig before I reach soil. Any advice on the easiest way to dig up a whole garden? Also, the sand I'm digging through, is that something I should keep? Like is it a good thing to have sand mixed in with soil or should I get rid of it?
Oh Rachel looks like you're doing a great job. Sorry I don't know the answers to your sand question but just wanted to say the slabs you are taking out look nice ones! Have you considered just taking out a few at a time? It would look lovely with pockets of herbs and flowers and nice slabs to sit on in between
Quite a few of the slabs had been bashed in so were in pieces but I've took the whole ones and made a path around the edge of the garden. If you can imagine the garden is a square, I've made like an L shape with the remaining flags. My plan is to have a greenhouse in one corner and a raised flower/herb bed in the other and grass all in the middle. But obviously I need to get up all the sand and rocks etc first. It's going to take months!
I'm affraid you must get all that base out, I wouldn't keep any of the sand there could be cement in it, take your time get it back to basics then look at laying a new lawn in October/ November do all your hard landscape first.