I don't think I have any top soil. How could I tell? It is all grey dust in the sun or cracked, then puddles and sludge in the rain. There was never any turf in the area I'm digging, in case that isn't clear, I haven't removed any grass. We dug down very far to get out the plastic and the ground there looked no different to the surface. I need to add compost to improve the clay and hopefully the drainage as the ground is exceptionally wet a lot of the time. It's unfortunately not a case of just removing stones, there is broken glass in every shovelful, which seems to have been intentionally smashed into the garden. I need to be very careful that none of it is near the surface.
I'm not convinced an outdoor tap will only be £50 since my water pipes are on the other side of the house. I will look into this though, it's a good idea.
Yes, my kitchen is the length of the house with sink at one end and patio doors at the other. Should be no problem to run a hose through, but will presumably mean having an outdoor tap fitted is more expensive. Was hoping to do it a few years down the line.
Is there a way to tell if you have top soil? Is it likely that I don't if the soil a few feet down is the same as at the surface?
Get some quotes. You can have an outside tap fitted on the outside of the kitchen near your existing sink - short pipe lead so not too expensive in materials.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
The outside of the kitchen sink would be the driveway, not so useful for the back garden. I want one on both sides, ideally. I suppose I could run it down the side passage if I left the door open. Is it better to use a hose from an external tap rather than an internal one?
Definitely. In my experience there's always at least one accident where you end up with a flood from a loose connection or too much pressure. Better outside than in. One outside tap would do it and then either a long hose pipe or a Y connector and 2 hose pipes.
You can get a good 40m long one that mounts on the wall in its own retractable reel. I have one of these - http://www.hozelock.com/our-products/watering/hose-reels/wall-mounted-reels/auto-reel-with-40m-hose/ but we also have a 3 way connector on the outside tap so I can use it as a tap and keep 2 hose pipes attached for either side without constant connecting and disconnecting. Then I have sprinklers and timers so I can water beds automatically and spray guns attachments for doing individual plants and pots.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Is there soil underneath where you'll be laying, or is the rubble in a compacted layer that won't allow water to pass? You don't need a deep stone-free layer, but you do need a subsoil that allows drainage. You don't even need a stone-free surface to have success with turf, as long as it's all within reason.
Hi Dan. I can dig a full spade depth or more and I have removed all compacted rubble But some of what was under or even on top of the soil is now mixed in from rotavating.
Some one told me no stones above 6mm due to root growth. Which needs a sieve and a lot of work in my garden even if I removed them from the surface
Posts
I don't think I have any top soil. How could I tell? It is all grey dust in the sun or cracked, then puddles and sludge in the rain. There was never any turf in the area I'm digging, in case that isn't clear, I haven't removed any grass. We dug down very far to get out the plastic and the ground there looked no different to the surface. I need to add compost to improve the clay and hopefully the drainage as the ground is exceptionally wet a lot of the time. It's unfortunately not a case of just removing stones, there is broken glass in every shovelful, which seems to have been intentionally smashed into the garden. I need to be very careful that none of it is near the surface.
I'm not convinced an outdoor tap will only be £50 since my water pipes are on the other side of the house. I will look into this though, it's a good idea.
Can you run a hose from the other side of the house?
Yes, my kitchen is the length of the house with sink at one end and patio doors at the other. Should be no problem to run a hose through, but will presumably mean having an outdoor tap fitted is more expensive. Was hoping to do it a few years down the line.
Is there a way to tell if you have top soil? Is it likely that I don't if the soil a few feet down is the same as at the surface?
Get some quotes. You can have an outside tap fitted on the outside of the kitchen near your existing sink - short pipe lead so not too expensive in materials.
The outside of the kitchen sink would be the driveway, not so useful for the back garden. I want one on both sides, ideally. I suppose I could run it down the side passage if I left the door open. Is it better to use a hose from an external tap rather than an internal one?
Definitely. In my experience there's always at least one accident where you end up with a flood from a loose connection or too much pressure. Better outside than in. One outside tap would do it and then either a long hose pipe or a Y connector and 2 hose pipes.
You can get a good 40m long one that mounts on the wall in its own retractable reel. I have one of these - http://www.hozelock.com/our-products/watering/hose-reels/wall-mounted-reels/auto-reel-with-40m-hose/ but we also have a 3 way connector on the outside tap so I can use it as a tap and keep 2 hose pipes attached for either side without constant connecting and disconnecting. Then I have sprinklers and timers so I can water beds automatically and spray guns attachments for doing individual plants and pots.
Hi all.
I'm in the process of transforming my inherited gravel and block paved garden into a lawn for my family.
I've read this thread with great interest as I have removed all kinds of rubble but there is still a lot of stones in the soil.
To what depth should the soil be stone free?
I'm thinking I might need a soil sieve. There is 110 square metres to cover.
Is there soil underneath where you'll be laying, or is the rubble in a compacted layer that won't allow water to pass? You don't need a deep stone-free layer, but you do need a subsoil that allows drainage. You don't even need a stone-free surface to have success with turf, as long as it's all within reason.
Hi Dan. I can dig a full spade depth or more and I have removed all compacted rubble But some of what was under or even on top of the soil is now mixed in from rotavating.
Some one told me no stones above 6mm due to root growth. Which needs a sieve and a lot of work in my garden even if I removed them from the surface