wembleylike garden?

[jime17]

Hi folks,
hope you can help me. I have a garden thats been neglected for years (by previous owner). anyway, in the summer I chopped away all the blackberry bushes that had festooned what was the lawn area and waited to see if the grass would grow back.

It only did in patches and as you can guess, the blackberry bushes are starting to re-grow from the the bits poking out of the grass.

I have rotavated it today and dug out what I can. I intend to sow grass seed. and I need advice as to where to go now. it resembles a plowed field. can anyone tell me my next step?

I live in essex by the way, near London so the soil turns more clay"ified" (sorry. dont know the proper term) when you dig down about six inches.

anyway, if anyone is awake after that, i'd much appreciate some advice.

Jim.

 

[JohnD]

If you have a rotavaor, you may be able to get the attachment that fluffs up the soil to a finer grain. If you do this after a spell of dry weather the clay will breakup easier. You may need to do it a couple of times. Before you grass it you will want it very smooth.

When I lived in clayey Essex I had a neglected garden full of brambles and syringia, I cleared mine by spraying a few times to kill the regrowth (rotavating will chop up the roots so you get plenty of new regrowth).

You can also keep on top of it with frequent cuts with a rotary mower.

 

[Thermo]

as john says get it broken down to a fine tilth. level it by eye, raking it flat. Then get a long board ie a scaffold board and start at one end laying the board across the garden. The underneath of the board will give you a flat edge that you can now use as a guide to rake over the tilth with to get it flat. DO one strip, move the board up and repeat it all the way up the garden. DONT walk on what youve done. If your going to sow seed then sow it, following the spread rate on the seed packet and then lightly rake it in. Dont walk on the area, use boards to do it. Lay a path down the middle to get to the end and then work your way out of it if that makes sense, raking over as you go.

The longer you spend getting it level, the better a lawn you will have.

 

[jime17]

Thanks guys. I will rake rake and rake again to get it fine. I was going to fill in my low points with topsoil (5 bags for a tenner at wickes) and then sow my seed. I was going to keep on top of the brambles by waiting till they poke through and grow leaves and then zap them with a spot weedkiller that the garden centre man showed me. (he said it wouldnt kill the grass)

does this sound like a sensible way forward?

 

[sandwell]

Brambles are very invasive and weed killer might not kill them. Obviously you want a new lawn as soon as possible, but have you thought of sowing it in the autumn, which will give you most of the summer to try and clear the brambles. Or would you be better using turf in this situation?

 

[jime17]

would turf overcome the bramble problem?

 

[JohnD]

would turf overcome the bramble problem?

No, you've got to kill 'em first or they will grow through, and you can't use lawn weedkillers on new lawns (also brambles are very resistant and need a strong weedkiller).

SBK will do it but may take several applications.

I used Sodium Chlorate which is not usually sprayed on foliage, but was very effective (doesn't poison the soil like watering in will do). You must wash all your clothes, gloves, hair and tools immediately afterwards as it makes them highly inflammable. I found it quite good to clear a neglected plot.

P.S. i wouldn't spend money on bags of soil, just move around what's already in your garden. You can dress the lawn with coarse grit afterwards if it isn't quite right (it will settle a bit if you've dug or rotavated it) and this will improve an Essex clay better than digging anything in. And you can use a Lute (look it up!) to apply dressings and give a flat surface.

 

[diypeter]

best to try and lift the bramble roots out as you go !

 

[jime17]

a lute? I will look it up as you say, because i doubt playing a tune to the brambles will kill em (mind yyou my playing would be bad enough!)

thanks for all your help thus far.

I will no doubt be on here with more questions as I progress.