In article ,
Harry Ziman hziman at clara dot co dot uk wrote:
They will be over a foot down! The area was previously a gravel path, with
compacted hardcore etc that I need to remove, hence digging over.

Too deep. You want it 6-12" down - below is a waste. Also, don't
worry about removing small gravel, because it makes a perfectly
good substrate once loosened and enriched with compost. Compacted
gravel is a disaster, but gravel+compost is a very fertile medium.

If you are digging compacted hardcore to that depth, you will need
plenty of beer :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.