On 6/5/05 7:19 pm, in article ,
"ClarissaGG" wrote:


"Brian" --- 'flayb' to respond wrote in message
...

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "ClarissaGG" contains these words:


Trouble is, now that the matted grass and weeds have been removed, I
see
that the soil is incredibly stony.
__________________________
We used to reseed on a regular basis~ by the acre. The soil was
exceptionally stony but these were only ever removed if they unseated the
tractor driver or tripped up the horse!! Stones are better than a
fertiliser
in that they retain moisture beneath them and provide sites for worms.
After cultivation and seeding a gentle rolling simply pushed the
stones
beneath first cut level. After a few weeks the action of worms covered
every
stone. At three years the turf could be stripped at 2" with not a single
stone involved~only the finest soil.
Archaeologists have to dig deeply for ancient remains~~ If stones
rose
to the surface they would need ladders!
If we did ever have to cultivate deeply, then stones were a problem
for
surface crops that needed to be weeded and women were employed at one or
two
pence per hour to remove them and build up the banks.~~ So my father told
me!!
Best Wishes Brian.


Wow, lots of diverse opinion. I'm being thrown from gloom to relief then
back again.

I can't see any possibility of removing the stones, to be honest. It's a
pretty big area and we don't have anyone to help us. I can envisage raking a
few barrow loads off, but I can't imagine us doing this indefinitely because
the weeds are going to start coming up, and then we'll be back where we
started.

So give up on having a lawn - it's a waste of space for many people, quite
literally. They mow, feed, water, weed and pray to the damn thing and
rarely, if ever, use it! If you're not burning to run barefoot through the
dewy grass - stubbing your toes as you go on your stones - and don't wish to
sunbathe in the nuddy hidden by an artfully overgrown patch, why bother with
it? You say your drive runs alongside it, so I'm guessing that it's a front
lawn, possibly overlooked by neighbours, visitors to your house, or passers
by, so you're probably not going to use it for sitting on much, either. Pah
to it! ;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)