The message
from mbwest contains these words:
First off - Thankyou very much for the reply and the help.
Can i not just cover the smaller stones, after getting rid of as many
as possible, with some new soil and sow the grass into that.
No. Unfortunately, worm action can tend to bring stones to the top. I
remember (Coo! From 1949! When i was a boarding school we had what I was
told was a 'pebble bed'. You could rake off the pebbles and within a
couple of weeks, the surface was dotted with more.
Logically, I would have thought that the worms would bring soil to the
surface and tend to bury the stones deeper, but it doesn't work like
that. I think rain washes soil into the cavities made by worms, thus
underfilling, and (effectively) bringing the stones to the surface.
The trouble with too many stones near the surface of a lawn is that it
will dry out very quickly.
You could buy some topsoil and possibly, some spent mushroom compost and
spread that over the area, but that wouldn't be much less work.
ATM I'm removing a 'rockery' made (I presume) of soil removed from the
ground where the ablutions block was plonked years ago, and studded with
raw chunks of broken-up concrete. I'm taking the soil to a depth of
about a foot below ground level, spreading the soil in the front garden
and putting the 'rocks' in the resulting hole, along with rubble from
the chimneybreast excavations in the house. The resulting foundation
will be concreted over for a hard-standing in front of the
shed/motorcycle stable.
Im in Westminster, London. The rock is not natural.
It is in a garden and it all runs down a drain which is known to become
blocked.
Erm, as i say im a new gardener but most of the grass to me feels quite
light and dusty.
Hum. Buying topsoil wouldn't seem to be an easy option, and there aren't
many mushroom farms near Westminster. I fear it may mean hard work and
time. You can get mushroom compost in bags though, and here (in Norfolk)
the going price is about 50p for a big bag. Remember though, that this
will be rendeder to next-to-nothing in a few years by bacteria and
fungi, so a compost bin would be a good idea. Also, grass likes lime.
I will try your suggestion with the large riddle, I did have that one
on my mind.
Thanks for the details on composting, that was something i was curious
about.
Are the birds really that much of a threat? Again, im a new gardener so
im not sure on this stuff - should I/can I cover most of the seeds with
the soil or do they need to sit on top?
Best time of the day to sow?
Birds (especially house sparrows) will be delighted if they find you've
sown grass-seed, and believe me, if you have, they'll find it, even if
it's by accident to begin with. Then chirp gets round and every sparrow
for miles around will get to hear about it.
You can cover the seed, but not too deep. Ideally, you'd keep a pile of
soil aside, scatter the seed, then sieve the soil over it so no seed
shows. You may be lucky and fool the sparrows.
You can sow grass seed at any time of day (Or night) - the Rural Gods
don't venture into Town, so they'll never know.
"Yers. If you put as much energy into doing the job, you should have
it
done tomorrow..." - the grass takes atleast 14 days!
Thanks for the help 
I will have some pictures of the progress online
soon.
Good oh. I'll look forward to that.
--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
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