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from Fevets contains these words:

Hope I might be able to get some ideas or recommendations...

I have patch of land around .5 acres, south facing and sloping at
around 35 degrees (going up from my property) to a height of around 30
feet to a hedge and substation the other side.

The land is composed of a rough soil mixed with bricks, coal ash /
clinker and stone. The only things growing are dandelions etc. The
depth of the waste appears to be at least 6 feet (I believe its from
an old mill clearance, bulldozed out of the way in the 80's to build
the houses), so clearance to 'real earth' is out of the question.

The land has had Japanese knotweed on it which has (after 4 years of
work, lots of weed killer and a large garden incinerator) been brought
under control, so clearance off site would not be practical given the
costs likely for disposal

So - my problem is how to develop the land to garden. At the moment my
thought is to terrace into levels and put a layer (12 inches ? 18
inches ???) of compost / soil and grow in that. I am really not sure
how to go about this - can anyone advise on the correct levels of
compost / soil I would need, depths to work to, or recommend any books
for developing a garden on what I suppose is a 'brown field site'.

Or for that matter, any other thoughts / ideas from the gardening
community on getting this land workable ?

Coo! You've got a job on your hands, and no mistake.

Firstly, you don't say which part of the country you are in, though when
you say 'old mill', the odds on somewherre north of Watford begin to
stack up.

Your problem will be drainage - too much of it - and the only thing
which springs to mind for that sort of a situation is grape vines.

You might begin to 'landscape' your plot by excavating to the original
soil, a bit at a time, and using some of the stone for building
features, dry stone walls, etc, and maybe selling the excess or getting
a builder to exchange it for subsoil and topsoil.

If I were forty years younger...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
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