We moved into a similiar place in the Highlands which had never been cultivated. Top soil was boulders and aggregate which compacts into a clayey aggregate mix, known around here as concrete clay. I've used a 1.5 tonne digger on this, normally sufficient for gardens, and it struggled! After grading the land to shape we regularly cut the weeds with a high deck mulching mower, to form a topsoil. After about two years we now have a thick lush grassy lawn.
Please don't waste your money on turf or seed. You will be surprised at the transformation if you just cut the 'lawn' regularly with a mulcher (which leaves the grass cutting on the lawn. This regular cutting will encourage any grass roots to spread and weaken any broadleaved weeds. Keep at it you will get there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben R
Hi All
I'm very new to gardening - keen but inexperienced and looking for
advice. Last year we moved into a cottage in the highlands - it hasn't
really been lived in for any significant time in the past 50 years,
and as you can imagine it is quite wild. Wild is good, don't get me
wrong, but there are areas where it would be nice to tame it a little
and have some grassy areas.
These areas are a little bit uneven so need to be levelled. I'm happy
to hire a mini excavator or get someone in to level these areas, but I
am unsure what to do next. In their current state these areas have
developed into rank grassland - lots of dead material and long grasses
tgether with other plants like pignut.
Can ayone advise? Should I be laying turf or taking the surface layer
off and seeding, or am I missing anything else.
Thanks for your help in advance.
Ben
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