slqdqjbq wrote:
Hi
I'm hoping for a little advice, i'm new to gardening as I have only
owned a garden since yesterday, well it is currently a paddock not yet a
garden. It is over grown with weeds about three foot high, there isn't
really any grass at all, it is also uneven all over and bumpy. I would
like to end up with a healthy even lawn. With little to no experience I
do not want to make silly mistakes at this stage. In the futre I wold
like to create a beautiful garden but for now I'd just love a lawn. Any
advice would be much appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read
this.
sophie

You don't say how big it is. And you might as well have the odd flower
border or kitchen garden near the house all grass is so boring.

It is a bit late now to do anything effective. Best bet is to wait until
spring when the first new growth shows (and you might well find the
garden contains some spring bulbs you want to save) and then hit
everything you don't want with glyphosate and wait 2-3 weeks until
everything is tinder dry. Then clear the debris away from fences and
torch it keeping a spade and bucket of water handy in case things get
out of hand. I have cleared several overgrown wildernesses this way.

This kills all but the most persistent weeds and most of their seeds.
then you are down to rotovating the soil and taking out any big roots of
bramble, groundelder or nettle that you find. Level and if necessary mix
in some peat (or substitute) and sand into the top layer and reseed with
the sort of grass you want to have (probably something moderately
robust). Then leave it to grow undisturbed for a few weeks. Keep a bit
of extra seed back for filling bare patches - you are unlikely to get an
even spread first time even with a spreader. And different seed mixes
will look different - even some that are nominally the same mix!

If there are many perennial weeds you might have to let them regrow for
a few weeks and then hit it again with glyphosate.

Regards,
Martin Brown