On May 16, 6:46*pm, David Hare-Scott wrote:
On Mon, 16 May 2011 12:03:00 +0000, hazella

wrote:

I have recently moved and have now got a large garden 150ft long and
30ft wide. The problem is the soil, the garden was neglected before we
moved in, it is full of small hills which we have tried to flatten and
the lawn has lots of patches with no grass and the soil is full of
stones and a sort of cement mixture in it too, the only thing that seems
to grow in this soil are weeds.
I would love some advice on how to solve the soil problem, thank you

How old is the house? *The reason for asking is to find out if it was
a made garden before or if the rubbish is recent builder's rubble, a
result of the house construction.

GAH! We bought a recently built house, and the previous owners had all
lawn. When I went to dig beds for vegetables, I dug up all sorts of
rubbish. I wasn't only from the house, either. Some of it HAD to be
left over from the demolition of the amusement park that stood here 20
years ago.


You have a big project. *Stop and think and plan what you want to do
in the garden. *Don't rush into it and if you are doing it all
yourself don't try to do the whole thing in one go. *Read books on
garden design, there is much to ponder.

Definitely start small. The lawn for the kids sounds like the OP's
first priority (although having them assist in a vegetable garden can
get them hooked- "Hey kids, the first hit is free!")


When you have worked out a design that suits the site, your needs and
budget then work on each area, the treatment will depend on the use of
each area. *If you really have to get active immediately, pile up all
the rocks etc and cart away rubbish that has no other possible use
while you study what to do. *If there is much vegetation to clear one
of your first decisions is where to put the compost pile. Large rocks
may turn out to be not a problem but part of the solution.

In a rustic setting, it occurs to me that a compost pile bordered on
three sides with rocks dug out of the yard might actually look
attractive.

Chris


David