Sparx wrote:
songbird wrote:
Sparx wrote:
....removing brambles...
....
Thanks for the reply songbird there isn't any grass out there at the min
it literally was just brambles and nettles so it has got to be dug over
anyway but I was hoping to just dig it over then level it and add
topsoil anywhere that needed it then lay the lawn but I might do what
you said and get a mini digger dig off 8" or so then lay weed barrier
fabric then put new topsoil on top .... How much would 12" of loose
topsoil compact down to if u used a whacker plate? I don't want it to be
to high

if you're digging it and taking the roots out
you won't need to bring in more topsoil (a big
expense most places for the size of area you
are talking about). i only mentioned weed
barrier type fabric and topping it off with
more soil if you plan on leaving the bramble
roots intact, otherwise it's a wasted expense
and effort.

if you can dig it and screen the soil that will
catch most of the biggest chunks of roots. but
it is a lot of labor. after that you will only
have the odd pieces coming up and regular mowing
will keep those from getting too far. a few
weeks before the event you can go over it and
trim off the harder stalks that are in there
so people won't get stalks up their sandals/
feet. an easy way of doing this quickly is
to take a flat metal rake and drag it upside
down across the grass. if you have prepped
the soil level and put down sod the rake will
catch only on hard stalks that have been
chopped off. track them down and snip them
off with loppers or hand pruners.

8 inches isn't likely to be down far enough
down as you will see once you get going.
if you are renting a digger then you'll be
having a lot of fun anyways...

make sure you know where your utilities,
drain fields, drainage lines, power cables,
etc. are before starting. you might still be
surprised at old cesspits, rocks, bedrock,
draintiles, ... hopefully no bodies. gold
coin collections in old jars can be nice.


songbird