smother the lot in three
or four inches of compost purchased from the council in big one tonne bags
as soon as possible.

'And in the spring I will just Hoe the lot on a regular basis until I have
time to sort it out properly. The compost will smother the weeds and any
new ones I can clobber'


This will depend on what weeds are there. Any perennial weed will find 3 - 4
inches of compost nothing more than a nice warming blanket over the winter
months, and a nice feed in spring. And when he hoes it, the roots will still
be there, shooting up again before the hoe is even back in the shed.

And he's going to be far too busy sorting out his new house even to hoe it
regularly, nor probably will the weather allow this, good intentions
notwithstanding.

He's being somewhat naive IMHO

Steve