On 21/07/2013 11:46, bluemoon 1502 wrote:
Thank you for all the advice given, I have read and understood it.
The area is triangular in shape, 8m wide going to 3m wide and 13m in
length. It's not that I don't like gardening, more that I've never
had a garden to do any gardening in! To be honest I find it quite
exciting that I have a nice challenge on my hands. At the moment it's
just a bit overwelming because there is so much that needs doing,
it's difficult to know where to begin! On Friday i cut the grass,
yesterday I trimmed the privets back by about 2ft on each side of the
garden, today I will take about 3ft off the tops of them as they are
probably in excess of 10ft tall. At the moment you can't really see
any leaves as they've been cut back so much. I'm guessin that if I
keep trimming them back, then the leaves will learn to grow at the
point where I've trimmed back to and the bushes will become more
tame?

As for the ground.. It is uneven to the point that I would imagine
it could be quite difficult to push a lawn mower over it. On top of
that, since cutting the grass on Friday, I have found various lengths
of wire mesh, a hammer, a gardening trowel and numorous pieces of
wood have pushed through to the surface which the previous owner must
have lost within the growth. I feel digging it up and levelling it
out is my only option here. I'm thinking that if I take 6'' off the
top then I will unearth any other hidden tools and wood, also I will
be able to level the ground to make it easier to cut the grass with a
lawn mower. So with that in mind, would the recommendation be to
spray the area with glyphosate (as suggested by Jake) before I do any
digging? In which case would I be able to use the soil that I have
dug out to level the ground with since the glyphosate should of
killed the grass and weeds or have i misunderstood something here? In
which case I will get rid of what I have dug out and get fresh top
soil to put down. I am just trying to work out the most cost
effective way of doing it. Again I understand that the garden will
need maintaining in order to keep the weeds out as it will be near
impossible to kill ALL of the weeds and any seeds which have blown
in, only there is a fair bit of work which needs doing before I get
to the stage of 'maintaining' as appose to actually getting the
garden in order. I will look into getting grass seed or turf nearer
the end of summer but or now I will take it 1 step at a time..

Again thank you for all the advice given. I know it must be a pain
having a complete beginner ask potentially obvious questions but I
appreciate and take in all the advice. Thanks 😊




Right so you've cut the grass back, and probably made it into a heap
somewhere, if it's still lying where it was cut you might be able to
burn it where it lies, but if you heap it you will get a load of white
smoke, wont keep your neighbours happy,
Don't wast your money on any weed killer till we have had some rain and
you have new growth of several inches for the weed killer to work on.
Some form of Roundup will be your best bet, Don't spray in the heat of
the day, wait till evening, don't spray if there is much wind blowing as
your neighbours may not like it on their ground..
As for your dog, you can let it back onto the ground next day
Glyphosate (Roundup) will take about 2 weeks to work allow a bit more
for a full kill.
Don't waste your money on respraying till you have dug over the plot.
I wouldn't think of digging till we have had some good rain, in the mean
time keep checking for debris, netting etc and remove it.
Don't think of getting rid of the top 6 inches of your soil, that is
probably the best of the soil. the deeper you go the less humus etc it
contains,
When it's suitable just take your time and dig the plot over burying the
top plant matter,
I presume you know how to dig, if not have a look at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basic...digging1.shtml.
That should do you for the time being, and if it stays dry then draw a
scale plan of your plot and start thinking of how you want the garden to
look when finished.
David