I am buying a house that I will demolish & replace with a new one. In the garden, the existing lawn descends gently down to a nice stream/river. But, between the upper parts of the lawn and the stream is an area of 1,500 square meters that consists of soft wet ground. This entire area is covered with Giant Hogweed and some clumps of tall trees.

This area could look lovely if I could raise & clear the ground and extend the lawn from the house down to the stream.

This is what I am thinking about doing, but would be grateful for any comments or easier/cheaper suggestions...

1) Cut the stalks of the largest Hogweeds and lay flat. ( I am fully aware about how dangerous this stuff is).
2) Lay 1,500 sqm of weed fabric over the entire area to keep out the Hogweed and restrict the rubble fill from sinking into the mud..
3) Demolish the house and use the brick rubble to raise the lawn by about 40cm and incorporate a French Drain system to the stream.
4) Lay another layer of weed fabric over the brick rubble.
5) Lay down 30cm of top soil
6) Seed for the lawn.
Am I going over the top here? I need to create a drain'able surface but do I need so much fabric? I don't want to give the Hogweed a chance to come up. Will the top soil remain in place over the weed fabric or could it wash away?

Thanks, Guy.

New Forest, Hampshire, UK

yawningdog writes:

I am buying a house that I will demolish & replace with a new one. In
the garden, the existing lawn descends gently down to a nice
stream/river. But, between the upper parts of the lawn and the stream is
an area of 1,500 square meters that consists of soft wet ground. This
entire area is covered with Giant Hogweed and some clumps of tall
trees.

In the US you'd be messing with wetlands and need some serious permits.

I've never seen hogweed here in the US. I just read about it though.
Doesn't sound like something I'd want to get up close to.
Spray it from a distance, let it die, work your way down the hill.

I am buying a house that I will demolish & replace with a new one. In
the garden, the existing lawn descends gently down to a nice
stream/river. But, between the upper parts of the lawn and the stream is
an area of 1,500 square meters that consists of soft wet ground. This
entire area is covered with Giant Hogweed and some clumps of tall
trees.


In the US you'd be messing with wetlands and need some serious permits.
I've never seen hogweed here in the US. I just read about it though.
Doesn't sound like something I'd want to get up close to.
Spray it from a distance, let it die, work your way down the hill.



Giant Hogweed is all-in-the-news
here in Southern Ontario for the past few years.
I spotted a patch last year and had to really assert
myself to the township - to have something done.
It's spreading .. are you sure you don't have it
in your part of the USA .. ?
As for the UK original poster - I'd check the local
laws & neighbours - before asking the world wide web
for advice ... the removal of this patch of hogweed
might mean hiring a big team of specialists
with haz-mat suits ...
or it might just be a well-timed accident with
some weed spray ...
Good luck.
John T.


--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

writes:

I am buying a house that I will demolish & replace with a new one. In
the garden, the existing lawn descends gently down to a nice
stream/river. But, between the upper parts of the lawn and the stream is
an area of 1,500 square meters that consists of soft wet ground. This
entire area is covered with Giant Hogweed and some clumps of tall
trees.


In the US you'd be messing with wetlands and need some serious permits.
I've never seen hogweed here in the US. I just read about it though.
Doesn't sound like something I'd want to get up close to.
Spray it from a distance, let it die, work your way down the hill.



Giant Hogweed is all-in-the-news
here in Southern Ontario for the past few years.
I spotted a patch last year and had to really assert
myself to the township - to have something done.
It's spreading .. are you sure you don't have it
in your part of the USA .. ?

I'm in NJ. Here's what I found:

The infestation is not as widespread in New Jersey as in neighboring
states. As of 2006, four sites had been identified in three counties:
Morris, Warren and Union.

Since I'm in Union, it's in the area.
I'll keep an eye out. It looks like a beautiful plant.
Too bad it's not safe.

yawningdog wrote:
I am buying a house that I will demolish & replace with a new one. In
the garden, the existing lawn descends gently down to a nice
stream/river. But, between the upper parts of the lawn and the stream
is an area of 1,500 square meters that consists of soft wet ground.
This entire area is covered with Giant Hogweed and some clumps of tall
trees.

This area could look lovely if I could raise & clear the ground and
extend the lawn from the house down to the stream.

No doubt but why is a lawn necessary?



This is what I am thinking about doing, but would be grateful for any
comments or easier/cheaper suggestions...

1) Cut the stalks of the largest Hogweeds and lay flat. ( I am fully
aware about how dangerous this stuff is).

I have no idea at all about hogweed

2) Lay 1,500 sqm of weed fabric over the entire area to keep out the
Hogweed and restrict the rubble fill from sinking into the mud..
3) Demolish the house and use the brick rubble to raise the lawn by
about 40cm and incorporate a French Drain system to the stream.

Does this house really contain 600 cubic metres of rubble? That sounds
impossible to me. My guess is that you would be bringing in many truckloads
of fill.

4) Lay another layer of weed fabric over the brick rubble.
5) Lay down 30cm of top soil

How much will that cost? Around here it would be of the order of the price
of a new car. You are talking about 100 mid-sized truckloads of soil. This
is turning into some major earthworks.

6) Seed for the lawn.
Am I going over the top here?

It looks that way to me. A back of envelope estimate is looking like the
price of a small house for this job.

I need to create a drain'able surface
but do I need so much fabric? I don't want to give the Hogweed a
chance to come up. Will the top soil remain in place over the weed
fabric or could it wash away?

Thanks, Guy.


If you are prepared to spend the sort of money that your outline would cost
you would be better off hiring expert advice. There are probably much
better and cheaper solutions to the problem.

David

Thanks for your replies.

I've asked this same question on a few other forums and the response has generally been the same. So it looks like there will not be a new lawn, but an improved use of the land that I already have with added wetland plants etc.

Thanks & bye.

In article ,
yawningdog wrote:

Thanks for your replies.

I've asked this same question on a few other forums and the response has
generally been the same. So it looks like there will not be a new lawn,
but an improved use of the land that I already have with added wetland
plants etc.

Thanks & bye.

And the crowd goes wild. And the planet thanks you, as do I.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
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