Hi

Being a real novice at gardening I have some basic questions

1. I have recently cleared an area of ground that was covered in
nettles, weeds etc and want to prepare it ready for laying some turf
and planting some shrubs I want to prepare the area and am concerned
about the nettle roots etc underground and how to deal with them I
would like rotovate and add some extra topsoil / sand etc Is this OK or
will this make weed regrowth worse Any alternatives I should try?

2. I have some overgrown shrubs but not sure what they are I want to
cut them back quite a bit but not sure if I should or not Anybody know
of sites that might help me identify them and what to do etc

Many thanks in advance

Mike






--

On 4 Sep, 20:11, "Nowhere" wrote:
Hi

Being a real novice at gardening I have some basic questions

1. I have recently cleared an area of ground that was covered in
nettles, weeds etc and want to prepare it ready for laying some turf
and planting some shrubs I want to prepare the area and am concerned
about the nettle roots etc underground and how to deal with them I
would like rotovate and add some extra topsoil / sand etc Is this OK or
will this make weed regrowth worse Any alternatives I should try?

I don't use chemicals and never encourage anybody to do so. Digging
and hard work to remove all roots of perenial weeds is an effective
way of getting rid of them. It is not going to ruin your day if you
see a little weed suddenly one morning appearing in your lawn. Just
dig it out making sure you get every bit of roots out. Rotovating will
break up the weeds roots in hundreds of bits and will multiply your
weeds.

Also nettles like acid soil - once you've raked and added your
topsoil, sand and whatever you need to do prior to layering your turf
(which I'm not expert in), the soil will slightly change ph and
therefore it is likely that the nettles will disappear. I 'move' my
nettles by cutting at them if I'm unhappy where they are. I just keep
cutting at them until they are gone. It works even in one year. Also I
encourage nettles in my garden - but that's another story.

2. I have some overgrown shrubs but not sure what they are I want to
cut them back quite a bit but not sure if I should or not Anybody know
of sites that might help me identify them and what to do etc

The RHS has a brief and concise page on pruning old shrubs, find
below. You can look around the site and find lots of shrubs and trees
but it is difficult to find what you are looking for if you don't have
a name to start with. What I'd do is get a good encyclopedia or book,
one which is good is the Dirr's Hardy trees and shrubs. Costly but
will be useful for ever (might even send you towards a vocation you
didn't know you had). Failing that, take a picture of the shrubs
you've got and post it here. It is always a pleasure to help identify
a plant. HTH

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile...vate_shrub.asp

On 4 Sep, 20:11, "Nowhere" wrote:
Hi

\snip\
I want to prepare the area and am concerned
about the nettle roots etc underground and how to deal with them I
would like rotovate and add some extra topsoil / sand etc Is this OK or
will this make weed regrowth worse Any alternatives I should try?

2. I have some overgrown shrubs but not sure what they are \snip\
Mike

--

In answer to the nettle question, as a gardener for over forty years,
I would advise that you take a garden fork and loosen the nettle roots
before pulling them out of the ground completely. If you leave these
roots in they will come back in a very short space of time. Adding
extra topsoil will, unless sterilized, invariably introduce further
weeds to your patch. Better, in my opinion, to add some compost to
the existing soil to build it up. If you live near a farm they will
happily give you some farmyard muck that will soon compost down and
make a reasonable additive to your soil. Alternatively, your own
household waste can be composted to make an excellent additive -
although this is a longer term option. However, many local community
groups and councils offer rapid composting bins for about a fiver
each. These turn stuff into usable compost in a very short spacce of
time, about 12 weeks or so.

In addition to nettle roots you will need to completely remove any
other persistent rooted weeds such as ground elder, dock and thistle -
often found in conjunction with nettles. Hard work is the only
surefire way to rid yourself of these weeds without recourse to
glyphosate (Which kills everything it touches).

As for the overgrown shrubs you can identify them using one of many
books available in gardening shops (or amazon.com) and if you post a
few pictures on a website and post the link to here I'm sure you will
receive as much help in identifying them as you need.

Regards,
Compo in Scotland

"Nowhere" wrote in message
...
Hi

Being a real novice at gardening I have some basic questions

1. I have recently cleared an area of ground that was covered in
nettles, weeds etc and want to prepare it ready for laying some turf
and planting some shrubs I want to prepare the area and am concerned
about the nettle roots etc underground and how to deal with them I
would like rotovate and add some extra topsoil / sand etc Is this OK or
will this make weed regrowth worse Any alternatives I should try?

I'd look at putting a membrane down and planting shrubs through that. I have
a bed that was previously a nettle patch. It's been covered for 5 months
with a heavy weight porous membrane while I wait for time to do something
with it. No sign of any regrowth unlike other areas. Some say that it
compacts the ground and makes it harder to replant later. I'm not that keen
a Gardner so I won't be doing that on a regular basis.

If it's not a huge area and the soil breaks up easily I'd look at motivating
and then sieving the soil. Buy or make a large sloping sieve that you can
just shovel soil at. The stones and roots slide down and the dirt falls
through.

Otherwise just do what you propose and paint any nettles that regrow with
glycophosphate as soon as they are in leaf. That stuf is taken down into the
roots so you need to allow time for it to work before pulling any out.

On 5 Sep, 10:22, "CWatters"
wrote:
"Nowhere" wrote in message

...

\snip\
I'd look at putting a membrane down and planting shrubs through that. I have
a bed that was previously a nettle patch. It's been covered for 5 months
with a heavy weight porous membrane while I wait for time to do something
with it. No sign of any regrowth unlike other areas. Some say that it
compacts the ground and makes it harder to replant later. I'm not that keen
a Gardner so I won't be doing that on a regular basis.

\snip\

I used a membrane covered with about 2 to 3 inches of gravel in two
sections of garden, each about 5x5M in area. In each case it worked
very well for three seasons, thereafter the most pernicious of the
weeds began to reappear through the membrane. A good idea for a semi-
permanent solution, especially if you pull the occasional weeds as
they reappear over time.

Regards,
Compo

In addition to nettle roots you will need to completely remove any
other persistent rooted weeds such as ground elder, dock and thistle -
often found in conjunction with nettles. Hard work is the only
surefire way to rid yourself of these weeds without recourse to
glyphosate (Which kills everything it touches).


I'd leave things for a while then glyphosphate any new weeds that come
up. Generally speaking in a lawn, once the grass has taken hold the
weeds don't grow so much and regular lawn weedkiller will work but
weeds will appear in the borders especially where you disturb the soil.