can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or whatever.
thanks
Clembo

"clcnews" wrote in message
...
can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and
weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or
whatever.
thanks
Clembo


My advice a fork and spade just get stuck in and get it cleared section by
section.
This way you reduce the risk of having any residue of anything left behind.

In message , clcnews
writes
can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or whatever.

Define your idea of fast acting. The standard way these days in
horticulture is to hit the rough ground with glyphosate spray and leave
it for two weeks. After that most plants are dead and gone. Established
buttercup may need an extra treatment (or spot weeding with another
weedkiller).

Glyphosate gets a better kill of perennial weeds than anything that is
faster acting (and grass is exquisitely sensitive to it). When it is
tinder dry I prune / rake up all the dead bramble and brushwood and make
a bonfire.

Check that there aren't any nice plants in there that you want to save.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 01:34:03 +0000 (UTC), "clcnews" wrote:

can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or whatever.
thanks
Clembo


Are there dandelions in there? If so, don't dig or rotovate until you've given them
at least 3 goes with the glyphosate. Dandelions spread and multiply like nobody's
business if you cut up the root. If digging up, important to get the root out whole.
Creeping buttercup is nearly as bad.

Also, make sure you get the industrial strength glyphosate, not the B&Q stuff (good
though it is)

LizR

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 11:05:29 +0100, Tom wrote
(in message ):


"clcnews" wrote in message
...
can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and
weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or
whatever.
thanks
Clembo


My advice a fork and spade just get stuck in and get it cleared section by
section.
This way you reduce the risk of having any residue of anything left behind.

That's what I did with the neglected area in front of my house last year and
this year after much additional work it is a surprisingly presentable lawn.

The digging didn't take that long once I got into it, but the area for me is
less than that of the original poster.

One thing which has occurred to me which might be suitable for this larger
area is to hire a rotovator perhaps? It's certainly not something I know a
great deal about, but if the rubbish etc. were removed first then would a
rotovator churn up sufficiently all the weeds etc. so that they would be
finished off?

After I'd dug mine over there was quite a lengthy period when it was simply
bare soil before I started putting seed down for the lawn. Through this
period I simply used a hoe regularly and this kept the are completely free of
weeds so that when the seeds for the lawn went down the soil in a good state
that way.


--
Patrick

"PJ" wrote in message
. com...
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 11:05:29 +0100, Tom wrote
(in message ):


"clcnews" wrote in message
...
can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and
weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently
moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass
etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or
whatever.
thanks
Clembo


My advice a fork and spade just get stuck in and get it cleared section
by
section.
This way you reduce the risk of having any residue of anything left
behind.

That's what I did with the neglected area in front of my house last year
and
this year after much additional work it is a surprisingly presentable
lawn.

The digging didn't take that long once I got into it, but the area for me
is
less than that of the original poster.

One thing which has occurred to me which might be suitable for this larger
area is to hire a rotovator perhaps? It's certainly not something I know a
great deal about, but if the rubbish etc. were removed first then would a
rotovator churn up sufficiently all the weeds etc. so that they would be
finished off?

After I'd dug mine over there was quite a lengthy period when it was
simply
bare soil before I started putting seed down for the lawn. Through this
period I simply used a hoe regularly and this kept the are completely free
of
weeds so that when the seeds for the lawn went down the soil in a good
state
that way.


--
Patrick
just spray the whole lot then renovate

Does ROUNDUP constitute as industrial strength glyphosate??? if not can
anyone recommend another name and where to purchase in quantity for this
type of project?

Clembo
"LizR" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 01:34:03 +0000 (UTC), "clcnews"
wrote:

can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and
weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or
whatever.
thanks
Clembo


Are there dandelions in there? If so, don't dig or rotovate until you've
given them
at least 3 goes with the glyphosate. Dandelions spread and multiply like
nobody's
business if you cut up the root. If digging up, important to get the root
out whole.
Creeping buttercup is nearly as bad.

Also, make sure you get the industrial strength glyphosate, not the B&Q
stuff (good
though it is)

LizR

In message , clcnews
writes
Does ROUNDUP constitute as industrial strength glyphosate??? if not can
anyone recommend another name and where to purchase in quantity for this
type of project?

No. Roundup is the tradename for a glyphosate formulation made by the
bete noir of the anti-GM food lobby Monsanto.

Unless you really want to add to their profits buy the own brand product
containing the largest % active ingredient per unit price.

A small amount of glyphosate goes a long way.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 01:34:03 +0000 (UTC), "clcnews"
wrote:

can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and
weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or
whatever.
thanks
Clembo


"LizR" wrote in message
.. .
Are there dandelions in there? If so, don't dig or rotovate until you've
given them
at least 3 goes with the glyphosate. Dandelions spread and multiply like
nobody's
business if you cut up the root. If digging up, important to get the root
out whole.
Creeping buttercup is nearly as bad.

Also, make sure you get the industrial strength glyphosate, not the B&Q
stuff (good
though it is)

LizR


On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 08:11:24 +0000 (UTC), "clcnews" wrote:

Does ROUNDUP constitute as industrial strength glyphosate??? if not can
anyone recommend another name and where to purchase in quantity for this
type of project?

Clembo

Well, I'm pretty much a beginner at this gardening lark. I use Roundup but it seems
to me some of the more senior members of this group have access to some form of
mega-roundup. I think I heard someone mention getting it from a horticultural
supplier.......

Or maybe I've just got tougher weeds:-(

Liz

In article ,
says...
In message , clcnews
writes
Does ROUNDUP constitute as industrial strength glyphosate??? if not can
anyone recommend another name and where to purchase in quantity for this
type of project?

No. Roundup is the tradename for a glyphosate formulation made by the
bete noir of the anti-GM food lobby Monsanto.

*arse* I didn't notice it was Monsanto. I guess I'll be reading the
labels more clearly from now on. My problem with Monsanto isn't that
they're GM as such, but that they patent too much and they'll pursue
their patents into crops that their GM stuff has contaminated.

Warwick -- wants GM tested in big greenhouses first please.

PJ wrote in message .com...
On Tue, 17 Jun 2003 11:05:29 +0100, Tom wrote
(in message ):


"clcnews" wrote in message
...
can anyone help with advice on how to kill off a very uneven grass and
weed
covered lawn approx 60x20 feet area so I can start again. Recently moved
into a house where garden was neglected for nearly 10 years, can you
imagine, all types of rubbish dumped in it and full of broken glass etc.
Looking for some kind of fast acting grass/weed killer, spray or
whatever.
[...]
One thing which has occurred to me which might be suitable for this larger
area is to hire a rotovator perhaps? It's certainly not something I know a
great deal about, but if the rubbish etc. were removed first then would a
rotovator churn up sufficiently all the weeds etc. so that they would be
finished off?

[...]
I simply used a hoe regularly [...]

That hoeing was *caused* by the rotovator. They just make root
cuttings of the worst weeds and spread them about, creating a nice
welcoming tilth for them to grow in. Very bad things except for what
they're designed for, which is a regular digging substitute for a
vegetable patch too big to do by hand, and which has been kept
weed-free in previous years: for that, they're terrific. If there's
broken glass about, using a rotovator will make the problem much
worse. (I had to do a garden full of glass just now -- terrible
experience. All you can do is rake and pick, rake and pick until it's
done.)

The quickest way is to use one of those weed-and-feed preparations
(I'd spend the extra tenner on the spreader they sell with the stuff:
still cheaper than hiring the rotovator; and if you're short of
storage you can give it to a neighbour or Oxfam afterwards); more than
once will prob. be necessary. You'll probably be surprised how much
good grass you've actually got there. Rake over vigorously by hand or
with one of those electric "Lawnrakers", and scatter grass seed fairly
generously; rake over again more gently, and roll if you've got a
roller, or not if you haven't!

If there are clumps of rushes or very coarse grasses (often
greyish-bluish) in your lawn it's worth digging them out if you can
before sowing your new seed. Theoretically, you get fine grasses to
dominate simply by regular mowing; but I find it doesn't always work,
especially if the lawn isn't very smooth.

You say it's uneven: this may be better than it now seems once you've
got the rubbish out, and maybe the raking I suggested above will cure
it. If it was once a lawn before, it's probably going to be OK after a
year or two's mowing and a bit of slicing off the odd hump and filling
in the odd dip (a strong motor-mower may do this for you!).

And while we're at it, have you considered if you really want a lawn
at all? There's no rule saying you've got to have one, though it's
certainly the best thing for family play; otherwise there are plenty
of alternatives. Or perhaps you've got a part of the area where you
could cultivate an undisciplined assortment of wild flowers (aka
"weeds"): this kind of patch is looking wonderful at this time of
year. You put off mowing until the seeds have dropped, say in late
July. In the interests of sanity, you can't let just anything grow,
though: wind-borne menaces like dandelions, thistles, and even my
favourite orange hawkweed have to be kept out; and I don't suppose you
fancy a nice display of docks and nettles.

Sorry this is so long: got carried away!

Mike.