I've moved house & want to start on the garden but am not what you'd
call an experienced gardener. Help!! Garden is about 15' wide by about
100' long and near the house there is a lot of biulding waste - bricks
etc, littlle bit of cement here and there. Not being too wealthy I'm
kind of resigned to clearing it myself but would like to know about
top soil. Soil seems quite clay (SE london), if I got rid of the worst
should I get someone to come in & add a load of nice topsoil or what
are the options. Tempting to push the overdraft a bit more & get
someone to do the lot, there's access at the back to get a mini digger
& skip in but no idea of costs. All advice welcome.

Ta

Paddy

In article , Padz
writes
I've moved house & want to start on the garden but am not what you'd
call an experienced gardener. Help!! Garden is about 15' wide by about
100' long and near the house there is a lot of biulding waste - bricks
etc, littlle bit of cement here and there. Not being too wealthy I'm
kind of resigned to clearing it myself but would like to know about
top soil. Soil seems quite clay (SE london), if I got rid of the worst
should I get someone to come in & add a load of nice topsoil or what
are the options. Tempting to push the overdraft a bit more & get
someone to do the lot, there's access at the back to get a mini digger
& skip in but no idea of costs. All advice welcome.

Clay is the foundation for a good fertile soil if you add humus. I
suggest starting a compost heap, and using it to mulch any area where
you intend to plant.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

"Padz" wrote in message
...
I've moved house & want to start on the garden but am not what you'd
call an experienced gardener. Help!! Garden is about 15' wide by about
100' long and near the house there is a lot of biulding waste - bricks
etc, littlle bit of cement here and there. Not being too wealthy I'm
kind of resigned to clearing it myself but would like to know about
top soil. Soil seems quite clay (SE london), if I got rid of the worst
should I get someone to come in & add a load of nice topsoil or what
are the options. Tempting to push the overdraft a bit more & get
someone to do the lot, there's access at the back to get a mini digger
& skip in but no idea of costs. All advice welcome.

Do It Yourself and dream of the feeling of achievement when it's done. The
pleasure you'll get every single day when you look out on a garden you've
made yourself is priceless.

If you buy top-soil. get screened horticultural soil - you can probably
specify added compost from a good supplier. If you can get hold of a trailer
there is often free topsoil advertised in local papers - although you may
well have to dig it out yourself and the quality may be indifferent.

Five uses for rubble:
1. Create different levels in the garden to add structure.
2. If you want to grow plants that need good drainage, make raised beds with
a layer of rubble topped by mixed grit & soil (or even
topsoil/compost/manure
3. Build a rockery by building a heap of rubble, dress with a few decorative
rocks, add grit and soil and lots of spreading alpines.
4. Make a patio using the rubble topped by sharp sand underneath the slabs.
5. Use to make a concrete slab and install a
summerhouse/shed/greenhouse/den.

There is a very good article which includes the use of building rubble in
this months RHS journal "The Garden".
Years ago I had the same, and made a loose mound of it, then covered it with
a mixture of Peat (80%) and coarse sand (20%), this worked its way into the
gaps and I planted heathers on it and they were the best heathers I have
ever grown.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

In article ,
Padz wrote:
I've moved house & want to start on the garden but am not what you'd
call an experienced gardener. Help!! Garden is about 15' wide by about
100' long and near the house there is a lot of biulding waste - bricks
etc, littlle bit of cement here and there. Not being too wealthy I'm
kind of resigned to clearing it myself but would like to know about
top soil. Soil seems quite clay (SE london), if I got rid of the worst
should I get someone to come in & add a load of nice topsoil or what
are the options. Tempting to push the overdraft a bit more & get
someone to do the lot, there's access at the back to get a mini digger
& skip in but no idea of costs. All advice welcome.

If the building waste is just bricks, cement and inert crud, it is
unsightly but not antagonistic to plants. It is merely the fact
that it is impervious (and that cement is very alkaline when fresh).

As suggested, you could make a rockery out of the bricks, but be
warned that significant amounts of cement will discourage lime-hating
plants (like SOME heathers, but not all). However, there are LOTS
of rockery plants that like lime.

And don't worry about digging mortar and small fragments into clay;
it could well improve its fertility by improving drainage. Watch
out for broken glass - even though it is YOU and not the plants who
will mind - plants don't mind growing in broken glass.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Kay Easton wrote in message ...
[...]
Clay is the foundation for a good fertile soil if you add humus. I
suggest starting a compost heap, and using it to mulch any area where
you intend to plant.
"Sue da Nimm" . wrote in message ...
[...]

Do It Yourself and dream of the feeling of achievement when it's done. The
pleasure you'll get every single day when you look out on a garden you've
made yourself is priceless.

If you buy top-soil. get screened horticultural soil - you can probably
specify added compost from a good supplier. If you can get hold of a trailer
there is often free topsoil advertised in local papers - although you may
well have to dig it out yourself and the quality may be indifferent.

Five uses for rubble:
1. Create different levels in the garden to add structure.
2. If you want to grow plants that need good drainage, make raised beds with
a layer of rubble topped by mixed grit & soil (or even
topsoil/compost/manure
3. Build a rockery by building a heap of rubble, dress with a few decorative
rocks, add grit and soil and lots of spreading alpines.
4. Make a patio using the rubble topped by sharp sand underneath the slabs.
5. Use to make a concrete slab and install a
summerhouse/shed/greenhouse/den.

Sound. But I wouldn't spend scarce money on topsoil, certainly not if
it has to be borrowed: apart from the shocking cost, as Sue implies
what you get is often poor stuff. Soil is rarely as bad as it seems at
first, as it's easy to look at the post-builders desert and see only
the mess. You can gradually build up your soil structure over the
years, but right now it might make you happier to spend your budget on
plants, and maybe a bench and a table: you'll have earned that
sit-down!

Take long inquisitive looks at what's growing in other gardens nearby,
and see what plants you like. You'll soon become an expert on your own
patch, and confident enough to be original.

Another thing: don't chuck away or bury the bricks, not even
half-ones. As they surface, stack them neatly somewhere, and you'll be
able to use them later for edging, or stepping-stones, or a nice
little paved area if there are enough. Even rather ugly ones weather
down well, and look very good.

There are ways of dealing with long narrow gardens: browse at the
bookshops and the library before buying!

Mike.

"Padz" wrote in message
...
I've moved house & want to start on the garden but am not what you'd
call an experienced gardener. Help!! Garden is about 15' wide by about
100' long and near the house there is a lot of biulding waste - bricks
etc, littlle bit of cement here and there. Not being too wealthy I'm
kind of resigned to clearing it myself but would like to know about
top soil. Soil seems quite clay (SE london), if I got rid of the worst
should I get someone to come in & add a load of nice topsoil or what
are the options. Tempting to push the overdraft a bit more & get
someone to do the lot, there's access at the back to get a mini digger
& skip in but no idea of costs. All advice welcome.

Ta

Paddy

London SE was/is part of Kent. The soil is exceptionally fertile though
can vary.
Low areas of SE such as Deptford have quite a depth of silt over the
underlying clay. This is very early to produce but dries very quickly. SE4
and SE6 have just a few inches of silt on the clay and very good soil.
"If you don't wash your hands after gardening your finger nails will grow
roots" I was once kidded!!
High areas have solid clay. Kidbrooke seemed to have no silt covering at
all but the clay soon became workable after exposure.
The rubble could, quite simply, be buried.
It wouldn't even increase the existing height.
At about ten inches it would soon become deeper and do nothing but good.
Top soil would be no better than your own which was probably market garden
or farmland originally.
Grow the very best roses.!!
Best Wishes Brian. 'flayb' to respond.

The message
from "Sue da Nimm" . contains these words:


Five uses for rubble:
1. Create different levels in the garden to add structure.
2. If you want to grow plants that need good drainage, make raised beds with
a layer of rubble topped by mixed grit & soil (or even
topsoil/compost/manure
3. Build a rockery by building a heap of rubble, dress with a few decorative
rocks, add grit and soil and lots of spreading alpines.
4. Make a patio using the rubble topped by sharp sand underneath the slabs.
5. Use to make a concrete slab and install a
summerhouse/shed/greenhouse/den.

True, and if you don't need it, someone else will.
We produced a small mountain of brick rubble the other week when we
knocked down a kitchen wall. I put a "free rubble" ad in the local paper
(cost me nothing) and got three replies from people who were happy to
collect it.

Janet.

On Sat, 8 May 2004 12:18:20 +0100, "Brian"
wrote:

Paddy

London SE was/is part of Kent. The soil is exceptionally fertile though
can vary.
Low areas of SE such as Deptford have quite a depth of silt over the
underlying clay. This is very early to produce but dries very quickly. SE4
and SE6 have just a few inches of silt on the clay and very good soil.
"If you don't wash your hands after gardening your finger nails will grow
roots" I was once kidded!!
High areas have solid clay. Kidbrooke seemed to have no silt covering at
all but the clay soon became workable after exposure.
The rubble could, quite simply, be buried.
It wouldn't even increase the existing height.
At about ten inches it would soon become deeper and do nothing but good.
Top soil would be no better than your own which was probably market garden
or farmland originally.
Grow the very best roses.!!
Best Wishes Brian. 'flayb' to respond.



Made a start digging yesterday. What a gooey mess but I suppose it has
been raining for several days. Not as many bricks and bits as I
suspected but a bit soul distroying trying to work with what seems to
be more related to blutack than soil. Good news is that further up the
slope things change for the better. Someone please tell me that things
will be easier when it dries a little. So what do I do with the muddy
bit - dig in gravel or something like that?

ta

In article , Padz
writes
On Sat, 8 May 2004 12:18:20 +0100, "Brian"
wrote:

Paddy

London SE was/is part of Kent. The soil is exceptionally fertile though
can vary.



Made a start digging yesterday. What a gooey mess but I suppose it has
been raining for several days. Not as many bricks and bits as I
suspected but a bit soul distroying trying to work with what seems to
be more related to blutack than soil. Good news is that further up the
slope things change for the better. Someone please tell me that things
will be easier when it dries a little. So what do I do with the muddy
bit - dig in gravel or something like that?

What i would do is heap compost (the home made sort, not the special
bagged up stuff for plant pots) about 6 inches deep and plant into
that. And top up with another 6 inches each year. Over the years the
worms will gradually mix it into the clay below.

That's why I advised you to start a compost heap ;-)
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm