Grass

[Inspector]

You could rototill (rotavator) and then push it all to one side and rototill the untilled soil. Then amend and push the pile back out and amend it. Now you have in essence double dug it.

You are lucky lots of the 9 acres I'm on has only 2 or 3 inches of topsoil and the rest has at most 6" of topsoil. Below is hard packed clay and rocks, some twice the size of a wheel barrow, undisturbed since it was laid down during the last ice age.

Pete

 

[Jameshow]

You could rotivate it and the put some chicken / horse manure in to lighten the soil and attach worms which aim drainage.

 

[baldkev]

Sadly it seems there is indeed clay in it.... lots of small stones too. Its not very good mud i guess.

 

[baldkev]

You could rototill (rotavator) and then push it all to one side and rototill the untilled soil. Then amend and push the pile back out and amend it. Now you have in essence double dug it.

You are lucky lots of the 9 acres I'm on has only 2 or 3 inches of topsoil and the rest has at most 6" of topsoil. Below is hard packed clay and rocks, some twice the size of a wheel barrow, undisturbed since it was laid down during the last ice age.

Pete

If i had 9 acres itd be easier... i could find a grassy patch and tell her "thats the garden right there!"

 

[aet1]

Anyone fancy 3/4 acre of moss with a few springs of grass?

 

[baldkev]

Is it near me?

 

[Tris]

How does your other half feel about Japanese gravel gardens?

 

[baldkev]

How does your other half feel about Japanese gravel gardens?

Haha, that bad? Well the front bit is worse, and its small, so I'm probably doing gravel or bark or something there because the moss takes over as its darker

 

[--Tom--]

Looks very much like subsoil- you can take the long approach of incorporating organic material, top dressing and letting it form a topsoil structure- or the shortcut would be to dig it out and ship in topsoil, or put a good 10 inch of topsoil on top and add a perimeter to hold in place.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Reminds me of the American admiring a lawn at a stately home in the U.K. when he asked the gardener how to get a lawn like it the gardener said “ start with a nice free draining soil and a good quality seed, wait for it to come up then mow and roll it every week for 200 years”.

 

[Jacob]

Haha, that bad? Well the front bit is worse, and its small, so I'm probably doing gravel or bark or something there because the moss takes over as its darker

Look at your snaps I'd say lawn has no chance in such a busy space. Dead simple really - keep off the grass, except when you are doing lawny things like sitting around in deck chairs etc.
Maybe you need more paving and designated beds where nobody walks at all. In fact - pave the whole lot and just have a raised bed or two, and/or flowers in pots?
PS or try a lawn when the kids have left home!

 

[Jacob]

I add both in mine, soil is lovely down to 50cm , but we also have 2 cubic metres of compost permanently on the go.Bark gets you some interesting mushrooms too

then again, in my book, grass is for grazing.We had 3 hectares in the south of France, took all my Saturdays to keep it in check, so we got a Shetland pony and some goats.

here the neighbour behind us has around a hectare of grass, takes him a couple of hours on a ride on mower, this is the rainiest part of France, so you can almost see the stuff grow.We get to appreciate his grass, he does the labour.

One trendy thing to do with massive "lawns" is to not mow all of it. Just selected areas (picnic spot, camping? etc). Then just do paths through, allowing nature to take over the bits left, or even help it along with a bit of creative planting and a pond.
Soon fills up with grasses obviously but then wild flowers, insects, small animals, ground nesting birds even.

 

[BucksDad]

With a grass area that small I’d be tempted to just go for the plastic grass option.

You can still do your bit for the environment and have beds along the edges with plenty of planting

 

[Stevekane]

Do bear in mind that there are specialist grass blends, we bought one for shady areas and it worked brilliantly, maybe worth checking out if there is a blend that suits your conditions, ours came from Amazon so nothing too fancy or expensive.
Steve.

 

[baldkev]

With a grass area that small I’d be tempted to just go for the plastic grass option.

You can still do your bit for the environment and have beds along the edges with plenty of planting

The mrs wants fake grass, but it'll just be more plastic headed to landfill in the future.....

 

[fezman]

Just bought the grass seed for my overseeding - I also went for a shady mixture - garden runs ~ east to west so one side sees very little sun in the shade of the fence.

Typical that as I got home ready to do the hollow tine and 2nd scarify the heavens opened. Oh well, i'll just have to spend the afternoon reading UKW

 

[RogerS]

Anyone fancy 3/4 acre of moss with a few springs of grass?

You must also live in Northumberland, then

 

[Blackswanwood]

The mrs wants fake grass, but it'll just be more plastic headed to landfill in the future.....

I think I’d put a patio in. If the wife doesn’t like it you’ve got a good place to hide the body

 

[BucksDad]

The mrs wants fake grass, but it'll just be more plastic headed to landfill in the future.....

If it’s any consolation most UK councils now avoid landfill by burning non recyclable waste and generating energy from it

 

[baldkev]

If it’s any consolation most UK councils now avoid landfill by burning non recyclable waste and generating energy from it

Thats true, there is actually a waste energy recover place in exeter and possibly one in plymouth
I'll give it some thought

Anyone got an opinion?