Where do we go from here?

5 years ago

Unlikely to be a particularly impressive to most but I’m thinking that this is the place where you guys will understand. This picture to me is amazing! It has taken a lot of hard work to get to see soil and flat land and this is the very first corner where I’m feeling that there is a garden here somewhere.

So - where next? I am hearing all sorts about how I need to put boiling water, vinegar, cardboard, newspaper, lasagne etc on there...

I have discovered that the soil is actually pretty good - I thought it was dry and stoney - I also discovered 8 slabs under the shed - these can be expanded to act as a base for the pagoda area - so far so great. (See Pix)

Lovely clay type soil that looks like it may support life

Corner of shed - with slabs visible

so - what next?

Do I level the land over and put down the matt stuff? Newspaper?

Thoughts ideas and experience much appreciated!

Nkz

Follow my garden developments here:

http://dirtymuddyurban.strikingly.com

Comments (4)

tamp75
5 years ago
Good to see you’re making some progress!
When you mention boiling water, newspaper, etc, are you thinking to get rid of the weeds? Personally I wouldn’t use boiling water - I’d be worried about killing the garden creatures such as worms that do really important work in your soil. Same for vinegar, plus I’m not sure if it would alter the ph of your soil. You could cover it with card / newspaper to stop the light & hope the weeds die but it might take some time. Other than that, dig them up. Don’t dig too deeply as it could rejuvenate other weed seeds in the soil & it will end up worse! So next step is to clear the rest of the land - I think it will be easier to visualise & plan the space then.
Looks like an interesting project.
Nieko Syxx thanked tamp75
Jonathan
5 years ago
I remember as kids by parents took on a similarly neglected allotment.
My Dad hired a rotavator and then had us picking out all the loose bits of weeds and roots before going over it again with the rotavator. The alternative is to dig it over by hand but that is back breaking work.
As far as what you do when you have got rid of everything you don’t want- I think you should draw a plan of the garden where the sun is and then work out what you want the space to do. If you are a barbecue and G&T type of person you have very different needs from someone who has growing kids and sometimes needs them out of the house.
Nieko Syxx thanked Jonathan
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Nieko Syxx
Original Author
5 years ago
Hi Jonathan and Tamp, you can see my garden plans and developments on my actual page here or you can take a read of y blog which I am building a chronology of the work as it goes on :)

Thanks for your input - most appreciated Nks
rachelmidlands
5 years ago
Hi Nieko. Ok so I understand that you’re trying eradicate the weeds first. The whole newspaper, lasagne thingy is a process called mulching or the no dig method. It is one way of trying stop weed growth but in my experience it only provides more opportunities for weeds to grow. Putting something thick like a tarp or large sheets of cardboard over an area would work tho, no light and plants can’t grow, however it would take some months for this to work. Ok if you’re leaving it over the winter tho. Mulching is slightly different in that you’re adding things like newspaper, horse or cow poo (manure), coffee grounds are supposed to be good, straw etc. to improve the quality and texture of the soil for good plant growth. For weed killing, I know it’s back breaking but I pull up what I can by hand then use a weed killer with glysophate (I use the sachets and mix with water in a hand pump sprayer) let that get to work then it’s easier to get the rest. I wouldn’t use this method near precious plants you want to keep tho, instead use Roundup gel. Scrape up the top layer of soil and put in a compost bin or heap. After that you should be mostly weed free but put down some thick material to block the light and prevent more weeds from growing before you’re ready to do any landscaping work. Hope this helps.

Where do we go from here?

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