New House - Muck out in the back

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djsim

Registered User
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Hello All,

I could really do with some advice \ help. I know absoulty nothing about gardening. I am due to move into my new house at the end of this month. The garden at the front of the house will be leveled and seeded.

However, the back yard is a different story. It is full of mud, stones, uneven etc etc. Can someone please tell me the first few steps in getting a decent garden in the back.

I persume I remove the rocks and level first?? Do you think I could have grass for this summer or is this asking a bit much? What seeds to go for?

Thanks for all your help,
James.
 
James, if you are living in a new estate you will be able to carpet your garden with the number of flyers for landscaping services you will get through your door in the next 3 months!
 
Thanks for the info and prompt reply. I would like to do it myself if possible. The money I save on the garden I could put into other areas of the house.

Surely a bit of hard work to remove the rocks and level and seed, a complete novice like me could make it work, or am I over my head??
 
djsim - I am in the same position as yourself in that we are nearly finished building our house on a site and the back (cannot call it a garden at the moment:) ) is just muck with stones and in some places there are entire concrete blocks lodged a foot under the surface.

I was hoping to seed in the next 4 weeks but the job is bigger than I thought and the current weather is not helping.

So I plan to wait for some dry conditions and then continue to remove the stones, rake the area, remove more stones and level it. Also I need to put in 'French' drains as there is a stream at the back and some places are not well drained.

So I plan to complete this and seed in late September.

Obviously your plan of action will depend on the size of the area and the free time you have. I spent 4 hrs doing this last Sat and it is tough going on the back!!
 
start with removing the big stuff...then get a rake and get rid of the smaller stones...that'll keep you busy for a while..should also be as level as you want to make it
 
If I was to do mine I would put some basic drainage pipes in before you seed as you're going to be digging/rotovating it anyway.Otherwise it'll be like a swamp during the winter months,because the construction phase is likely to have compacted the soil.
 
First thing you gotta do is figure out if what you have is proper topsoil or just mud. If it's just skicky mud/clay (probably what the builders dug out of the foundations) then you are wasting your time working it. Might as well get it taken out and get some good topsoil put in its place.

It might be worth your while getting a "free quote" landscaper in to have a look at it if you are not sure. If you listen to what he is saying and ask the right questions then you can get loads of free advice and then tell him to sling his hook. Probably not good manners but....meh
 
Myself and my mate did mine last year,we removed all the big stuff first then rotivated it and raked it until we got a nice level finish with no big clumps, the next day I had some turf delivered and hew presto by the end of day 2 we had a garden( Garden approx 192 sq yrds). Plan to get some shrubs in and dat this year....just wanted grass last year so my boys could go out and play.
 
I would suggest hiring a rotavator and using this to go over the soil. This will a) aerate the soil and ready it for planting and b) highlight any large rocks, bricks, broken cisterns, slates and other house debris which are near the surface.

Then use a rake to level the soil and gather up the small stones and seed.
 
Hello all,

Thanks for taking yere time to answer my question and give me advise. It has helped.

All the best InfoSeeker with your garden, let me know how you get on, I cant wait to get stuck into mine:)
 
I payed €45 for mine for the weekend, it was delivered Friday evening and picked up on Monday.
 
Any of you garden enthusiasts any idea of what types of trees or shrubs etc. you could plant to help drain some of the excess water off of a garden. Got the drainage piping but down last year but it still resembles a swamp, any ideas?

Thanks
 
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