Originally Posted by Jake

On Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:19:54 +0000, kay
wrote:


Sinead90;947117 Wrote:
Hi all,

Ok where to start..

You haven't actually told us what sort of seeds you want to sow ;-)

Are you after covering the whole garden with a lawn? Or do you want to
sow flowers or vegetables? Or is your main aim to get it looking tidy
and needing as little maintenance as possible?

And when responding to Kay's questions, could you also say:

1) Where you are in the UK (that makes a difference)
2) What type of soil do you have (have a look at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/htbg/...types1.shtml)?
3) Is the ground covered with weeds now or is it fairly clear?
4) Does the garden get a lot of sun or is it shaded for a lot of the
day?
5) If you want to sow a lawn, what sort of use will it get (kids
playing football all day is different from the occasional deck
chair!)?



Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

Originally Posted by Janet Tweedy[_2_]

In article ,
Janet writes
I always recommend knitting a lawn on large needles. Embroidery is sew
slow.


But they say the best gardens are a tapestry of colour


aside from that though it does seem a strange Original post . Why not
say lawn? It doesn't seem quite normal to say "sow a garden"

To have a whole garden as lawn seems a bit extreme anyway!
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
Dalmatian Telegraph - UK

Originally Posted by Janet

In article ,
says...

aside from that though it does seem a strange Original post . Why not
say lawn? It doesn't seem quite normal to say "sow a garden"

When she had already read all about how to make a lawn fron scratch, and
her post shows confident familiarity with all the correct terms and names
of the tools, it seems very contrived and artificial to so carefully avoid
the words lawn and grass.

Janet

Originally Posted by Chris Hogg

On Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:48:05 GMT, wrote:

On Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:26:55 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:40:35 +0100, David in Normandy
am wrote:

On 13/01/2012 16:33, news wrote:
In article , Sinead90
writes
Ok where to start...my garden has never been sewed before and basically

i want to know whats the best process to sew the garden which will give

the best results.

Make sure you use a good thimble


Or she might get stitched up. ;-)

A stitch in thyme?

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

Just an observation. Most of this thread has degenerated into puns on
the OPs original spelling error. Is this really necessary in welcoming
(or mocking) a new poster who has also asked some apparently innocent
questions to a (theoretically) sympathetic newsgroup? Is it because it
has come from gardenbanter?

Geoff

Well, yes, you are right of course. But I would say that no mocking
was intended, and certainly not in my case (my apologies to the OP if
it was taken that way), and it has absolutely nothing to do with
gardenbanter.

As to the OP's original request, it's not clear what it is you intend
to plant, although it sounds like a lawn. If this is the case, try and
get hold of a copy of Hessayon's 'The Lawn Expert'. Available
second-hand for not-a-lot from any number of on-line bookshops via the
Advanced Book Exchange, ABE, see hessayon - the lawn expert - AbeBooks

Briefly, he says for preparing a lawn from scratch on a new site:

In spring, clear the site of tree roots, builders rubble, obvious
stones etc, and treat perennial weeds with weedkiller or dig them out.
Then get the site reasonably levelled out, so that the worst humps and
hollows are removed, paying attention to drainage where necessary. The
rubble and stones removed earlier can be buried in these areas to help
drainage.

In the summer, dig/rotovate the site to break up the soil, removing
more stones and remaining perennial weeds as you go. Best done in dry
weather. I guess you can incorporate sand at this stage if you want
to, although on heavy soil grit may be more effective. Next, trample
the soil to firm it up. Walk on your heels, taking small, shuffling
steps. Then rake it over, to remove more stones and further level it
up, moving high spots to the lower areas. Repeat the heel-walking and
raking until a reasonably firm, level, stone-free surface is achieved.
A roller is not very effective at this stage, and IME is seldom used
on domestic lawns anyway except by perfectionists.

Then leave the site fallow for a few months to allow any remaining
perennial weeds to appear and be treated with weedkiller. In the
autumn, rake it over to loosen the surface, and sow seed as per
instructions on the bag. Lightly rake the surface to partially hide
the seed from birds, but don't bury completely. Walk on a plank to
avoid disturbing the surface. Germination should take two or three
weeks. Keep moist in dry weather with a fine sprinkler, but don't use
a coarse jet of water as this will wash the seed around. When the
grass is three inches or so high, you can make the first mowing, but
you must have the cutters sharp and set high so you only take off the
tips of the grass. Blunt blades or a too low a setting risks uprooting
the seedlings.

As you can see, making a lawn is not a quick process, but doing it
properly from the start saves a lot of hassle later.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

Originally Posted by Spider[_3_]

On 13/01/2012 10:17, Sinead90 wrote:
Hi all,

Ok where to start...my garden has never been sewed before and basically
i want to know whats the best process to sew the garden which will give
the best results. The garden needs rotivated(thats a definite), i then
read somewhere that i should rake it level,lift out all the big stones
etc, then compress it somehow(using a roller probably), then i should
rake it again and then spread the seeds out? Would this be the best way?

Also the area of the garden closest to the house tends to be ALOT more
waterlogged compared to the rest of the garden(which is generally good).
I read somewhere that rotivating it may help the drainage in the area? I
also read adding sand to it may help? Is there any turth in either of
these statements? or can anybody advise me differently?

Also when is the soonest i can begin this process and when is the
soonest i can actually sew the garden so that the seeds take best?

Ive been in the house a couple of years now and want it sorted for the
summer, I can't afford to get somebody into do it, therefore its up to
me to complete it. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!!


Hi Sinead,

You don't actually say so, but it sounds as if you want to produce an
all-over lawn from seed. Your general description of the preparation
(your 1st para) is sound. Having once cleared the site, though, I would
scatter a general fertiliser and leave it a few weeks, as this may
encourage the growth of weeds and weed seeds you may have missed.
Having cleared these weeds - there will be some! - you should finally
rake the soil level before broadcasting the seed. Sow the seed when you
are reasonably sure it will no longer be affected by frost. It may also
be worth your while to grow a couple of trays of lawn turf using the
same seed, so that you will be able to turf over any bare patches.

You *really* need to find out is causing the waterlogging in the soil
nearest the house. It may be as simple as soil compaction which can be
dealt with by double-digging the ground and, perhaps, adding some grit
to keep the soil structure open. However, it could be natural ground
water, or surface run-off, or damaged sewers/pipes. If this area is
always boggy then compaction is unlikely, as even this soil would tend
to dry out in summer. Do try and find out the cause. You could be
paying good money for wasted mains water or, perhaps worse, allowing
some form of seepage to undermine your house. I truly hope not, but
this is why you need to check. Have a word with your neighbours either
side, as they may share the problem or understand the history from your
predcessor's residency.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

Originally Posted by Bob Hobden

"Sinead90" wrote ..

Ok where to start...my garden has never been sewed before and basically
i want to know whats the best process to sew the garden which will give
the best results. The garden needs rotivated(thats a definite), i then
read somewhere that i should rake it level,lift out all the big stones
etc, then compress it somehow(using a roller probably), then i should
rake it again and then spread the seeds out? Would this be the best way?



Also the area of the garden closest to the house tends to be ALOT more
waterlogged compared to the rest of the garden(which is generally good).
I read somewhere that rotivating it may help the drainage in the area? I
also read adding sand to it may help? Is there any turth in either of
these statements? or can anybody advise me differently?

Also when is the soonest i can begin this process and when is the
soonest i can actually sew the garden so that the seeds take best?

Ive been in the house a couple of years now and want it sorted for the
summer, I can't afford to get somebody into do it, therefore its up to
me to complete it. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.


From your post I gather you are asking how to sow a Lawn, lots of good
information on this site...

Lawns from seed / Royal Horticultural Society

The secret to a good long lasting lawn is good thorough preparation , not
rushing, and choosing the correct type of seed for the use of the lawn.
Certainly with a wet patch you may find it's because it's always in shade so
a different type of seed may be helpful but drainage is certainly needed,
digging in grit to a decent depth, the depth of the spade will help. Sand
may help too but it needs to be "sharp sand" not "builders sand".

You don't say the size of your garden but please don't make it look like
frightened flowers with them lined up all along the fence in a thin border,
that looks horrid. Curved edges to the border look good as does a round lawn
in a smaller garden.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK