we have what is jokingly called a garden at the moment but looks more like a
mud pit. we have a very big dog and 4 kids and the result is where we had a
lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and more mud. i wondered if
i could skim off the top layer of goo and chuck a load of pea gravel down to
hide the worst for now (and stop it treading all through the house) but
would it not sink into the soil? i want to put some kind of paving down
eventually but it will have to be done a bit at a time as we don't have a
lot of spare time. the only kind of garden we've had in the past is the
concrete kind so i'm at a loss as to what to do with this mess. any good,
fast, cheap ideas???? HELP )

Sounds like you need a membrane which will keep the weeds down and stop the
gravel disappearing into the mud. You can get them at garden centres or
places like B and Q


seren wrote:
: we have what is jokingly called a garden at the moment but looks more
: like a mud pit. we have a very big dog and 4 kids and the result is
: where we had a lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and
: more mud. i wondered if i could skim off the top layer of goo and
: chuck a load of pea gravel down to hide the worst for now (and stop
: it treading all through the house) but would it not sink into the
: soil? i want to put some kind of paving down eventually but it will
: have to be done a bit at a time as we don't have a lot of spare time.
: the only kind of garden we've had in the past is the concrete kind so
: i'm at a loss as to what to do with this mess. any good, fast, cheap
: ideas???? HELP )

i'll have to have a look for that. where's the best place to get gravel
from? i know it's cheapest getting it dropped in a load but we live in the
middle of a terrace with no vehicle access which would mean lugging a lot of
barrowloads down to the house. where's the cheapest place to get it in bags?

"Beachcomber" wrote in message
...
Sounds like you need a membrane which will keep the weeds down and stop
the
gravel disappearing into the mud. You can get them at garden centres or
places like B and Q


seren wrote:
: we have what is jokingly called a garden at the moment but looks more
: like a mud pit. we have a very big dog and 4 kids and the result is
: where we had a lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and
: more mud. i wondered if i could skim off the top layer of goo and
: chuck a load of pea gravel down to hide the worst for now (and stop
: it treading all through the house) but would it not sink into the
: soil? i want to put some kind of paving down eventually but it will
: have to be done a bit at a time as we don't have a lot of spare time.
: the only kind of garden we've had in the past is the concrete kind so
: i'm at a loss as to what to do with this mess. any good, fast, cheap
: ideas???? HELP )

'seren',

You need to talk more about your problem before you waste money and
effort on gravel and probably finish up with a similar mess. You need
to treat the cause.

Why has your lawn got into a mud heap? Is poor drainage a factor? You
say that you had a lush green lawn when you moved in and now it has been
reduced to a mud heap or similar. What has gone on in the meantime? You
may have a burst pipe?

If you describe developments quite fully we will be able to advise you.
In the meantime I suggest that you put the lawn out of bounds until you
have come to terms with the problem.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.






"seren" wrote in message
...
we have what is jokingly called a garden at the moment but looks more
like a
mud pit. we have a very big dog and 4 kids and the result is where we
had a
lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and more mud. i
wondered if
i could skim off the top layer of goo and chuck a load of pea gravel
down to
hide the worst for now (and stop it treading all through the house)
but
would it not sink into the soil? i want to put some kind of paving
down
eventually but it will have to be done a bit at a time as we don't
have a
lot of spare time. the only kind of garden we've had in the past is
the
concrete kind so i'm at a loss as to what to do with this mess. any
good,
fast, cheap ideas???? HELP )

we had a lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and more mud. "

I bet that you kept the grass cut short and had a last cut late Sept or in
October.

With all that traffic on the grass, you would be well advised to let the
grass grow in the autumn, so that it was around 3 inches long going into the
winter, this will protect the ground and slow up the churning. It is harder
to get it back short in spring, but do you need to keep it as short as you
have been?
Sounds to me as if you have a Working area of grass. more a playing field
than a bowling green,
--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

we did let the grass grow in the autumn but it's been so wet here lately it
doesn't stand a chance. we have very chalky soil here so drainage isn't
great at the best of times. the main problem is probably the dog who races
round like a greyhound tearing up great clumps which then just turn to mud.
i can't see grass ever surviving to be honest as there's just too much
traffic on it. i notice the garden next door but one looks pretty much the
same and they have 2 kids who play football on it all the time. would bark
chippings work as a temporary solution???


"david" wrote in message
...
we had a lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and more mud. "

I bet that you kept the grass cut short and had a last cut late Sept or in
October.

With all that traffic on the grass, you would be well advised to let the
grass grow in the autumn, so that it was around 3 inches long going into
the
winter, this will protect the ground and slow up the churning. It is
harder
to get it back short in spring, but do you need to keep it as short as you
have been?
Sounds to me as if you have a Working area of grass. more a playing field
than a bowling green,
--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"seren" wrote in message
...
we did let the grass grow in the autumn but it's been so wet here lately
it
doesn't stand a chance. we have very chalky soil here so drainage isn't
great at the best of times. the main problem is probably the dog who races
round like a greyhound tearing up great clumps which then just turn to
mud.
i can't see grass ever surviving to be honest as there's just too much
traffic on it. i notice the garden next door but one looks pretty much the
same and they have 2 kids who play football on it all the time. would bark
chippings work as a temporary solution???


"david" wrote in message
...
we had a lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and more mud.
"

I bet that you kept the grass cut short and had a last cut late Sept or
in
October.

With all that traffic on the grass, you would be well advised to let the
grass grow in the autumn, so that it was around 3 inches long going into
the
winter, this will protect the ground and slow up the churning. It is
harder
to get it back short in spring, but do you need to keep it as short as
you
have been?
Sounds to me as if you have a Working area of grass. more a playing
field
than a bowling green,
--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk


chalky soil would give u good drainage as for gravel u would end up with
it everywhere through the house the same goes for chippings why not employ a
gardener to help with the lawn or just keep off the grass when its wet

"pied piper" wrote in message
...

"seren" wrote in message
...
we did let the grass grow in the autumn but it's been so wet here lately
it
doesn't stand a chance. we have very chalky soil here so drainage isn't
great at the best of times. the main problem is probably the dog who
races
round like a greyhound tearing up great clumps which then just turn to
mud.
i can't see grass ever surviving to be honest as there's just too much
traffic on it. i notice the garden next door but one looks pretty much
the
same and they have 2 kids who play football on it all the time. would
bark
chippings work as a temporary solution???


"david" wrote in message
...
we had a lush green lawn when we moved in we now have mud and more
mud.
"

I bet that you kept the grass cut short and had a last cut late Sept
or
in
October.

With all that traffic on the grass, you would be well advised to let
the
grass grow in the autumn, so that it was around 3 inches long going
into
the
winter, this will protect the ground and slow up the churning. It is
harder
to get it back short in spring, but do you need to keep it as short as
you
have been?
Sounds to me as if you have a Working area of grass. more a playing
field
than a bowling green,
--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk


chalky soil would give u good drainage as for gravel u would end up with
it everywhere through the house the same goes for chippings why not employ
a
gardener to help with the lawn or just keep off the grass when its wet



LOL - i'd have to tie the four kids and the dog up to keep them out of the
garden.....

'Twas Sat, 25 Jan 2003 18:27:05 -0000, when "seren"
enriched all our lives with these
worthy thoughts:
i wondered if
i could skim off the top layer of goo and chuck a load of pea gravel down to
hide the worst for now (and stop it treading all through the house)

No - they'd just tread gravel into then house instead!

but would it not sink into the soil?

Probably - it's a good idea to use a separation membrane in
such circumstances. They sell simple (ie, not very strong) membranes
at most GCs and BMs these days.

i want to put some kind of paving down
eventually but it will have to be done a bit at a time as we don't have a
lot of spare time. the only kind of garden we've had in the past is the
concrete kind so i'm at a loss as to what to do with this mess. any good,
fast, cheap ideas???? HELP )


The DIY sheds are doing some awful 30mm thick flags for a quid
a piece and they reckon you can build a 3x4m patio for under 200 quid.

--
cormaic URG faqs/webring - www.tmac.clara.co.uk/urgring/
Culcheth Garden - www.tmac.clara.co.uk/garden/
Warrington Paving - www.pavingexpert.com/
Peoples' Republic of South Lancashire

cormaic CAN BE FOUND AT borlochshall.co.uk

thanks for that :O)


"cormaic" wrote in message
...
'Twas Sat, 25 Jan 2003 18:27:05 -0000, when "seren"
enriched all our lives with these
worthy thoughts:
i wondered if
i could skim off the top layer of goo and chuck a load of pea gravel down
to
hide the worst for now (and stop it treading all through the house)

No - they'd just tread gravel into then house instead!

but would it not sink into the soil?

Probably - it's a good idea to use a separation membrane in
such circumstances. They sell simple (ie, not very strong) membranes
at most GCs and BMs these days.

i want to put some kind of paving down
eventually but it will have to be done a bit at a time as we don't have a
lot of spare time. the only kind of garden we've had in the past is the
concrete kind so i'm at a loss as to what to do with this mess. any good,
fast, cheap ideas???? HELP )


The DIY sheds are doing some awful 30mm thick flags for a quid
a piece and they reckon you can build a 3x4m patio for under 200 quid.

--
cormaic URG faqs/webring - www.tmac.clara.co.uk/urgring/
Culcheth Garden - www.tmac.clara.co.uk/garden/
Warrington Paving - www.pavingexpert.com/
Peoples' Republic of South Lancashire

cormaic CAN BE FOUND AT borlochshall.co.uk