Gardening 2021

[potsy]

im starting the removal of all the dead grass tomorrow.....as it needs to dry out a bit. then i got a tonne of topsoil, compost and sharp sand to spread over the top before re-seeding

What does the sand do?
Interested as I'm trying to improve a small patch of my lawn.

 

[jowwy]

What does the sand do?
Interested as I'm trying to improve a small patch of my lawn.

It should help with drainage, as i got some clay soil that needs breaking up and a gritty sand will do that and allow water to drain through better

 

[Broughtonblue]

Anybody know how to stop cats sh1tt1ng in freshley dug soil and gravel areas, cant net it as too big (the area not next doors cat!!) Also got a dog so cant out poison down. And i fear the neighbour would hear a 12 bore goung off

 

[jowwy]

Got the arbor finished and cut the arms ready for the custom seating

 

[PaulSB]

Just weeded and feeded the caravan lawn - think I'm going to need loads more over time. Lots of daisies in it ! I keep the lawns at home week free - easy when you are there to feed and cut them, but at the van, if you aren't there for a couple of weeks, and you've feeded it, by heck it grows. Hoping to tackle the weeds this year as we are there most weekends.

Insect life, especially beneficial insects, need those weeds to feed on. Could you leave them in your lawn? It's only a green, flat surface. Being weed free doesn't really matter.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Agree with the above. A manicured lawn to me is a sterile area, embrace the daisies, clover, self heal etc, the sounds of bees and insects is to be cherished.

 

[jowwy]

Sorry guys, but i cant stand weeds tbh......got enough flowers etc etc in the garden for birds, bees and insects

 

[PaulSB]

Sorry guys, but i cant stand weeds tbh......got enough flowers etc etc in the garden for birds, bees and insects

In all seriousness in April/May what most would deem weeds are food sources pollinating insects depend on for survival. Add to this modern plant hybrids can be sterile and of no value to insect life.

Killing out weeds also kills insects.

 

[fossyant]

Sorry guys, but i cant stand weeds tbh......got enough flowers etc etc in the garden for birds, bees and insects

Same here, abundant flowers and plants in my garden, unlike many people that just have a lawn, the grass can look good, and it's not straight, nor is it large due to the various 'planted boarders'.

Looks over the fence and the playing field is full of daises, buttercups and dandylions.

 

[jowwy]

Same here, abundant flowers and plants in my garden, unlike many people that just have a lawn, the grass can look good, and it's not straight, nor is it large due to the various 'planted boarders'.

Looks over the fence and the playing field is full of daises, buttercups and dandylions.

Totally agree………im having a nice lawn, not weed riddled one. Not killing off 200sqr meters off grass to let weeds grow in it.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

In all seriousness in April/May what most would deem weeds are food sources pollinating insects depend on for survival. Add to this modern plant hybrids can be sterile and of no value to insect life.

Killing out weeds also kills insects.

My grass is full of daisies and dandelions, they get cut back when I cut the grass but otherwise I leave them alone, they soon grow back. Theres a small patch of grass up the top of the back garden that I largely leave alone, if it gets too out of hand I'll give it a trim but that doesn't happen very often, its an area that I can't grow anything in, theres more bricks and rubble than soil in there, if I wanted to cultivate it I'd have dig it all out and put in fresh soil.

 

[jowwy]

Well after a days hard graft the garden looks better

24 boxes of dead grass scarified off
18 bags of 25l topsoil
12 bags of 50l compost
10 bags of sharp sand

All ready to add the seed now tmrw

 

[PaulSB]

Two or three weeks later than usual today I'll plant out courgettes, sweet peas, climbing and dwarf French beans and runner beans.

A very difficult growing year, so cold nothing is really growing as it should and it will be interesting so see how my crops finally perform when temperatures rise.

 

[PaulSB]

My grass is full of daisies and dandelions, they get cut back when I cut the grass but otherwise I leave them alone, they soon grow back. Theres a small patch of grass up the top of the back garden that I largely leave alone, if it gets too out of hand I'll give it a trim but that doesn't happen very often, its an area that I can't grow anything in, theres more bricks and rubble than soil in there, if I wanted to cultivate it I'd have dig it all out and put in fresh soil.

Yes, I do the same. From the time the snowdrops appear until the daisies stop flowering I mow round plants which need to be left alone for a variety of reasons. Then I just whizz the mower over the clumps and tufts to level things off. Our garden lawn is remarkably weed free but lots of moss* while the allotment grass is currently a mass of colour thanks to the daisies.

*Moss is especially good to have for the large numbers of birds which visit to pull it up for nest lining. There's so much more to a garden than relatively sterile straight lines.

 

[jowwy]

Garden all seeded, sprinklers been on a fair bit today keeping it all nice and damp………even got sun burnt

welcome to the summer