Moss and couch grass.

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks for your comments Robert; for the past 30 years I've been attacking our big laurels without problems but I tend to become obsessed with anything new I take on and look at it from all angles; when it comes to gardening and what's good or bad I'm a novice so will gladly accept advice from more knowledgeable people like you and of course other members; I do lots of online research and I hope I never ever cause any offence if I ask questions of this nature; if I don't ask I could perhaps do something totally wrong.

At the moment I'm working on mulch and digging in anything to improve the soil; I'm not in any way composting which I know nothing about so have yet something else to learn; I've applied lots of mulch consisting of shredded laurel and conifer and as this is simply laid on the soil I wondered if it would prove detrimental because it hasn't been composted?

Bron and I were watching the gardening program last night on TV and a lady gardener showed Monty Don something new which he hadn't seen previously; she had a shrub and it was ready for seeding so rather than collect the seeds she simply clipped a stem and inserted the stem straight into the soil where she wanted to propagate more of the shrub; the seeds fall naturally and grow; a technique she has tried and tested over the years?

I've received good news this morning; the lady with the free horse manure has replied and I'm now to collect the first load next Tuesday morning.

An hour yesterday and this morning I've been clearing the area around the big stump where I felled an 80' tall conifer years ago; I was amazed by how many tiny oak; holly and other seedlings had taken plus bigger ones; it's been hard work and one holly was a right pain to get out but it's now clear and ready for some horse manure digging in. The pile is full of stumps and roots. Please note my little helper who can dig our garden better than I can?

Got to go dinners ready but a good morning which I've enjoyed.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Boy this digging is hard work; I've just knocked off feeling worn out; I think I need to start taking things a bit steadier because I've worked myself to a standstill.

An hour yesterday and all today to finally clear the area around this stump; I've managed to get down mostly to a spade depth the spade being a small one; the ground is riddled with roots the fine roots being like spiders webs and lots of them the bigger roots I've removed. There is little worm activity in this area and the soil is varied; at the front it looks decent but at the back its very dry and much harder. As previously stated I'm collecting horse manure next week and I'll add plenty of this digging it well in mixing it with the soil; it should be a lot easier now the compaction has been broken up. Is it possible to add too much manure or would I be better mixing the manure with something else please?

I'll not plant anything until next springtime to allow weeds to pop their heads up and for winter to work on the soil. By adding horse manure will it change the soil type; at the moment I tend to look for plants/shrubs which like clay?

If I carry on like this I think I might end up as a gardener?

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Robert Cummings]

Take it nice and steady chap, you're supposed to be enjoying it not trying to kill yourself, I would suggest a couple of hours a day perhaps four at the most is sufficient. Not offended in any way by your questions, but I have to admit I was a bit taken aback by what this gardener fellow said about cyanide poisoning from cherry laurel. Keep asking the questions practice makes perfect and I'm still practicing too.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Robert. The Internet is full of information as to dangers of laurel saying how poisonous common laurel is; I'm being careful in handling our laurels because we have so many of them and I'm not taking chances when it comes to mine or anyone else's health; at one point I spent over a full week shredding our laurels but didn't notice any side effects; I was working in the open garden and there is usually a prevailing breeze whistling up the valley side.

Thanks also for your good advice; I tend to be my own worst enemy (and critic), I never know when to ease back just getting stuck into anything I do; I was brought up when to eat meant to work and to work hard if I wanted anything; 55 years later in full retirement I still can't sit around and relax; I've tried but it doesn't feel right and I need to get off my backside and do something useful; I'm up every morning at 6 o'clock and make a couple of pots of tea taking them back to bed then Bron and I have a natter for an hour whilst its quiet and we usually get up at 7 o'clock to start another busy day. I do need to ease off a bit because I'm finding as I grow older I no longer have the stamina for prolonged hard graft but it doesn't stop me trying; perhaps I need to plan my days better; four hours or a morning in the garden then the afternoon in the workshop; I need to be busy and learning all the time; now I'm in the garden I'm enjoying the new challenges and learning lots of new things.

I read every reply to my questions and if things are mentioned I'm unsure about I'll spend time researching for more information; zigs kindly suggested using Glyphosate;

https://glyphosateinfo.monsanto.com...y92g_tZQhqpjWoUZ9RhuhUv5oFWCJO6EaAua_EALw_wcB

I'm indebted to zigs for the information and no way do I question his suggestion; I simply spend a lot of time learning and if I don't know about something I do the research; the link above would indicate care is needed and for my needs I don't need to treat this glyphosate as if it was nuclear waste; I never mean any offence by researching what I'm told; I just like to dig a bit deeper?

As a child every home had DDT and even genuine creosote both of which are now banned; our lawn used to suffer from many dandelions and other big weeds but a bit of web browsing suggested white spirit was very effective in killing these; I was amazed as I ran just a drop of white spirit into the crown of a big dandelion to see it completely disappear within a few days; our lawn is now dandelion free and I save old white spirit for this purpose; the paint settles to the bottom leaving the clear liquid; I stress I only spot treat each plant.

My bones are still aching so time I gave them something to ache for; a bit more digging will give me a nice appetite for dinner; when not in the garden I'm now putting a home made router table together.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

An update Robert as I've been taking your excellent advice. This morning I spent an hour extending the planting area I started yesterday and then after dinner a couple of hours creating a new planting bed by turning over an untidy section covered in grass and all kinds of small twigs and things; I turned the lot in; once turned over I then went over with the spade on its side slicing the lot and I'm delighted by how much better it already looks; just three hours grafting today but our rear garden is already looking much better even with exposed soil; it's a lot better than seeing it overgrown with holly; laurel and oak. This first dig is hard going but I'm getting much better already with just a little practice; two spade widths slice the ends and then turn over as a block at spade depth seems best for me; the grassed area is the hardest to turn and the soil is full of roots.

I'll mulch these beds next week with a layer of well rotted horse manure as kindly suggested by headfullofbees in another thread; I'll add 4"-6" depth of manure and leave well alone over winter before digging it in.

Its been a perfect day today and a real pleasure to get into the garden; today hasn't cost a penny but I've thoroughly enjoyed it and I've something to show for my efforts. I've only just started to tackle our rear garden and at first I thought I was in for nothing but hard graft; this is possibly true at first dig over but I think once I get on top of this any further digging will be a great deal easier; I'm also surprised by the soil quality so far which looks quite dark and rich.

There is already ground cover of some kind under the willow tree so I've left this alone to save digging amongst the willow roots.

No way am I going to attempt to remove the big stumps; I'll plant shrubs to hide them.

The grass is more moss than grass but again I'll act on advice already kindly supplied and first job is to spike then apply a top dressing over the next couple of weeks; I think with some TLC I can salvage this grass and make it look a lot better.

A number of assorted shrubs are due to arrive and I plan to place a number of these between the lavender and the fence then mulch the bare soil. I'm like a kid with a new toy.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Robert Cummings]

Yes that's the idea Colin.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Thanks Robert. What a difference between yesterday and this morning. I can't remember a better day than I enjoyed yesterday working in the garden with the squirrels around me in total peace and harmony; I've just returned from the supermarkets and its pouring with rain; whilst in Home Bargains my song was playing "Why does it always rain on me". I've got a full load all ready for the tip some in open containers so now its all soaking wet. The forecast is for the rain to ease and as soon as it does I'm on my way to the tip. Its not all bad though because the rain will soften the ground and save me watering shrubs I've already planted.

Kind regards, Colin.