Gardening

[118cmal]

I have just moved into a new house in Belfast and at the front of the property there is a small (roughly 15ft x 15ft) patch of pebbles which I would like to turn into grass.  There is a concrete base underneath these pebbles.

I have never undertaken any type of gardening before so would it be a big job for me?

Also, roughly how much would it cost me to do this?

Thank you in advance,

Mal

[the Deel Rover]

your letting bob down 118cmal he wouldn't have been looking for advice on how to grow grass i'd say   

[the Deel Rover]

What you would need is a about 5-6 inches of topsoil around the 15*15 area which would probably mean you kangoing (spl) out the concrete base and replacing this with the soil.   i suppose getting it turfed would be another option

[delboy]

You could do it yourself no probs, kango (you can hire these i think if you haven't got access to one), it out, put a couple of tonne of top soil down and then lay some turf, the turf ain't that expensive and it'll leave it looking good from the outset rather than faffing about with seed.

The top soil and turf shouldn't be that dear, but don't forget the expense of getting rid of the concrete (might need a skip).

[the Deel Rover]

yeah you will need a skip i'd say, either that or throw it into your neigbours drive ( a nice way of meeting your new neighbour) . Personally i wouldn't bother with the turf just level the top soil rake it and throw on the seed you won't need a lot to cover the area . As far as i recall april and september are the best times for sowing grass seed however there has been feck all growth this year with the dry spell , couuld do with a few weeks of rain fairly soon 

[The Real Laoislad]

I just done my whole back garden,it had a load of pebbles and railway sleepers through the middle of it so I ripped it all up,moved back some of the flower beds and put grass down in the middle,the grass area is about 12ftx20ft

In all I used 4 ton of topsoil,I got the screened soil,so there wasn't that many stones in it just a few pebbles.It was back breaking enough having to bring the soil from the front of the house to the back but I got the 4 ton in,raked and rolled in a day.
I too wouldn't bother with the turf,if you throw a few seeds down it will grow in no time in this weather,the mixture of heat and a bit of rain and you should see signs of grass within a week I reckon

[delboy]

About £50 would turf it, it a bit more than a box of grass seed, but the advantages are you'll have a nice neat lawn to look at and use immediately, where as growing your own requires you to treat the lawn with kid gloves for quite a while. Also  IMO unless you buy really good grass seed the quality of the grass in the turf will be much better, anyway food for thought.

[the Deel Rover]

I just done my whole back garden,it had a load of pebbles and railway sleepers through the middle of it so I ripped it all up,moved back some of the flower beds and put grass down in the middle,the grass area is about 12ftx20ft

In all I used 4 ton of topsoil,I got the screened soil,so there wasn't that many stones in it just a few pebbles.It was back breaking enough ng to bring the soil from the front of the house to the back but I got the 4 ton in,raked and rolled in a day.I too wouldn't bother with the turf,if you throw a few seeds down it will grow in no time in this weather,the mixture of heat and a bit of rain and you should see signs of grass within a week I reckon

and i thought ye laois boys were hardy

[The Real Laoislad]

About £50 would turf it, it a bit more than a box of grass seed, but the advantages are you'll have a nice neat lawn to look at immediately and IMO unless you buy really good grass seed the quality of the grass in the turf will be much better, anyway food for thought.

I had problems in my front garden before with the turf bedding to the soil underneath,the roots from the turf never took to the soil.
I done all the right things like water it and feed it but it just never took,plus it has the sun all day at the front of the house.
I had to rip it up after a year as it had gone all brown and ended up sowing seed.

Just my experience with turf,I'm sure it will work for some.

[The Real Laoislad]

I just done my whole back garden,it had a load of pebbles and railway sleepers through the middle of it so I ripped it all up,moved back some of the flower beds and put grass down in the middle,the grass area is about 12ftx20ft

In all I used 4 ton of topsoil,I got the screened soil,so there wasn't that many stones in it just a few pebbles.It was back breaking enough ng to bring the soil from the front of the house to the back but I got the 4 ton in,raked and rolled in a day.I too wouldn't bother with the turf,if you throw a few seeds down it will grow in no time in this weather,the mixture of heat and a bit of rain and you should see signs of grass within a week I reckon

and i thought ye laois boys were hardy

Living in Dublin for past 8 years has made me soft 

[delboy]

About £50 would turf it, it a bit more than a box of grass seed, but the advantages are you'll have a nice neat lawn to look at immediately and IMO unless you buy really good grass seed the quality of the grass in the turf will be much better, anyway food for thought.

I had problems in my front garden before with the turf bedding to the soil underneath,the roots from the turf never took to the soil.
I done all the right things like water it and feed it but it just never took,plus it has the sun all day at the front of the house.
I had to rip it up after a year as it had gone all brown and ended up sowing seed.

Just my experience with turf,I'm sure it will work for some.

That would be dissapointing, how did you prep the soil below?

[The Real Laoislad]

About £50 would turf it, it a bit more than a box of grass seed, but the advantages are you'll have a nice neat lawn to look at immediately and IMO unless you buy really good grass seed the quality of the grass in the turf will be much better, anyway food for thought.

I had problems in my front garden before with the turf bedding to the soil underneath,the roots from the turf never took to the soil.
I done all the right things like water it and feed it but it just never took,plus it has the sun all day at the front of the house.
I had to rip it up after a year as it had gone all brown and ended up sowing seed.

Just my experience with turf,I'm sure it will work for some.

That would be dissapointing, how did you prep the soil below?

Just done the usual,I hired a aerator and done all that business,rolled and raked it etc,same as I did for sowing the seed and the seed had no bother growing and as it is I can't keep the bloody thing cut the rate its growing.

I got the turf in Summerhill lawns in Meath,so maybe the Meath grass wasn't happy living in Dublin 

[delboy]

About £50 would turf it, it a bit more than a box of grass seed, but the advantages are you'll have a nice neat lawn to look at immediately and IMO unless you buy really good grass seed the quality of the grass in the turf will be much better, anyway food for thought.

I had problems in my front garden before with the turf bedding to the soil underneath,the roots from the turf never took to the soil.
I done all the right things like water it and feed it but it just never took,plus it has the sun all day at the front of the house.
I had to rip it up after a year as it had gone all brown and ended up sowing seed.

Just my experience with turf,I'm sure it will work for some.

That would be dissapointing, how did you prep the soil below?

Just done the usual,I hired a aerator and done all that business,rolled and raked it etc,same as I did for sowing the seed and the seed had no bother growing and as it is I can't keep the bloody thing cut the rate its growing.

I got the turf in Summerhill lawns in Meath,so maybe the Meath grass wasn't happy living in Dublin 

Seems like you certainly did everything right, all right i say go with the grass seed as well then 

[the Deel Rover]

I just done my whole back garden,it had a load of pebbles and railway sleepers through the middle of it so I ripped it all up,moved back some of the flower beds and put grass down in the middle,the grass area is about 12ftx20ft

In all I used 4 ton of topsoil,I got the screened soil,so there wasn't that many stones in it just a few pebbles.It was back breaking enough ng to bring the soil from the front of the house to the back but I got the 4 ton in,raked and rolled in a day.I too wouldn't bother with the turf,if you throw a few seeds down it will grow in no time in this weather,the mixture of heat and a bit of rain and you should see signs of grass within a week I reckon

and i thought ye laois boys were hardy

Living in Dublin for past 8 years has made me soft 

it has for sure LL  if your not carefull you will soon pick up the accent 

[Aerlik]

Splash a bit of chicken slurry on it and not only will you impress your new neighbours with your environmental concerns, but you will also have a nice display of dandelions and dockins in no time.  sure if the local wanes get stung by nettles, they can always come over and use the dockin stalks to help kill the pain.