beginner

hi all,

I am a beginner to be a gardener.I have bought a new house.The lawn is quite big & was very poorly maintained.The soil is very hard with grass too long.Lawn mower does not work on the surface & its very difficult to plough the land.What should I do?Someone has advised us to use a rotovetor for ploughing the lawn and then re-designing the lawn & planting new plants & grass?what do you suggest & where can I get a cheap rotovetor for hiring for 2 days?

thanx in advance

 

If your house is a new build then your lawn is probably suffering from a lack of soil. Builders often cover clay or rubble with a couple of inches of 'topsoil' and then grass seed. The grass sprouts but there isn't enough soil/nutrients for it to grow successfully. You probably have the right idea of rotovating it and starting anew. I would suggest trying local machinery hire shops eg. HS Hire (look in yellow pages. Alternatively you may have a local allotment holders group or horticultural society. Generally they have lots of very friendly and helpful people who will know someone with a rotovator who is likely to do the job at a reasonable price.
Depending on the quality of the underlying soil (especially if clay or builders rubble) you may have to add lots and lots of new topsoil to your garden. Around here it costs around �£40 per ton delivered.
Hope this is useful

 

thanx for the reply...our house is not a newly built,but it seems to be neglected for years.That's why soil has become very hard and its very difficult to dig in & because of the very long grass,its impossible to plough.I live in Birmingham.Can you suggest anyone who can do the job at a reasonable cost.
Thanx once again!