New lawn

Good Evening all,

This is the first time I have ever joined a chat room and I am hoping that one of you gardeners is going to be able to give me some advice.

I have a 30x30' garden that has recently been destroyed by building works due to an extention, I am now wanting to reseed a lawn of about 20x20' with borders and patio. The design isn't a problem it's the ground work beforehand. You may think I'm mad but I'm digging it all myself (I need to lose half a stone) and I was wondering if I were to dig the old raggy grass in and stick a weedkiller over the lot (or leave it) or pull all the old grass out as I go. Any other advise would be extremely appreciated and I look forward to anyones replies. Thankyou. X

 

Personally I would spray with a glyphosate based spray such as Roundup, which is systemic. Follow the instructions carefully as it works best in warmer temps and needs a few weeks before anything happens. When all the grass is dead (maybe five to six weeks) clean the surface, rough up the soil with a spring tined rake or add a top dressing of more soil and then reseed and water well. If you dont like the thought of spraying then take the old turf off the top and put to one side, dig a trench and lay the grass in the bottom (grass side down)and then dig the next row of soil and put it on top of the grass (ie bury it) and so on until you have completely dug over the area. Wait while late frost break up the soil and keep raking until you have a fine tilth to reseed.