Will my lawn grow?

Hi all, I'm new to gardening, but my father-in-law isn't.

Ok here goes, we have recently moved in to a new house, with a smallish garden 6x6m. When we moved in the previous people had laid gravel, ontop of bags, tarpaulin and bin bags. I have now lifted up these but the gravel still remains. This is where my dilemma lies.

So the gravel mixed in with a small amount of soil I would say 85% gravel is about 2" deep, under that is clay soil. My in-law thinks it would be fine to lay turf (which he is buying for us (very generous of him)) ontop of that.

I don't think there are enough nutrients in there to promote lawn growth, when you add that our garden is north facing and gets no sunshine, it might change at the height of summer, but none as yet.

He thinks the gravel will improve the growth and improve drainage. But what do you guys think. Should I say thanks but no thanks to the turf and think of something else, and if so what. I would love to have a lawn but I don't think it will survive, tips, suggestions and help will be very welcome.

Ps so sorry about the length of my first post.

 

My big concern is lack of sunshine there. How about shrubs and perennials for shade instead of that lawn? I think grass won't grow well there. You can grow some beautiful shade lovers there......all sorts of flowers and foliage.....???

 

My last house had a small back garden , and rather than have a lawn which I would of pre faired I laid a patio , started with a circle in the middle so it would give it a courtyard feel to it and had borders on all 3 sides I agree with Verdun lack of sunshine
not good and the soil sound as bad .


Spruce

 

I think the clue is here;

Could this have been because they had difficulty growing a lawn?

North facing lawns that get minimal sunlight tend to develop masses of moss!

The only thing I can see that's in your favour here is; it should be well drained therefore this might reduce the onset of moss but I don't think it will eliminate it!

Having said that my lawn has been in a similar position for over forty years, although it does get a bit of sunshine for a short time in the morning.

All I do each year is give it a good scarifying and a lawn feed and I find it passes as a lawn but it will never be of Bowling Green or Wimbledon quality.

But like you I want a lawn, so I persevere with it!

So to quote that old adage" nothing ventured,nothing gained" I think if I was getting the offer you are getting I would take it and see what comes of it!

You could always return it to a gravel patch in a few years if it doesn't work! ( as the previous tenant might have done)

In the end the choice is yours!

There is a fairly comprehensive article on lawn care here which might help you decide!

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Lawn - Maintenance/Lawn - Maintenance.htm

Sorry I couldn't help you more...Tg

 

Thanks for you help. If you think the soil would be ok, then I may aswell see what happens. I know I would probably have to overseed every year, but that's not too bad if it grows. I will finish levelling it out and get the turf.

Is there anything else I need to do?

 

Read the articles / links at the bottom of the page, there is one on turf & its preparation, another on seeding and another on aftercare!

 

Ok so I need to rotovate it, then roller it. Very hard work :(

Is there a short cut to this? I don't mean to sound lazy, just I don't want to do all this work for it to just die within a year.

 

even if it doesn't work it will help with the drainage of the garden for years to come as you have mentioned you are on clay, digging in the gravel does help as well so dont throw it away , lawns are hard work but if you put the effort in you will give it a better chance to grow also I would get the lawn seed from a specialists supplier rather than off the shelf if you are not turfing , do you have kids or and dogs as this wont help either in such a small space , you have a good couple of weeks to prepare it so just do a small amount each time spread over the weeks rather than take the whole thing in one go , it will make it easier for you .

Spruce

 

Not if you want a decent lawn I'm afraid. Preparation is pretty much the same whether you sow seed or lay turf. It needs digging over, and then firming read for making a seed-bed or to get it level for turf. You can rotavate instead of digging, but if it is wet a rotavator will make a mess, and if it is hard packed you may struggle to get the rotavator to "dig in"

If it is in shade be sure to get turf that contains shade loving grasses (which can be a bit hard to find, or expensive ...). Relatively easy to get shade-loving grass seed though

 

I have a very small back garden which also gets hardly any sun, I have tried growing 2 small grassed areas but the grass looks horrid!!!!!!!!! I put quite a lot of work into levelling, topsoiling, then seeding with a shade loving grass seed, but it still looks horrible, I am honestly thinking of laying fake turf this year, grass needs sunshine.

Val

 

I suffer with moss on one northerly lawn and although I kill and scarrify it it always returns. In the hight of summer it looks great. So as above , but you will have to work on it. I have a large bag of Sulphide of Iron light green stuff turns the lawn black but it soon recovers and the moss is dead. (Watered on.)

 

Ok thanks again guys, It is pretty compact under the gravel, hard work going down an inch. How deep shall I dig? 6 inches? Also does it matter if there are a lumps in the soil, I suppose once it's rollered it won't matter, but won't the roller just compact it again? I'm sounding really dumb now lol

 

Imagine you are a blade of grass now wouldn't you want nice toiled deep earth to grow roots into not full of lumps you have squashed back down ! and drains water away easily, nobody likes a soggy bottom unless you are a waterlily.

You want to go down the depth of a spade so at least 10 inches , start one end dig out a trench and put this to one side then you start to "double dig" dig out the next row and put it into the one you have just dug out carry on like that all over when you come to the end, the pile you have started with goes into the last one you dig out as you go use a fork to loosen the bottom of the bit you have dug out , you want the soil nice and crumbly you dont need a roller use your feet to shuffle across then once thats done use a rake over the top to level out and remove large stones and lumpy bits ,,, I can see you putting the plastic and gravel back , reading what everyone is trying to help you with

Spruce

 

Best to dig at least 12 inches....do it bit by bit. Best do it thoroughly...it will pay dividends in long run, whether it is down to grass or plants. I think sowing seed for shade, as Kristen suggested, gives best chance of success. Seed will save you cash too. To repeat ....don't just surface dig. Can you add some compost to mix in? Yep, try to break up those lumps.

 

I'm not putting the plastic back, as that will ruin drainage. I'll throw those away, but I will incorporate the gravel back into the soil that I'm digging up. I havn't got enough money for compost, so I won't be mixing it in.

I may start taking pictures, so I can log my progress, I didn't take any photos before I started, but in fairness not much has changed.