Really need some good advice on "reclaiming".. - October 14th, 2006 at 01:30 AM
We just bought a new house and I have an area out back that is about 1/4 - 1/2 acre long and about maybe 50 feet wide at it's widest point, I will post a pic this spring, because my plan is to transform it into a beautiful shade garden as it has about 30 trees growing in it. Here are the issues:
1. There are 3 foot weeds everywhere
2. The weeds are growing out of pure, rock-hard clay - if I threw it at the window - the window would shatter. So digging is almost impossible.
3. There are tree roots everywhere (see number 2 above about digging)
4. There are too many trees (pines and maples).
What do I need to do? My biggest issue is how to get the sapling trees out, they need thinned, and how to eradicate the weeds and keep new ones from sprouting up. I'm thinking of using weed killer of some sort, please advise, then laying newspaper under about 6 inches of topsoil But, honestly I have no idea what I'm doing and don't know where to start... I really need cost-effective ways to do this because it is a really BIG area. Anyone ever tackled something of this magnitude?
1. There are 3 foot weeds everywhere
2. The weeds are growing out of pure, rock-hard clay - if I threw it at the window - the window would shatter. So digging is almost impossible.
3. There are tree roots everywhere (see number 2 above about digging)
4. There are too many trees (pines and maples).
What do I need to do? My biggest issue is how to get the sapling trees out, they need thinned, and how to eradicate the weeds and keep new ones from sprouting up. I'm thinking of using weed killer of some sort, please advise, then laying newspaper under about 6 inches of topsoil But, honestly I have no idea what I'm doing and don't know where to start... I really need cost-effective ways to do this because it is a really BIG area. Anyone ever tackled something of this magnitude?