Leveling and making safe a weedy corner

[UnusualCapybara]

Hi,

I have a particularly unloved area of my garden which I'd like to turn into a kids play area with swings and a trampoline. The area itself is uneven and littered with a layer of bricks and debris just under the surface where the previous owner had bonfires there. It's been strimmed in the picture but it's also home to quite a lot of stinging nettles.

My thoughts were to bring in some top soil to level the big dips and provide a layer over some of the surface rubble and then put down some sort of weed proof membrane and finally put some rubber play chips or bark on top of that.

Any thoughts on whether I'm on the right track? Should I be applying any kind of weed killer first to nuke the nettles? For what it's worth, the area is about 6 feet from some apple trees which I'd like not to kill in the process.

Thanks!

 

[JohnD]

It will be easier to work if you spray the weeds first. Use a chemical that is sprayed on the leaves so you do not poison the ground. You will not spray it on the apple trees. If it is windy use a fine rose watering can and apply two half-doses to avoid missed spots.

You have to remove all the rubble. Then dig it over and rake it flat. Once it is raked, wait a week or two for the disturbed ground to fill with germinating weed seeds, then spray it again. You can compost the weeds and cuttings. Or you can put them at the bottom of a trench where you are going to replant later.

If there is a lot of small rubble you can hire or buy a rotary sieve. It is practically impossible otherwise.

 

[Odds]

You could plan and measure out the play area then dig up the turf, take it back to ground level, then spread your weed membrane across the ground and build back up with a sand/gravel mix and top it off with a 'safety grass', if you'd like to keep a natural look in tune with the surrounding garden or a rubber matting.

 

[UnusualCapybara]

Thanks for the suggestions @JohnD and @Odds. I like the idea of safety grass actually to maintain the look of the garden.

Any first hand experience of a decent spray weed killer?

 

[JohnD]

I mostly use glyphosate (the patent has expired so you can buy own-brands cheaper than roundup). It travels down to the roots and kills them. this may take a week.

For tiny seedlings with no significant roots you can use a fast-acting killer of the paraquat or diquat family. they will be dead by next day in warm sunny weather.

get the concentrate and mix it with water, not the readymix. finish up the container or you must keep it away from children. I should think you will need a 10-litre pump-up sprayer. Most chemicals can be washed out, but hormone weedkillers for lawns are very persistent. i like to keep a separate sprayer and can for weedkillers.

 

[scbk]

You don't need weedkiller, regular grass cutting will get rid of the nettles.

I would put the trampoline directly on top of the old bonfire site where the ground is a bit bare, as the grass won't do well under the trampoline anyway.


Use a garden fork to go round pulling out the rubble. Dig away at anyway high bits, fill in any dips with soil.
If it was really bad you could get someone in with a mini digger for a few hours to level it and remove the rubbish.