Does anyone know anything about gardening?

I suppose the only stopping point now then is the pupated who’s on home confine for another 2 weeks or so.
So probably best to wait for that period to be up. And I suspect I can ask my neighbours kid to help me then too.

Ah yes, to be fair I did drive the tractor over mine towing a massive cast iron roller a good few times, that help compact it a bit I suspect.

Sorry, but I admit to being a devotee of concrete bases for patios, they don't move and wreck the surface! Even compacted Type 1 Roadstone can be affected by ground heave/shrinkage or invasive root systems.

For a more rustic look I would recommend randomised sandstone in a blended colour mix. For obvious reasons I only have pictures of just laid, wet, areas. It very rapidly weathers and mellows. If you are very lucky you might even get a fossilised plant on the surface (bottom l).

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Limestone is another alternative.

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On rotovating: don't rotovate anything other than dryish soil unless you are looking for an authentic Somme look. Always rake and roll and repeat ad infinitum until the soil is evenly compressed and level, the back of a landscaping rake lightly dragged across the soil will tell you when. Rake very lightly before turfing or seeding. Hire the largest rotovator you can physically get into the garden.

On seeding: use about 1/4 of the quantity recommended on the packaging, that will be plenty!

Would it be illegal to install a zip line from a bedroom to an office in the garden?
Asking for a friend.

The ski lift necessary for the return journey would require planning permission.

Just pretend it’s a washing line . Sounds brill

Nope and the Indra'd thread will thank you for it

3x5m conrete patio base - no access other than through the house - readymix is the smart choice right?

Anyone DIY'd a readymix pour?

There are ways of pumping concrete, even over houses.

Nope. Readymix will only give you about 30 minutes to move the concrete (3 to 4 tons). A chute through your house is not necessarily a good idea. If the area is cleared and levelled the shuttering set up 3 tons in gorilla buckets with one on the mixer, one on the buckets and one laying the concrete should be an OK day.

No way - can’t imagine how many bags of it you’d need or how much it would cost that way.

I hand mixed a just over half a tonne of concrete last weekend and I’ve only just recovered (2m x 1m)

Work out how much ballast/ cement you’ll need here: https://www.diydata.com/general_building/concrete_calculators/concrete_calculator_2_m.php

This is true, but prohibitively expensive. If it is possible to barrow through the house, a roll of heavy duty polythene would make it an easy(ish) day for 3 competent people.

You need people who know what they're doing, the three of us did 5 tons in a day last week (see upthread). My personal record is 12 tons mixed from a heap of ballast in a day.

And save yourself the calculation, it would take 3 ton bags and 15 bags of cement at 4" depth which is almost always plenty. Presume an extra ton because area will not be level.

At the risk of being a concreting bore, it's cheaper to buy a ton bag of ballast than 1/2 ton in 25kg plastic bags, there will always be someone locally who will be happy to take away any excess as a freebee.

If it is geographically possible for us to do it, send me a DM @Silly_Savage, and I will give you an idea of cost. If not, give me a DM anyway with your phone number and I will give you all the advice you want.

At the risk of being a concreting bore, it's cheaper to buy a ton bag of ballast than 1/2 ton in 25kg plastic bags, there will always be someone locally who will be happy to take away any excess as a freebee.

Yes - I considered this but figured avoiding the hassle of trying to get rid of the excess was worth just buying the exact amount, especially on a smaller slab so bought in 25kg bags

Agreed, just wanted to show that concrete can be pumped, from any access point.

Sorry, wrong terminology, I meant concrete bought in a mixer and pumped through the house.

I do actually have a cement mixer now, it's just getting all the materials through to the back garden that's daunting (then finding the bods to help me lay it) although when I look again it's 'only' 3 tons rather than 5 I'd somehow worked out before. Not actually looked in to the price of pumping yet to be fair.

@ColinTheBald thanks! will do.

If you can get a barrow through the house and there aren't more than a few steps (a scaffold board helps), 40 minutes per ton, plus 15 minutes for tea per ton will do it for an 80m barrow push. We don't stop, but you'll want to!

Once the materials are through and on a tarpaulin it is perfectly possible to mix and lay 3 tons on your own in a day. The problems come if you run out of materials, for instance if you've gone a bit too deep in places.

Did a bit more levelling today and clearing up the spoil from @ColinTheBald 'concrete install. Bagged up all the shitty stuff for when we get a skip doing the front garden, lost a lot of the nicer top soil in grading the area to the front of the concrete and a bit down the garden. No doubt more will go into that if/when it settles. Shed day has been confirm as 13th April, which is a bit later than hoped but maybe gives me more time to get some grass seed down if the warmer weather starts soon.

I lopped some of the laurel down that would be in the way of the shed, that's what's sitting on the concrete.

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You're doing a fine job so far. Keep it up, you're showing some promise as a future labourer.

Very late reply but thanks these are really helpful!

Finally got a second cutting from my rose. Can't think how many of them I've taken over the last few years.

Gave the other one to a mate and thought this one had had it, but it's coming out :)

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Is it too late to prune my crabapple / cherry / whateveritisicanttell, now that it has started budding?