Does anyone know anything about gardening?

My mud/clay patch has become very grassy with two applications of EverGreen Fast Grass Lawn Seed and plenty of watering.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01BWTSQJO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I did very little prep apart from raking up loose stuff. There are some lighter patches but there are a miriad of patch magic type products to throw down.

My garden is 8m x 4m and I used two boxes a few weeks apart.

From bare earth to this in about 5-6 weeks

Photo won't upload but it was of some grass, unsurprisingly

Sounds good. I threw some seed down on my bare patches (edges and a place where a bucket sat over winter, oops). I did zero preparation and will just see what happens. If it doesn't work, next year I'll do it properly, with digging up squares of sod, rotating them, prepping the soil etc etc.

To be honest, if you can't get grass to grow then I'd give up on any gardening aspirations.

Ha. That's encouraging.

Never had a lawn before. Not one made of grass anyway.

https://flic.kr/p/TARZdE

The strip along the back and the far corner have been sown with wildflowers. There are some patches that have only just had some patch magic thrown down and there are some weeds but I'm not pulling those until it's all settled down.

Not seen one of these before, a white crab spider.

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Over the past few days I have sieved 600l of composted oak leaves for my first attempt at a kitchen garden. Just outside my kitchen I have set up a vegtrug for salad ingredients such as asparagus, lettuces, courgettes and then some pots various herbs.

Yesterday I installed a water butt, so now praying for rain to see if all the seals work and that the rainwater diverter is doing its job.

These are my first forays into gardening, later this year I want to set up bigger raised veg beds but want to see how I get on with a small scale start.

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@andyp Good snap.

asparagus

I doubt it. You need to dedicate a bed to asparagus, and it takes a few years to get established before you can crop it properly.

I have a few crowns which are just individually in large pots for this year to help their roots establish. Next year they will locate to a dedicated bed. No cropping for a couple of years planned.

I think it all depends on location. My plot is under the shade of some trees and as such is a haven for slugs, squirrels and wood pigeons. The fat fuckers can't be bothered flying the meter across the path to my neighbors, who are unaffected by the shade, and have glorious crops all year round. I often arrive to see 5 of the bastards sat there feeding themselves. I can get within a mete of them before they fly off. I need a scarecrow.

..nice rant!

Weeding can be therapeutic.

Because when you're mentally stuck, sometimes the best therapy is to go outside and do something that's simultaneously productive and mindless.

Before: https://ibb.co/nhn0t5

been riddling the compost heap myself this week
quite a satisfying job seeing all the comfrey, woodchippings, horse manure, barley maltings, oyster shells, molasses, marble dust, blood and bone meal and general household and garden waste turn into lush brown compost all riddled through a 5mm mesh

i'd also like to thank the huge team of worms and bacteria that made all of this possible and to whom i owe a huge debt of gratitude

jah compost heap

After: https://ibb.co/i4G4Lk

good work h
wilkinsons grass seed about 2-3kg's worth spread over that will do a grand job

pre water the ground or wait for some rain then seed
if you water afterwards the grass seed tends to accumulate in patches as the water flows into hollows low spots

See last week's gardeners world for video evidence

Cross post from the DIY thread but you can see the grass here too

Sorry, but you're going to have problems with your decking. The supports should be 4" posts concreted 2' into the ground. At very least, jack it up and replace the bricks with 18" slabs to spread the load. Also, get some weedproof permeable membrane and put it under the entire deck or you'll have grass growing up through the gaps. If you would like any free advice, send me a PM with your number and I'll give you a bell. PS: I build deckings for a living....

Thanks for the advice but Chelsea flower show, this ain't (see chucking grass seed down and hoping for the best for context).

There are many supports and it is very stable. This needs to last 5 years max then I'm out. If anything goes wonky, boards will come up and problems will be addressed.

30p blocks are way cheaper and easier to level than 18" slabs.

If I end up living here any longer, then more money/time will be thrown at it and I will likely be paying for the valuable services of someone such as your good self.

That may have come across more dickish than intended.

This job is done massively on the cheap (timber from Wickes as it was on offer, no major ground levelling as I'd have to pay for material removal, labour done solely by myself).

Ultimately, it's a proof of concept. Do I want a flat, more usable space for working on my bikes, eating outdoors, not walking on wet grass/mud.

If it lasts, great, bonus! If not, I've spent £500 and a couple of days of my time to know whether or not I want to spend 3 or 4 times that to have it done by somebody who knows what they're doing with materials that cost a lot more.

DIY, right? If I can give it a go myself, why not?

@stevo_com probably too late, but I have a whole load of 18inch concrete paving slabs going free, 48 of them, near Leyton.

Also going free, 8 strips of turf 60cm x 137cm from b&q today

Thanks, but getting them to SE19 would probably cost more than it would to buy them.

Cheers anyway