I am a first-time homeowner with a row-house in Brooklyn, NY. The house is a new construction and my backyard is now just dirt and rubble. The dirt is full of rocks, stones, pieces of brick and tile, chunks of concrete, and all sorts of other debris. How much of this stuff do I really need to clear out before I start improving the soil and planting things and what's the best way to go about doing it? My instinct is to clear out all but the smallest pieces and to use a combination of shovel, hoe, and rake to do this. Is that right?
Thanks!
Michael
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garden girl
- Cool Member
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 12:10 pm
- Location: Humboldt County, CA
First time homeowner in a new (?) home in brooklyn ... good luck. What space do you have? Was there previous landscaping? Take you time... large debris can be buried and help give you a good start. Don't be in a rush to "plant" too much at first. Get the pad and pencil out, view some suggested simple layouts and schedule the work according the season.mbroder wrote:I am a first-time homeowner with a row-house in Brooklyn, NY. The house is a new construction and my backyard is now just dirt and rubble. The dirt is full of rocks, stones, pieces of brick and tile, chunks of concrete, and all sorts of other debris. How much of this stuff do I really need to clear out before I start improving the soil and planting things and what's the best way to go about doing it? My instinct is to clear out all but the smallest pieces and to use a combination of shovel, hoe, and rake to do this. Is that right?
Thanks!
Michael
From your New Jersey (the Garden State) neighbor... reminds me of my first home when I moved here 60 years ago (newly weds) ... and still haven't decided how I wanted to have it.
Let us know how you are going. It took me a while to have a front yard like this. [img]https://www.mycommunity.com/uploads/17039_3_FrontYard3.jpg[/img]
Hi Michael,
Congratulations on your new home and welcome to The Helpful Gardener. You've already gotten some great advice. I'm of the mindset to remove as much of the rubble and debris as possible. Rocks and debris have a way of rising up and coming back to haunt you. You might want to save the bricks for a path or edging. Once you have cleaned up the debris put down 4" of compost and mix it in before you plant. If you find alot of nails and broken glass you could even make a soil sifter.
https://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=soil+sifter&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
Newt
Congratulations on your new home and welcome to The Helpful Gardener. You've already gotten some great advice. I'm of the mindset to remove as much of the rubble and debris as possible. Rocks and debris have a way of rising up and coming back to haunt you. You might want to save the bricks for a path or edging. Once you have cleaned up the debris put down 4" of compost and mix it in before you plant. If you find alot of nails and broken glass you could even make a soil sifter.
https://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=soil+sifter&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
Newt