I’ve got a garden that’s got a small patch of lawn with nice, lush grass on it; I also have a large patch of moss about 5 times the size. They are nicely partitioned by concrete paths and classic council estate kerb stone affairs.

The plan, such as it is is to smash the concrete up remove all the bits that look like they’d kill a childs face and try and get grass across the whole lot.

What’s the best way to go about this after smashing up the concrete? rotorvator the whole lot? do i need to remove the grass/moss first and throw a load of top soil down?

All of this is going to be hard work as access to the garden is through 2 upvc doors, much wheelbarrow fun.

Rake it out. Apply iron sulphate. Should succeed in removing 90%. If not then a scarifier might be in need.

Good reading here LawnExpert

Once you’ve removed all the concrete etc, you will need to create a base of at least 6inches deep of good draining soil raked to a fine tilth. You can keep your existing grass or dig it over and prepare that soil too.

You can then grow seed on it of a type that suits the usage, or turf it all for quick results. Personally, I’d try and improve what grass you’ve got (feed and weed) and seed the newly prepared areas…for a cheap and simple solution.

Are there any good machines that can be hired to prepare the soil for grass? Got quite a large area where the soil is pretty poor (full of bits of old glass and stones from a former works.) The thought of digging it all and raking by hand is not appealing. Would take me weeks.

Mrblobby – that would be a mechanical riddle. No really! A riddle is the usual name for a sieve to take stones out. They do exist but can be hard to find – maybe try looking for stuff like a rotary sieve too.

Moss is ace – its springy and it doesn’t need cutting like grass – whats not to like!