New House-advice for plot please!

[Liz 89]

Hi!
I've just got a new house, and apparently there is really good soil. But, I'm not really sure how to go about cultivating it. It's a lawn at the moment and i want to get rid of the grass without getting rid of the top soil, so that i can have lots of veg beds.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Liz xxxx

[Capsid]

Hire one of those lawn removers? Doing it by hand is hard work, I know because I did it! It's uncertain what the soil will be like underneath. But digging it over and incorporating lost of manure will make it suitable for veg cultivation.

Store the turves upside down and in a year you will have useable loam.

[Nes]

I converted a bit of lawn into flower beds last year by digging off the turf, and burying it under a spades' depth of soil. The grass is deep enough not to grow, and rots down in situ to create the loam mentioned above. Worked for me anyway, and don't have to find a "spare" corner to stack any turves (who has a spare corner anyway??). Yes it was hard work, but I think it was worth it.

As veg patches are generally hungrier than borders, addition of any rotted organic material (compost, manure, etc.) would be especially beneficial.

[rana]

I have found that with 'new' houses the lawn just covers up the mess the builders fail to clear up. Usually a variety of rubble and compressed clay. I would be tempted to dig a couple of holes and see what the soil profile is like. From there you need to decide whether it is good enough for planting, or needs work such as drainage, organic matter or at worst complete replacement. If it is good soil the the advice from Nes is spot on.

[taff]

I cut and stacked turves last year, went to find them again this, hardly rotted at all, still full of roots etc, so I'd leave them for 2 if you're going to stack them. [The soil is clay, the grass was well established for comparisons sake]

You could use the turves as edging for your bed if you want to.

[Demeter]

I have found that with 'new' houses the lawn just covers up the mess the builders fail to clear up. Usually a variety of rubble and compressed clay. I would be tempted to dig a couple of holes and see what the soil profile is like. From there you need to decide whether it is good enough for planting, or needs work such as drainage, organic matter or at worst complete replacement. If it is good soil the the advice from Nes is spot on.

Bingo.
I dug a bed last year and it was horrible.
This year I didn't bother - I had covered the target area with cardboard last year and used it to stand pots on, which killed off the grass. Then this year I used bricks to mark out the bed and added a shallow layer of compost which I will plant into. Over time the worms and ongoing addition of compost should result in something good but either way after last year's experience I decided that my new bed would be of the "no dig" variety!

[Edwardo82]

My entire plot was originally a meadow last year and I cut everything right down and kept it mowed. I am using raised beds and have being removing the turf by cutting little squares in blocks and then removing them with my folk, works a treat. I found by doing one bed at a time it's less daunting and more satisfying along the way.

There are loads of roots in the slices of turf but this is probably due to it previously being a meadow of sorts, so I am not sure about it's future potential on my plot.

I am just making pile of them up sunny side down, see if I can find a use for them and just see how they break down over time.

I have now taken a PH test of the soil before I even started introducing anything and it came back at 7.5. So Liz you might want to take a test of your soil first to see what you have.

My soil was also full of flint which has been a daily task of turning and breaking up the soil and raking over and picking all the stones out. But as I said if you do one bed at a time it's not soul destroying, I actually loved it

Main reason I used raised beds was because it gave me about 8inches of extra depth of soil which I topped up with top soil, farmyard manure and peatfree compost (Westlands).

I am currently woking on another two right now.

[Liz 89]

Sorry if i didn't make myself clear before...the house isn't 'new'-it's just new to me, lol.
It was builtin the 1930's and i have a reliable source that tells me the soil is very good indeed.
Thanks for all the advice, any more would still be useful as I would like as many different opinions as possible.
Liz xxxx