Hi,

I recently moved into a 150 year old neglected house. While the house renovation is proceeding well, the garden, rather large, is nothing but dirt, weeds, and various plant life of aggresive growth. The land is uneven due to errosion and I must move quite a lot of earth back to where it belongs. I wish to begin by clearing all away and forming a lush cover of grass. My plan is to have a lush grass lawn with a few shrubs, retaining walls, and some rose bushes, nothing too high maintenance. Here are my questions.

1. What is the best method to kill all existing plant life to prevent weeds from retaking the garden until the grass gets a good foothold? Chemical? Simply turning the soil? Is there a chemical that can be used to kill the majority that neutrilizes quickly and can be turned under?

2. How can I keep the weeds to a minimum during the initial growth of the grass?

3. When do I make my first mowing?

Local complications: Heavy rainfall and clouds causing a heavy growth of a feathery garden moss. Aggresive weeds. Very limited time for manual weeding. No lawn burning. Lots of dandilion and star cluster thistles, many kreeping and flowery weeds, clover. It is not practical to bring in top soil that has been heated to kill weed seeds.

Local advantages: Few restrictions for chemicals, fertilizers, or weed killers. Quite fertile soil. Great rain, good if I can keep the weeds and moss from choking out the new grass. Not an excessive population of birds. Access to good grass seeds. Outrageous growth rates in summer.

THank You,

Mark