trying to clear back garden...

[MargeSimpson]

(a new build garden)
3 weeks ago I sprayed the whole back garden with Roundup.
The intention is to kill off all the weeds and grass and start again.
The vegetation is slowly turning brown but not exactly disappearing. I intend to rotavate it ASAP, but by the looks of it I will end up just turning over what's there. What I really want is clear soil that I can pick out the stones, replant grass and build up flower beds.
Maybe Roundup is not the 'man for the job' but it is biodegradable and animal friendly.
Any other products I should be using?

s

 

[beldin]

To quote from the key post on Lawn care
"Roundup kills anything growing that it touches but not the soil. Something like Pathclear kills the soil as well, Be aware that Roundup takes 3/4 weeks to work, Pathclear virtually works overnight. "

So it is working ...

 

[Highlander]

Unfortunately, if you want to get down to clear soil you're going to have to lift the turf off the top. If your garden is reasonably small its possible to do this with a spade and wheel barrow....and a little muscle power. You'd be surprised how much you'll get done in a weekend. If the garden is too big for this, maybe rent mini-digger of some variety?

Either way, you will need to lift probably the top 6 inches of soil/turf. This will bring you down to clear soil. If you decide to do a little landscaping and put split levels in your garden, the turf you lifted is ideal to fill up the raised areas. Alternatively, you can pile it up at the back of the garden for a couple of months and use it in flower beds/borders. (We did this a couple of years ago. Didn't use the turf for a year, but built a raised Veg. Garden the following year....all roots and grass had rotted by then)

Rotavating the soil will make life somewhat difficult when you go to seed, as you'll have to rake out all the dead grass which you'll have just turned over. Its still an option if you don't want to dig it out.