Weeds coming through v fast

[MrsBell]

Hi

we recently had a digger in to do a bit of groundwork at our house so we could eventually get a lawn sown this year (in the hse nearly 3 years ). Well the digger has been gone 3 weeks, DH and I have been out every chance we get to lift the bigger stones off, we still have to rake, roll & sow it but what with this awful weather, the weeds are growing back quicker than we can get the work done. The ground is v wet, so it is impossible to rake at the moment. The longer we are waiting on dry weather the more weeds there are going to be. I'm just worried that we are going to miss the Sept sowing time and that the ground will just be growing wild all winter again and that the money we spent on groundwork will be wasted. Is there any avid gardeners/landscapers out there that can throw any advice our way. We don't have the money to waste as it took us 3 years to gather up a few euro to get this done.

Thanks
MrsBell

 

[Gautama]

Put plastic down.
If you're trying to kill off the weeds but the ground has not been worked yet, put down heavy black/dark polythene sheeting. The weeks will die off underneath it, and the ground underneath will dry out.

If the ground is ready for planting, put down permeable sheets on it. For example, that plastic sheeting that's made out of weaved plastic, like a coal sack. Prevents seeds from landing on the soil and germinating, but keeps the soil moist and ready-to-go.

 

[Irish Garden]

After grading the soil the weeds should be allowed to grow, this is called leaving a fallow period.
They are then sprayed, hoed or solarised off before final cultivation and sowing your lawn seed.
Think what it would have been like if you had sown your grass seed straight away only to see it sprout alongside loads of weed seedlings as well.
Lawn prep, fallow periods and seed sowing particular to Ireland are explained in this article...... How to sow a lawn from grass seed in Ireland-Lawn Hints/Tips