Advice please on creating a new raised lawn over wetland with Giant Hogweed

 


I am buying a house that I will demolish & replace with a new one. In
the
garden, the existing lawn descends gently down to a nice
stream/river. But,
between the upper parts of the lawn and the stream is
an area of 1,500 square
meters that consists of soft wet ground. This
entire area is covered with Giant
Hogweed and some clumps of tall
trees.

This area could look lovely if I could raise & clear the ground and
extend the
lawn from the house down to the stream.

This is what I am thinking about doing, but would be grateful for any
comments
or easier/cheaper suggestions...

1) Cut the stalks of the largest Hogweeds and lay flat. ( I am fully
aware about
how dangerous this stuff is).
2) Lay 1,500 sqm of weed fabric over the entire area to keep out the
Hogweed and
restrict the rubble fill from sinking into the mud..
3) Demolish the house and use the brick rubble to raise the lawn by
about 40cm
and incorporate a French Drain system to the stream.
4) Lay another layer of weed fabric over the brick rubble.
5) Lay down 30cm of top soil
6) Seed for the lawn.
Am I going over the top here? I need to create a drain'able surface but
do I
need so much fabric? I don't want to give the Hogweed a chance to
come up. Will
the top soil remain in place over the weed fabric or could
it wash away?

Thanks, Guy.

New Forest, Hampshire, UK




--
yawningdog

 



In the US you'd be messing with wetlands and need some serious permits.

I've never seen hogweed here in the US.  I just read about it though.
Doesn't sound like something I'd want to get up close to.
Spray it from a distance, let it die, work your way down the hill.

 



   Giant Hogweed is   all-in-the-news
here in Southern Ontario   for the past few years.
I spotted a patch last year and had to really assert
myself to the township - to have something done.
 It's spreading  .. are you sure you don't have it
in your part of the USA .. ?
  As for the UK original poster - I'd check the local
laws & neighbours  -  before asking the world wide web
for advice  ...  the removal of this patch of hogweed
might mean hiring a big team of specialists
with haz-mat suits  ...
or it might just be a well-timed accident with
some weed spray ...  
  Good luck.
   John T.

 

hubops@ccanoemail.com writes:


I'm in NJ.  Here's what I found:

  The infestation is  not as widespread in New  Jersey as in neighboring
  states. As of 2006, four  sites had been identified in three counties:
  Morris, Warren and Union.

Since I'm in Union, it's in the area.
I'll keep an eye out.  It looks like a beautiful plant.
Too bad it's not safe.

 

yawningdog wrote:

No doubt but why is a lawn necessary?



I have no idea at all about hogweed


Does this house really contain 600 cubic metres of rubble?  That sounds
impossible to me.  My guess is that you would be bringing in many truckloads
of fill.


How much will that cost?  Around here it would be of the order of the price
of a new car. You are talking about 100 mid-sized truckloads of soil.  This
is turning into some major earthworks.


It looks that way to me.  A back of envelope estimate is looking like the
price of a small house for this job.

I need to create a drain'able surface

If you are prepared to spend the sort of money that your outline would cost
you would be better off hiring expert advice.  There are probably much
better and cheaper solutions to the problem.

David