[Bobbo]

Hi, many years ago my parents had most of their garden paved over with interlocking bricks. I've now been asked to remove a sizeable area (about 10ft by 15ft) of the bricks to return to garden.

After removing some bricks from a test area, it seems that the bricks were laid directly onto a (unset, it's quite sloppy) quite fine mortar/aggregate mixture (max size 5mm) which lies on top of a plastic membrane directly over soil.

My question is: rather than hire a skip and just send the aggregate to land fill, would it be safe to mix some or all off it with fresh top soil to bring it up to the level of the rest of the garden, or will the cement harm/poison any plants grown in it?

Thanks,

Rob.

[mumofstig]

It sounds as if it's just sand and grit, (that's all that is usually underneath) so I'd dig it in...........just don't expect to grow carrots in it 

A bonus would be if the soil under the membrane is clay - then you will improve it considerably by doing so 

[Bobbo]

Hi Lesley, the soil underneath is most definitely clay, this is the Potteries after all!.
The reason I think it's cement and grit is the very pronounced grey colour which washes of the grit as a very fine suspension.
I've no problem digging the grit in just a bit concerned about anything else that's mixed with it.
As an experiment I've mixed some with compost and planted some mizuna and some kale seed into it to see what happens.

Rob.

[mumofstig]

this is the Potteries after all!.
As an experiment I've mixed some with compost and planted some mizuna and some kale seed into it to see what happens

If you put a location in your profile, we will know where you are each time you post - it is often helpful when answering questions 

Good idea with the test, you could do a ph test on some mixed in with the clay.

[Bobbo]

If you put a location in your profile, we will know where you are each time you post - it is often helpful when answering questions 

Thanks for the heads up, have added the info.