[mebanana]

Hope it's ok to post this here.

My partner and I are hoping to buy a flat soon - one of the ones we're very interested in has a large communal garden out the back but it's totally overgrown (grass, nettles and ivy) and has lots of icky rubbish (including old fridges and tvs) on it.

To me this is a selling point almost - a challenge!  But how would I go about taming the waist-length plants?  This isn't a plot and is accessed only by a narrow corridor from the Victorian flats so I couldn't bring in any machinery (could probably fit a mower through).

Do you think I'd be out of my depth?  I'd love to get a nice lawn and a veggie patch on the go.

[JayG]

So many questions behind your apparently easy one!

How much of the plot could you "claim" for your own use?
What is the aspect of the land you might be able to use (NSEW/shaded?)
If it is all shared would anyone else be interested in helping you?
Do you anticipate living there long enough to make the effort worthwhile?
Above all; are you patient and do you enjoy hard labour?

Any piece of land can be turned into a garden given the enthusiasm and commitment and most of us don't use a JCB to do it; I think you just need to go beyond your immediate "vision" to decide whether the project is really for you or not. 

[mebanana]

I believe all the flats have an equal right to use the space, which would mean a 1/8 share.  Clearly no-one is taking an interest in it currently but I expect were it to be cleared others in the stair would want to use it.  I know in similar stairs where everyone takes an interest the garden is divided into beds - were we to move in I'd obviously consult with all the neighbours!

We'd definitely be there long enough to make it worthwhile and I have no problem with the effort involved.

The garden faces almost exactly due west, and is on a gentle slope.

[JayG]

Wouldn't it be marvellous if you could turn it into 8 mini-allotments? 

Probably too much of a vision but maybe those who didn't want a growing patch could be persuaded to allow someone who did to use theirs in exchange for a patch of grass.

An interesting proposition; keep us posted if you go for it (pics obligatory, of course!)

[mebanana]

Thanks Jay

I suppose what I was really wondering is what equipment I would need?  There is grass, which I would want to keep some of - how do you cut waist-length grass?  With a machete??

[JayG]

My next-door neighbour-but-one is a professional gardener and he uses a strimmer for long grass (but it's not a cheapo jobby from B&Q!)

A scythe would no doubt do the job but I'm not going to be the first to recommend it here! 

[gillie]

If it is not a large area I would use shears.  A strimmer would be forever getting tied up.

Gillie

[mebanana]

It's pretty big.  I didn't measure, but at a guess I'd say about 15ft x 40ft.