New build garden full of weeds (rented)!

Natrc

Hi everyone. 
Last summer we moved into a new build property which we rent. When we moved into the property it was one of the first of nearly 150 homes on the new estate being built by Kier homes.

5 months after moving in, Kier dumped tonnes upon tonnes of dirt behind our back fence, they have created a dirt hill over 12ft tall (it's more than double the height of our 6ft back fence). Not only does it obstruct the Sunlight to the back of the garden, since spring it has become covered in weeds. Last summer before this giant mud hill was there we had lovely grass, and this year our grass is now absolutely covered in the same weeds growing on the hill, the hill of mud is completely covered in these weeds, as is our grass, there is very little actual grass left now. 
Our original plan was weed killer, but as the weeds have been so invasive if we did that the garden would be mud with tiny patches of remaining grass. So now we are stuck. 

Can anyone give me any advice on what to do? We rented this house because it had a lovely garden we could use in the summer. Can we ask the property company to come and sort the muddy hill out and sort out turf out (Considering the weeds have obviously pollinated the garden from the hill over the back fence). Or are we just going to have to kill all of the weeds and relay grass seed (basically making the garden unusable for at least 1 month)? Any advice on where we stand here? 

m0bov

Need to speak and write to your landlord.

getmore4less

Regular mowing to stop the weeks going to seed.
If you have dandelions you left it too long.

Herbalus

getmore4less said:

Regular mowing to stop the weeks going to seed.
If you have dandelions you left it too long.

Sounds like the seed is all coming over the fence, but agreed, it sounds from the description like it’s been left too long if there isn’t much grass left. 

Sapindus

Need to know what your weeds are to recommend how to get rid of them.  A photo would help.

Natrc

m0bov said:

Need to speak and write to your landlord.

We have been waiting 3 months for our leaking bath to be fixed, still not done. Our landlord bought the property from overseas as an investment (he basically owns the whole street), and the property is managed by the most useless agents, doubt we would get anywhere doing this sadly.

Davesnave

Right now, one of our fields is displaying a very fine crop of dandelion clocks which are disintegrating and the seeds are blowing wherever the wind takes them. Any minute now,  there may be a knock at the door from one of our neighbours demanding  a new lawn or vegetable bed from us....

Or maybe not, because this is a scenario that plays out every year as our essentially organic land produces weeds that sustain bumble bees in the early months of the year before going on to grow into a hay crop. It must be absolute hell for those living by nature areas,  set aside land, or indeed land blighted by planning for an estate of new houses, just like the fields next to my old Dad's house that lay idle under the tender care of Messrs Charles Church for many years.

Put it another way: I think you have no chance of persuading Kier to do anything. Best option is probably a treatment with Weed & Feed an an acceptance that gardens, and especially lawns, do not look after themselves.

Natrc

getmore4less said:

Regular mowing to stop the weeks going to seed.
If you have dandelions you left it too long.

Herbalus said:

getmore4less said:

Regular mowing to stop the weeks going to seed.
If you have dandelions you left it too long.

Sounds like the seed is all coming over the fence, but agreed, it sounds from the description like it’s been left too long if there isn’t much grass left. 

Our grass has been left around 4 weeks since last cut, we normally cut every other week but we have both worked weekends a lot of weekends recently, this paired with the awful weather has meant it hasn't gotten cut. 

Once we cut it what can we do about the current rooted weeds, and how best can we stop new weeds forming? For us it's simply not sustainable to cut more than once every 2 weeks due to working. 

getmore4less

Herbalus said:

getmore4less said:

Regular mowing to stop the weeks going to seed.
If you have dandelions you left it too long.

Sounds like the seed is all coming over the fence, but agreed, it sounds from the description like it’s been left too long if there isn’t much grass left. 

Agree the initial source but you don't let them grow to the point they take over.

Another option is go meadow sowing stuff you want to compete then focus on a smaller area to try to restore.

Chemical spot applications can address some of the tougher stuff mowing gets others.

Natrc

Davesnave said:

Right now, one of our fields is displaying a very fine crop of dandelion clocks which are disintegrating and the seeds are blowing wherever the wind takes them. Any minute now,  there may be a knock at the door from one of our neighbours demanding  a new lawn or vegetable bed from us....

Or maybe not, because this is a scenario that plays out every year as our essentially organic land produces weeds that sustain bumble bees in the early months of the year before going on to grow into a hay crop. It must be absolute hell for those living by nature areas,  set aside land, or indeed land blighted by planning for an estate of new houses, just like the fields next to my old Dad's house that lay idle under the tender care of Messrs Charles Church for many years.

Put it another way: I think you have no chance of persuading Kier to do anything. Best option is probably a treatment with Weed & Feed an an acceptance that gardens, and especially lawns, do not look after themselves.

The issues is we do look after the lawn, buts is constantly being taken over by these weeds. We have already spent a fortune on weed killer in march and April and despite all of this it's still getting worse. 

When we rented this house nothing but concrete wasteland was behind the property, and according to the plans we will have other properties back gardens behind ours when they build them. If I had known we were going to be living next to land that could cause a potential weed issue (like in your case), it would be more understandable (and I would accept it), but Kier has dumped tonnes and tonnes of mud and waste at the back of our property which they have not been maintaining, and now we have weeds everywhere that are becoming to much to handle despite mowing and weed treatment. Maybe I should have made it clear in my OP that we had already treated and we are now at our wits end. 

I think you are right though, Kier won't do anything, they didn't care when we had tonnes of snagging issues because they build this home poorly, so doubt they will care about the weeds. Fingers crossed they move the muddy mound soon, gonna have to dig into my pockets for more weed killer 😭

getmore4less

Letting vegetation take hold is maintaining a mountain of soil.
it binds it and stops landslides during heavy rain.