I am a complete garden novice, but recently rotavated a quarter acre of land & am now raking out the weeds…the level of the garden has gone down a couple of inches…As I am on a zero budget, should I sieve out the old soil & bring the level up & then spray with weed killer? The soil is wet, bog soil with about 4-5 hours sun / day…What plants / shrubs can you advise to drink up the excess moisture?
Roundup can be used to kill weeds that emerge, you do not have to rake them out. Raking is done only to level the ground or even it out.
If you are on a zero budget. much of the work can be done by hand and you can raise a lot of plants cheaply from seeds and cuttings. This takes more time but gives good satisfaction.