I did a search for "stone patio" on this forum, and turned up a bunch of old threads on the topic. There have been discussions about the pros and cons of various materials and construction techniques, as well as questions from DIYers. River pebbles or pea stone, or any rounded stones are going to be difficult to walk on, though they are pretty to look at. The smaller ones will shift around and if they are scattered onto a harder surface, will be like walking on marbles. Crushed stone, which has an irregular angular shape, will compact better, especially if mixed with a finer stone product. Ask at a local stone yard about what they have that will compact well. If you tell them what you are trying to do, they may suggest the appropriate material to use. You can blow large dry pieces of leaves and twigs off of crushed stone, but smaller pieces, especially if wet, will get stuck between the stones in time and create a nice environment for weed seeds to germinate. Be prepared to weed, and possibly to topdress with fresh stone once in a while. Read through the linked discussions, and find out which materials are available in your area. Whatever you do, digging out for the base and moving the stone is heavy work. Maybe you could hire a couple of guys for a day to help with the digging if it's too much to do alone? You'll also need a place to dump the mulch/soil you remove. If the area is accessible, maybe you could have the stone delivered and dumped where you need it so you just have to spread it? There have been some very interesting things done with recycled concrete chunks, try a search here and on the web in general for some ideas. If you can find a source for it and have a way to transport it, you might get your materials for free. Remember to Call Before You Dig, or whatever they call it where you live. Also, try the Gardening with Stone forum for more info. Here is a link that might be useful: stone patio

I've used this method for many flower and vegetable beds! It works well, just remember to keep it wetted, as that speeds the decomposition incredibly! I find that cardboard is much better at smothering out weeds and grass than the newspaper is, and if you go to an appliance store you can ask for some large boxes that will cover the whole area easily. Newspaper also tends to have lots of potentially dangerous toxins in the ink, especially if it's color ink. For that reason I try to avoid using it. In my experience the only problem with this method is making sure you have enough material on top of the smothering layer, otherwise the roots of your flowers will be unable or unwilling to penetrate from the soft top layer into the hard, compatcted clay layer. And it could result in stunted or unhealthy flowers. Good luck!

>>Topsoil depth guesstimate is about 6" nearest foundation and drops gradually over next 10 feet-this area will be for bedding plants. Topsoil depth guesstimate for lawn starting 10' out from foundation: 4" That's extremely deep and would invalidate the Logan test. Four inches covers most of the feeder root depth for grasses. So although the tests here are good for the rest of the lawn, the top soil area is an unknown. Wait and see if it ends up that deep, it does seem like an awful lot of top soil. The results of the test: Total Exchange Capacity 8.15: Consistent with the soil test. While optimal is 10 to 15, this is not a problem in the slightest. Soil ph 7.5: It's good we recommended no lime as it would be exactly the wrong response in this soil. Your pH is already thrown somewhat high, although this is no barrier to a gorgeous lawn. But let's not throw it out of whack any further than it already is. % Organic Matter 4.13: In the Good range, but with the lower EC and high pH, I'd recommend adding OM slowly over the next few years. That will tend to raise the EC somewhat and make the pH matter less. ANIONS Sulfur: p.p.m 14: Perfect. Phosphorus lbs/acre 133: A little low. I recommended starter fertilizer below. CATIONS Calcium 2528 (desired 2216) Magnesium 242 (desired 234) Potassium 272 (desired 254) Sodium 72 (pounds per acre) >>I don't report on these directly, I use them as a basis for adjusting soils. Base Saturation % Calcium 77.55 (60 to 70%): In perfect range, although on the high side of it. Excess Ca isn't a problem. Magnesium 12.37 (10-20%): In perfect range. Potassium 4.28 (2 to 5%): In perfect range (which is rare for K). Sodium 1.91 (.5-3%): High. This, in combination with your otherwise perfect cations above, is sending the pH too high. At this time, I'm not going to change it. Let's see if it leaches out. Other Bases 3.90 (variable): Everything else. This is pretty normal. Exchangable Hydrogen 0.00 (10 to 15%)**: Zero because of your high pH. Trace Elements Boron p.p.m. 0.23: Low. Boron's critical for photosynthesis and meristem development and differentiation. Recommendations below. Iron p.p.m. 167.0: Technically OK, but this won't produce good color in the lawn. Use Milorganite as desired to raise this and raise the OM at the same time. Manganese p.p.m. 16.0 Copper p.p.m. 3.97 Zinc p.p.m. 3.4 Aluminum p.p.m 678.0 These four are fine (Al isn't used, it's actually toxic, but not available until pH drops into the low-5 range). Zn is technically out of whack when compared to the others, but I'm not inclined to fiddle with it. Recommendations: May 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. June 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. June 15: Apply 3 tablespoons per thousand square feet of 20 Mule Team borax (use Milorganite as a carrier to even the distribution and get this tiny amount down). September 1: Apply starter fertilizer at bag rate. September 15: Apply 3 tablespoons per thousand square feet of 20 Mule Team borax.

I’m currently wrestling with what to do with my excavated sod. My husband scraped up the grass in a 40’ x 20’ area using his tractor bucket. It’s too much and too heavy to discard with my yard waste pickup; and I don’t need it elsewhere. I thought about composting it, but after putting my pile in a marsh area at the back of my property, pesky beavers took those slabs of sod, and used it to block the storm water drainage in that area. Ugh! So, I’ve decided to flip the sod over (roots up), and use it as my raised bed base. I’ll be putting 12” of topsoil and compost on top of it. The area is quite large, so enough cardboard/newspaper is not accessible to barrier future grass and weeds. Will I regret not taking this step? More concerned about grass growth than weeds. Help!