Where can I get cheap garden help

[Newyearnewme2019]

We've just moved to an old house and the garden needs loads of work doing - mainly cutting back shrubs hedges repositioning fences weeding EVERYTHING. imagine a 200ft garden that has been left to do its own thing for a couple of years!!!

What I'm wondering is... is there a college or apprenticeships that are looking for areas
like this to send their students to get their hands dirty and being practical?

I'm thinking along the lines of like hairdressers at college where joe public can get it done and they get the practice and it's cheaper?

if you're able bodied why not diy? the fun in having a garden is basking in the glow of your own hard work ime.

I've been trying believe me, but it's just suck a mammoth size and so much needs doing that I never seem to get on top of it and I can't devote enough time to it

Why did you move there OP? I could understand if you had been living there for years & the garden had got too much for you. I’d like cheap garden help too because my garden is big & it’s too much for me, but I have to pay a local gardener to keep it tidy.

The right tools will make the job easier for you to do DIY. Big serious hedge trimmer for a start.

Hmm - tbh, I don't know. At a guess, if there are, they'd probably prioritise local elderly and so on.

OTOH, you may be overestimating how much time it'd take, though it's a big plot. I've been lucky enough to know a couple of professionals who seem to work at the speed of light whilst barely breaking a sweat If you can afford a couple of hours a week and then perhaps supplement it yourself, that might be a middle way?

Tentatively - half term coming up. Do you know any teens looking for pocket money? If they're sensible, they should be able to mow, trim hedges and weed, which are the jobs I'd prioritise. Great time of year for it. The ground will be workable And a really good onslaught on the weeds will get you ahead for next year.

Colleges often send horticultural students on placements in order that they can learn something. Clearing somebodies garden because they are too tight to pay for a company to do it won’t wash. Either do it yourself bit by bit, or maybe contact local charities or youth groups to see if they have a group of youngsters who are will to give up a weekend if you donate £500 to their charity and provide all the refreshments?

keeping this bumped for you op.

are you planning on staying in the house longterm? it pays to spend a year or so getting to know the lay of the land re plants, soil, sunlight etc. all of which take time to absorb. most things will be entering dormancy now or soonish, so the perfect timing for you to get to know the place. an hour's pottering on a weekend can be good exercise and help top up your vit D at the same time.

i'm jealous you have so much opportunities with a good sized space...

The right tools will make the job easier for you to do DIY. Big serious hedge trimmer for a start.

agreed that the cost of even one session of knock-off gardening would furnish you with decent tools for ever.

i do lol at the twats with power garden tools around here mind (when i'm not cursing the noise) - postage stamp would be a pretty accurate description of our "gardens"/yards...

Do you have any friends who could come and all pitch in?

Do you go to church? If you have a local church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints they will have at least two young male or female missionaries who are always looking for ways to serve in the community and that’s something they would be able to help with.

Do it in stages and decide priorities. Ask for recommendations , you may find recent college leavers willing to do the heavy work less expensively while setting up or a firm with an apprentice looking for portfolio work. But do ask yourself why you have bought somewhere with such a large garden and no time or budget to make it over and maintain. It will be a long game (we are 12 years in and still going).

There are gardening schemes like the ones you’re looking for but they tend to do work for the deserving poor or for public benefit, not for people who have bitten off more than they can chew. I think you’re just going to have to bite the bullet and pay someone the going rate to do it properly.

Alternatively you might be able to have a gardening ‘lodger’ - let someone without a garden use it to grow veg in return for keeping the basics in good condition.’

Yes. Pay a few hours with someone decent now and again.

I don't understand- if you don't want to do it (and I fully empathise with that- believe me) then why can't you get a local gardener in. I think I pay £14 an hour or something like that. It's not a fortune.

No, never heard of people getting students into a private garden, definitely not to save some money.

You could try Rated People. I used them for a gardening job and you can put an estimate in yourself.

I have quite a large garden and with other commitments I just don't have time for it. I put my estimate in to Rated People and got a few gardeners calling me back. It was reasonable but not cheap!!

It takes skill, time and the right tools to tackle that and that means money.

LOL @ colleges supplying labour you're too cheap to pay for.

Places like the National Trust can get people to volunteer to work on their grounds and various projects.

You’re not the National Trust. Pay the going rate for this kind of work or do it yourself.

It takes skill, time and the right tools to tackle that and that means money.

err nope. i could quote you for the tools (secateurs, loppers and a pruning saw would deal with 90% of the taming op requires)

time and skill are still free \o/

Ask on nextdoor.co.uk

Someone newly retired or someone living in a flat etc might relish the idea of gardening.

The website is all about the local community and helping each other.

What is it with people who want something for nothing, or want people to do free or cheap work for them in exchange for "exposure"?

Find some garden clearance people in your area and pay them the going rate FGS.

Garden clearing is actually manually hard work so people naturally charge a lot for it. Duh. What kind of college course do you think they're on, 'How to get mugged off by CFers'?

If they are on that course, my oven needs cleaning. For free or cheap obv....

@thetardis oh, I’m sorry, is that why gardeners charge £18-£20 an hour!

OP, do it yourself or get your hand in your pocket.

May I add that I also have a 200ft garden. I admitted defeat 2 years ago and paid a gardener. They only visits 4 hours a month but It’s amazing what he can get done in that time.

I saw someone asking for this very thing on Nextdoor recently, and thought cheapskate...