Landscaping Question - Boxblade First, or Tiller First?

[NSBound]

Make a drag as long as you can pull and use that for leveling. Then do some tilling and more leveling and on and on.

I think I'll try to use a length of chain link fence with a 6X6 at the end. I have a couple of buckets of cement I was going to use as dock anchors that I could weight it down with, I suppose......

If you plan to do the blading now and plant in the fall, You'll find all kind of weeds that come up between now and then. Make sure that if you plan to use roundup to kill the weeds before you pkant, that you do it at least a week before, roundup will kill the fresh seed as soon as it germinates if you don't wait between application and seeding.

Thanks, Toadhill, that is exactly what I have in mind - level now as much as possible, roundup a week or so before seeding in the fall - maybe end of September-ish.

 

[AchingBack]

I spent a couple of decades as a landscape contractor. During that time I've seen more bad lawn installation jobs, than good ones. Most of the failures were due to skipped steps in soil preparation. You will never have a good stand of grass without a deep root system.

The problem with top soil: If you simply pile it on top of your existing soil, without rototilling the two together - you've skipped a very critical step. This part of the process is called making the transition layer.

Without a transition layer, water will be sandwiched between the top soil, and native soil. The water will displace the oxygen the grass roots need, eventually suffocating, and killing your lawn.

Further, topsoil usually has very little organic material in it. Without humus of some kind, there is not a supply of organic matter for roots to reach for, and grow deeply in. The humus also aids in areation of the soil, causing the desired percolation of the water.

I would never install a lawn in topsoil layered on native soil - unless the topsoil was at least 8'' deep. And, in many situations, there is absolutely no need for topsoil. Often it is a bad idea, and an expensive one too. Importing foreign soil to your property will most assuredly bring in a crop of weed seeds you may not already have. Not good.

Our method is to incorporate large quantities of organic matter. If the ground consists of heavy, compacted dirt, we add decomposed granite. Granite contains beneficial rock phosphates, blends well with other materials, and has none of the drawbacks of topsoil.

The boxblade is not a necessary tool for lawn installation, but a good rototiller is. After blending the native soil with the top soil, compost, and fertilizer; a landscape rake with guage wheels will give a very nice finish, knocking down high spots and filling in the low ones. I acutally sow my seed before using the landscape rake in the grading process. After grading, I sow more seed, and lightly rake it into the top 1/8" - 1/4" of soil. Finally, go over the seed bed with a light roller.

 

[NSBound]

I spent a couple of decades as a landscape contractor. During that time I've seen more bad lawn installation jobs, than good ones. Most of the failures were due to skipped steps in soil preparation. You will never have a good stand of grass without a deep root system.............................////////////

Hi, I much appreciate your comments here. And the reason I am indoors now and not outside working is because I have what your name is . Your experience is appreciated and I will try to incorporate most if not all of what you have said in what I do. It is amazing how many different opinions there are on how to do the same thing, in the end. But I do see the wisdom in your experience. Thanks for that!