Lawn Re-grading

[jake98]

Can you rake topsoil over dips in existing lawn, say, 10" deep and just bury the old grass?

 

[crbr]

Can you rake topsoil over dips in existing lawn, say, 10" deep and just bury the old grass?

Yes Sir, however the old grass will grow right back through it.

 

[jake98]

That's good, I think, right?

 

[crbr]

That's good, I think, right?

Kinda' maybe. It may not grrw back as luscious and even as you prefer, but the old grass will find it's way back to the surface. Heck, grass will grow where it can sense light or moisutre. .

I fill in dips from time to time with bucket fulls of top soil. Takes a few weeks to a few months but the grass has always grown back for me. I often over seed the surface to fill in any bare spots.

If you're not looking for a golf green finish, It will be OK. However, others will have various suggestions and opinions.

 

[jake98]

I'm not trying to cheap out on grass seed, I'm just wondering if I am supposed to rip up all the grass to even out 50 dips... say 30%.

I'm picturing the rake wrecking as much lawn as I'm fixing, and if I'm supposed to dose all of it off and start new...

Are you the real roy?

jake

 

[Maxfli]

I have something similar going on. Septic lines have settled over time, so I have 3 or 4 70' dips in the front lawn. Other reading here suggested a gradual overlay of sand to raise the grade. I know the golf courses really like to have some of that sand base so the grass root can grow deep.

 

[ToadHill]

The only problem with a sand base is water retention. The sand drys out before the surrounding soil abd that area needs a lot of watering. Think how much water the golf courses use on greens.

 

[ustobefarmer]

I worked on my neighbors lawn this past fall. He bought a truck load of pulverzed black dirt. I just dump little piles with the fel and then leveled out with the box blade. He planted some grass seed on it and it turned out pretty good. Before he planted the seed I ran over the area with the back tires to compact it some. Looks great now

 

[jake98]

Some sort of compaction is probably the crux of it. I graded with a york rake and I guess needed to compact somehow. Glad nobody seems to think 'rip it all up', I was fearing that... jake

 

[LBrown59]

I have something similar going on. Septic lines have settled over time, so I have 3 or 4 70' dips in the front lawn. Other reading here suggested a gradual overlay of sand to raise the grade. I know the golf courses really like to have some of that sand base so the grass root can grow deep.

70 feet is pretty deep

 

[dqdave1]

Landscape rake with gauge wheels will rake yard well with minumum damage. Rake dips with rake ; pack with tires; rerake; seed; good to go.
If you have access to a harley power rake; this will do a great job.

 

[Rara Avis]

70 feet is pretty deep

The dips are 70 ft in length...

 

[ray66v]

If by topsoil you mean commercially bought shredded topsoil, You may want to use some clay or mixed fill to partially fill your low spots, compact that and then cover with a inch or two or three of topsoil. (Ten inches of good shredded topsoil will not compact very well, making it a soft muddy mess when wet). On the other hand if by topsoil you mean dirt, straight from the from field, (usually a mixture of things), that will possibly work fine by its self.

 

[LBrown59]

The dips are 70 ft in length...

Congrats you're the only one that caught it.

 

[jake98]

I almost got that but I was confused by the 'pack with tires' thing from dqdave... I thought tires would be the wurst thing to put in there...
jake

 

[keeney]

Golf courses do things that tend to keep fairways (and greens) perfectly "smooth".

1. They periodically "top-dress" in thin layers of soil or sand (depending on what the soil needs). The material tends to fill in the low spots and less in the high areas.

2. They aerate. The tines remove less material from the low spots then the high spots, and the cores tend to collect in the low spots more than the high spots.

3. They mow with reel mowers that roll the turf every time they mow.

Of the three, #1 probably does the most to smooth things out.

If you fill in less than an inch every few weeks or so, the grass will grow up through without a problem.

- Rick

 

[frank_f15]

If by topsoil you mean commercially bought shredded topsoil, You may want to use some clay or mixed fill to partially fill your low spots, compact that and then cover with a inch or two or three of topsoil. (Ten inches of good shredded topsoil will not compact very well, making it a soft muddy mess when wet). On the other hand if by topsoil you mean dirt, straight from the from field, (usually a mixture of things), that will possibly work fine by its self.

This is exactly the way i would go at it, actuall i have done this quite a few times, use about 4 or 5" of good topsoil on top and seed it.

 

[dqdave1]

If you have 10" of fill in an area; pack it with the tires and re rake; if you do not pack it; it will become very uneven because it will be too soft. To grow grass, you only need about an inch of loose soil at most.