Need advice - Redoing a section of yard - till or no till?

[Nic3456]

Hey guys - I'm redoing about 8,000 sq ft of my yard that currently has patchy grass. My house is only about 18 months old, but this section is where all the clay was put when they dug the basement. It's very lumpy, the grass doesn't grow well and it doesn't drain well (there is a slight trough between the far side of the clay and the house). I'm planning to remove the existing sod, till 2-4", add 2" of topsoil, roll/grade and then reseed. I have a Kubota BX and box blade and plan on renting the sod cutter, tiller, and roller. Does this sound like an ok plan or is there a better method? I don't mind renting something if it would result in a better/faster result (though I've never used a skidsteer). I'm just concerned that rototilling may take a long time and result new settling. The area is wide open except for my septic tank (with 4 risers)

 

[prichard]

You may be able to just peel up existing sod with the box blade if you get the blade angle right. If it's all clay I wouldn't bother tilling. I'd rough grade the base with the BB and add top soil and drag to smooth then re-sod or seed.

 

[mercdv]

Whatever you do make sure your topsoil does not include sand. I live in a heavy red clay environment and sand is our enemy. Down here adding sand just makes the clay hard as concrete when it dries. If your clay is anything like ours, I'd make sure to spread a heavy layer of organic compounds then till it in down to at least 4". I'd roll it after that then dress/grade it with a good layer of topsoil. Yes, there might be some settling after all is said and done but that can be addressed over the next couple of seasons with more topdressing. It is critical to break up that clay or you could be fighting a never ending battle of poor drainage and spotty grass. Now keep in mind this is South Carolina red clay I'm talking about so I'm not sure how that compares to OH clay. Good luck...

 

[Cord]

I wouldn't bother removing the existing turf. That's the only dark soil that you have and you want to throw it away? Instead, I'd go over it with 4" of compacted topsoil, harley rake and then seed it. It's a lot of topsoil, but if you have any existing material you can use that depth to reduce what you are adding.

 

[ovrszd]

And remember, if it's rough when you get done seeding, it will always be rough. It takes Mother Nature a LONG time to smooth one speck of dust at a time.

 

[Redlands Okie]

I wouldn't bother removing the existing turf. That's the only dark soil that you have and you want to throw it away? Instead, I'd go over it with 4" of compacted topsoil, harley rake and then seed it. It's a lot of topsoil, but if you have any existing material you can use that depth to reduce what you are adding.

 

[ishiboo]

I would personally remove the existing turf, but no matter what you do other than slit-seeding the current lawn, I would highly recommend using Roundup to kill the existing turf and mowing it as low as you can.

I have two Harley rakes and they are the absolute best thing for leveling and lawn seeding.