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Lester’s can deliver your bulk Topsoil as well as Lawn and Gardenmix to these Lake County IL and Southern WI locations.View our affordable delivery charges.
- Antioch
How Much Topsoil Should Be Laid Over Hardcore Before Sowing Grass Seed
I have an uneven back garden which i now want to level. There is also a lot of old brick and blocks of concrete in the garden which are ready to be skipped.
I spoke to a builder and he recommended using the old brick etc to level off the garden and then place topsoil and grass seed over that.
Firstly is this a good idea and secondly how much topsoil would be needed on top of the hardcorde to give me a good lawn?
Whether it’s a good idea or not is down to whether you want a good lawn over time or whether you want a possibly waterlogged in winter , drought sensitive, patchy and bumpy rough area of grass.
You should remove and skip bricks, lumps of concrete, rocks and the like from the area you want to turf first, then prepare the area in order to lay turf. As you level the soil, you may find you need topsoil if the levels are too low against an existing path or patio. I’m offering no advice at this stage about proper preparation for laying turf because I’m not sure where you are in the world, what type of grass you’ll be using and whether you want such information.
- On a hundred year old landfill, you can spend decades picking up old junk. I did find an Indian head penny once. No Roman gold, but they never conquered America.
Planting The Grass Seeds
Hand seeding is sufficient for planting grass seed across a small area, but you will want to use a seeder for bigger areas. You might consider using a drop seeder, a hand-cranked seeder, or a push-from-behind model across particularly large zones.
The bag will indicate how many seeds to use this is typically around 15 to 20 seeds per square inch. If you will be making two passes across the lawn with the seeder, aim for half the suggested amount each time. It is recommended that you make two passes across the lawn at different angles. For example, if your first pass goes east to west, go north to south on the second pass. This will give the grass seeds the best chance of spreading evenly.
Then, gently rake the seeded surface to mix the grass seed into the top 1/8 inch of soil.
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Should I Use Seed Or Sod For Fall Grass
It also depends on whether you use the grass for the warm or cold season and where you live. While the different seasons have their own pros and cons, the best time to plant a lawn or lawn is usually between early and mid fall. In general, the best time to plant grass seed is when the temperature is around 5080 degrees Fahrenheit.
How Much Material Will I Need To Topdress A Lawn
The table below shows how much material you will need to topdress your lawn, to different depths. If you have a particularly problematic lawn, it may take several applications to introduce enough material to achieve your goal.
| Volume of Soil Needed to Topdress 1,000 Square Feet |
|---|
| Depth of topdressing |
| Source: James Beard, “Turfrass: Science and Culture” |
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How To Plant Grass Seed
Fill the spreader with seeds and spread them on the ground with the controls half open. Walk in one direction until the entire area is planted, then repeat the movement perpendicular to the original path. This creates a crisscross pattern for better seed placement. Water the soil and grass seeds until the entire area is wet.
When Is The Best Time To Plant Grass In The Northeast
The best option is late summer or early fall, then late fall and early spring. Sowing grass seed in August and September is the best time to plant in the Northeast so the grass can develop before winter. If the grass is fully grown for the winter season, the grass will grow fully the following spring.
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Family Or Utility Lawns
For a normal family or utility lawn, you want to try and keep it to around 5mm deep. Any low spots will naturally get more but its really important that you dont smother the grass.
A good rule of thumb is to keep at least 75% of the grass leaf exposed, otherwise, you risk killing it.
If your lawn is full of peaks and troughs you might find that this doesnt level it completely the first time around. In this case, youll need to top dress more than once over the course of a few seasons.
If you only add 5mm of topsoil at a time you should be able to top dress twice in the spring and once in the autumn. At this point, your lawn should be much more level and full of nutrients.
5mm in topsoil equates to 4-5kg per square meter of lawn. To work out how much topsoil you need, simply multiply your lawns square meterage by the weight in soil per square meter.
So lets say your lawn is 50 square meters.
50 x 5 = 250kg.
Lawn Top Dressing: What Why When And How To Top Dress Your Lawn
Top dressing is one of those lawn treatments normally undertaken by more serious lawnsmiths. The ones who wont accept anything less than perfection.
Its also carried out by greenkeepers who look after bowling greens and golf courses.
If youre not particularly green-fingered and you wouldnt consider your lawn to be your pride and joy, then top dressing probably isnt for you . Its hard work and can be expensive.
However, if you love your lawn and youre in the pursuit of perfection, read on.
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Topsoil Myth : All Topsoil Is Pretty Much The Same
Topsoil can differ dramatically, even in the same yard and from one garden bed to another. All the earth in your yard is made up of sand, silt, and clay in various amounts. The best ratios of these three elements allow for good drainage yet hold enough moisture for roots. Your soil can also vary in pH, which is a measure of how acidic or alkaline it is some plants such as bigleaf hydrangeas are more affected than others by this soil quality.
When To Plant New Sod
However, October to April is the best time to break the fescue. Lawns are made up of mature plants that look great when laid, but once the field grass is mowed, their ability to hold water is limited. It takes several weeks for new grass to take root in the new soil and develop its own ability to find water in the soil profile.
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What Does Grass Grow In Shade
The Best Shade Tolerant Grass St. Augustine Grass. Zoisia grass. You can grow Zoysiagrass as a shade tolerant variety. Pointer. Fescue is a great herb that grows in shade, but that doesn’t mean it will thrive in heavily shaded areas like dogwood. Duration. Not all types of ryegrass tolerate shady spots equally well. blue grass.
When Is The Best Time To Plant Grass
Autumn is the best time. The fall season combines warm soil and fresh air, making it ideal for planting grass seeds and developing new roots before winter sets in. This is also a good time to fertilize to create stronger, deeper roots for the winter, which will result in a denser, greener lawn next spring.
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How Much Grass Seed Do You Need Per Square Foot At Home Depot
You will need about 10 pounds of grass seed for every 1,000 square feet of grass. This 50-pound bag of grass seed will cover approximately 5,000 square feet. It is important to know your type of lawn! Before purchasing and planting seeds, read the instructions on the package. How many square feet is in a 25 pound bag of grass seed?
Can I Use Existing Topsoil To Start A New Lawn
When establishing a new lawn, you can use existing soil if the top 4 to 6 inches is rich in organic matter for nutrients and drainage, or you can purchase better soil if your garden soil is too clayey or too strong. sandy. By adding and preparing topsoil, you can create a healthy lawn with no problem.
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How To Measure The Dimensions Of Garden
Nobody lives in a house with a perfectly rectangular or square-shaped garden. But how do you figure out how much soil youll need for an irregularly shaped garden? The solution is simple: Divide the garden as much as possible into rectangular or square shapes.
Figures 1 and 2 show that the garden or land dimensions are not rectangular or square, but rather irregular. Make small square and rectangular shapes to calculate the volume of soil in such a way that the maximum area is covered. Simply add the results of the various blocks to find the volume of exact soil required.
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What Is Lawn Top Dressing And Why Should I Do It
Top dressing is the process of spreading additional soil over the surface of your lawn. This would normally be a loam or a loam and sand mix, depending on the condition of your current soil.
Understand that the material you add to the surface of the lawn will eventually become part of the root zone. As such, its important to choose a top dressing mix that will blend in with your soil over time .
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Calculating Quantities For Topsoil
Heres a quick guide to calculating how much topsoil you need to buy.
- First of all measure the length and the width of the area youll be adding soil to.
- Then make a note of the depth of topsoil you need.
- I find it easiest to work in metres it means less maths overall.
- Multiply the length by the width to get the area
- Now multiply the area by the depth
- This will give you a figure in cubic metres.
- Divide the figure by 0.9 to work out how many big bags of soil to buy
Measure And Record Plot Length
Insert the tang in the corner of the plot to measure its length. Again, have an assistant hold the tang while you pull the tape down the length of the plot. If necessary, insert a wood stake in the ground at the point the tape ends and continue measuring until you arrive at the length of the plot. Record the length, in feet.
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Tools For Leveling A Lawn With Topsoil
There are professional tools available on the market for leveling a lawn such as a lawn leveling rake which does make it really simple to evenly spread the topsoil over your lawn and it can also be used for spreading soil evenly in your flowerbed or vegetable patch.
If you are spreading topsoil to level your lawn as a one of then you really dont have to go to the expense of buying expensive specialist equipment.
All you need is a tool to spread the soil so you could easily improvise and use a tool you already have such as the flat backside of a rake or a brush.
Where Can I Buy Topsoil
Topsoil is widely available through a variety of sources, including garden centers, nurseries, and home improvement stores. Topsoil is sold totaling a cubic foot, or in bulk, which is usually priced by the cubic yard . Usually, commercially available topsoil has been screened this means any extra materials such as small rocks, roots, and debris have been removed.
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How Many Inches Of Topsoil Do I Need For Grass
Related Articles
Topsoil contains most of the soil action — it’s where organic matter decays and beneficial microbes dwell. This creates a healthy environment for grass roots to thrive above the less active but often mineral-rich subsoil. When starting a new lawn, you can use your existing topsoil if the top 4 to 6 inches are rich with the organic matter that supplies nutrients and drainage, or you can purchase a better quality topsoil if your garden soil is heavy clay or too sandy. Adding and preparing the topsoil properly helps establish a healthy, problem-free lawn.
What Is The Best Temperature To Plant Grass Seed
Cool season grass seeds germinate best when the soil temperature is between 50 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This roughly equates to daytime temperatures in the 60 F to 75 F range. An inexpensive outdoor thermometer, available at most garden stores, can help you right out of the box.
Augustine grassHow much sun does St Augustine grass need? St. Augustine grass is one of the most widely grown in the Lowcountry. It takes 2-3 hours of sun to recover. This grass is often fertilized 1608 after it has been completely green .How do I kill St. Augustine grass?â â â â â â â â â â â St. Augustine Grass. Fill the spray pump completely with water. Pour it onto the paved surface in case a chemical is accidentally spilleâ¦
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Prepare To Level Your Lawn With Topsoil
If you are going to the trouble of leveling your lawn then you really should prepare your lawn properly for it so that you achieve the lawn perfection you are looking for.
Before you set your plan for leveling your lawn it is a good idea to mow it so that you can have a good look at it and see what areas you are going to take action to level out.
Before you take action you should have sorted any issues that you think maybe causing your lawn to become uneven so you may have to consult an expert otherwise when you level your lawn it may actually become uneven again.
When you are leveling your lawn with topsoil you dont want to be adding the soil to a soaking wet surface so I would recommend you give your lawn a good water a few days before you add topsoil so that it has had a chance to dry out and not be soaking.
Make sure you have everything you need such as a lawn leveling rake and the correct amount of soil before you start the process as you dont want to be running out of topsoil halfway through the lawn leveling process.
How Much Is A Yard Of Dirt
At this point, you still might be wondering just how much is a yard of dirt?
One cubic yard is equal to a space that is one yd wide, one yd long, and one yd deep. The table below shows the size of the space equal to one cubic yard of soil in other units.
Measurements in various units of a space with the volume of one cubic yard of soil.| 1 cu yd = |
|---|
| 91.44 cm x 91.44 cm x 91.44 cm |
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What Is The Best Grass Seed To Use In The Northeast
Because this vegetable variety is not afraid of cooler weather and can be harvested later in the season, root vegetables and onions are good in the Northeast. Potatoes, beets, leeks, onions, carrots, garlic and turnips are some vegetables that grow well and store well.
FescueWhich type of fescue is best? Durum wheat fescue grows best in the northern and highlands of the United States, has a beautiful blue-green color and requires little to no cutting. One of the most popular hard fescue seeds sold by Seedland is the Predator hard fescue.How much sun does fescue need?Fescue is the most shade-tolerant grass, but NO grass grows very well in less than four hours in direct sunlight (or eight hours of filtered light uâ¦
How Does The Calculator Work Out The Cost
If you have the price per unit mass or price per unit volume then the calculator can work out the total cost of the required soil for topdressing your lawn:
$$Cost = Price\,per\,unit\,mass \times Weight$$
$$Cost = Price\,per\,unit\,volume \times Volume$$
At this point, you might be wondering
What if Im using a custom soil aggregate on top of my lawn?
Well, our topsoil calculator has an option for custom density, which you can calculate using the formulae:
$$Density = $$
In addition, you can calculate the price per unit mass/volume for the custom soil aggregate:
$$Price\,per\,unit\,mass = $$
$$Price\,per\,unit\,volume = $$
Anything not clear?
See below for two fully worked examples using different initial criteria.
Otherwise, simply enter your measurements and appropriate units into our topsoil calculator to ensure your gardening project gets off to the best of starts!
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Compare And Test The Similar Types Of Soil
After that we need to test and compare the topsoil that we want to use in our selected area. Because soil properties vary with location, so you have to dress the weak spot with topsoil that closely matches the existing soil. According to the University of Tennessee Extension, topdressing will only be successful if the topsoil corresponds or closely match the existing soil.
