Nah it’s all good. I did this at home just by spreading topsoil with a 4x2 and putting a level on top to make sure it was even. Also sprinkled the grass seed by hand. It’s a bit more time consuming but saves a hell of a lot of money
I would hire someone with the tools. Or, what I did at the ranch, a guy "Disced" a nice path for us. What was once very lumpy became smooth and lovely. The grass came back by itself.
His yard wasn’t bumpy, or when he put it on one and a half it would have brought up more than grass. It would’ve brought up some of the yard to smooth out the bumps.😂
:) 1. Buy all the existing machines / tools around the world to make a perfect landscape 2. Buy a lot of grass seeds. 3. Use million gallons of water 4. Done
Former golf course superintendent here. Easier option is to just core aerate. Chop up your cores mowing low. Water thoroughly and use the roller. Holes allow your lawn to "squish" to level. Core debris fills holes nicely. Fewer steps, labor and sand is pricey. Topdressing does a better job, but it's expensive and tedious without the right tools.
I aerated with a 5’ aerator. Sometimes dragged the cores to fill low spots. If I couldn’t pull up a 2” core I would put it off until it rained. There ain’t much dirt in a whole yard full of cores. I’d top-dress with an inch of comtill. Not much there either. It takes years to smooth a lawn that way. Aerating two times a year. I’d have loved to level lawns like this guy. One and done!
Suggestion... you seem to have a fairly big backyard. Instead of growing grass, convert part of the backyard into a vegetable garden, with maybe a few fruit trees. Get the whole family involved, especially kids. It will be a huge life lesson for them. You can use the grass clippings, fall leaves and kitchen scraps to make compost for your vegetable garden. Please give it a thought. Start small and expand over time. Good luck!
It just sucks when you cleared out 25 trees and areas where the stumps used to be start caving in. there are around 20 rocks that stick up about 2 inches. I’m forced to cut at 3 1/2 inches which isn’t bad, but I have to cut basically werkly
Very curious so you went all the way down to one and a half inches which is extremely low and you did not gouge at all? Then your yard was not bumpy if I was to lower it from 3 3/4 to 1 or two on my commercial Scagg, it would putmud where the deck scrapes through the low ground I’m confused I don’t think your yard was bumpy
Another option is to grow food. If I'm going to spend money for tools for a lawn I could spend the same and provide nutritional food for the family. The cost at stores is out of hand 😅
@@1985230ceThat's what happened to my family any time we tried growing anything. Way too many deer for the area and the city only reluctantly started culling lol.
Our lawn used to be smooth until recently I noticed bumps. Turns out we had moles digging around causing the ground to unlevel. Got one of the solar repellents and after a couple of weeks, a good low mow without bagging up clippings eventually leveled our lawn back out. Video method would have definitely gotten our lawn leveled a lot faster and less patchy over time. Eventually our lawn filled out fully the next season. No more moles.
You mean I don’t have to till the entire thing and start from scratch? I’m lucky because we have the Eugene Toolbox Project Library here and they have pretty much every tool you’ve mentioned to check out! We just moved in and the front and back lawns are super lumpy. Can’t play on them or you’ll sprain an ankle. 🙆♂️
After applying the sand soil mixture, did you wait it to dry or make it wet before you put the seeds? Also did you apply fertilizer right after you applied seeds or wait like a day or so? Did you water between seeds and fertilizer? OR, all the instructions are right after without waiting? I am sorry I asked too many questions but because of the length of the video, you are limited and skip couple of information, I understand :)
if you plan on using a reel mower, it does make a difference. I'm trying to get a small rose garden super flat like this because my rider doesn't fit in there and I want to use my reel mower in there. I use it in there now, but the ruts and holes make it difficult to use and it gets hung up a bit.
Right?!? All that expensive equipment, seeds, fertilizer and time and energy to make SURE your little bit of lawn looks perfectly even is just wild to me lol.
@@oweno88I used to work at a private golf club. I golfed for free. I take way more pride in a great lawn. Feels so peaceful on a mint golf course. Grass is a art. Not as easy as it looks. But very rewarding.
@@cameronwise3563 The soil will settle over time with water and time. It won’t cause compaction necessarily, but you can aerate in the future to help relieve compaction if needed.
I have 2.5 acre lot. Let maybe 1/2 acre stay trees, 1/2 acre unmowed, maybe 1/3 acre I planted a "wildflower mix" and some marigolds and poppies again unmowed. The rest is pretty nice grass we have a huge garden like 1200 sqft and a big greenhouse
Did you have to do a lot to plant the wildflowers? I want to plant some but don’t want to add a whole lot of extra work to a yard I’m trying to get under control. Thanks
Pre Geminate in bucket in cheese cloth. 24hrs under water. Next 3 days go 12hr in and 12hrs out.... Then mix with fertilizer then spread!!! 😁 You'll have grass in 5-7 days
For larger yards, would you recommend one of those roller mulch spreaders to help ease the soil/sand distribution? Just trying to figure out if there’s an easier way as I have about 1acre to do 😮
Grass is a type of plant with narrow leaves growing from the base. Their appearance as a common plant was in the mid-Cretaceous period. There are 12,000 species now. [1] A common kind of grass is used to cover the ground in places such as lawns and parks. Grass is usually the color green. That is because they are wind-pollinated rather than insect-pollinated, so they do not have to attract insects. Green is the best colour for photosynthesis. Grasslands such as savannah and prairie where grasses are dominant cover 40.5% of the land area of the Earth, except Greenland and Antarctica. [2] Grasses are monocotyledon herbaceous plants. They include the "grass" of the family Poaceae, which are called grass by ordinary people. This family is also called the Graminee, and includes some of the sedges (Cyperaceae) and the rushes (Juncaceae). [3] These three families are not very closely related, though all of them belong to clades in the order Poles. They are similar adaptations to a similar life-style. With around 780 genera and around 12,000 species, [1] the Poaceae is the fifth-largest plant family, after the Asteraceae, Orchidacee, Fabaceae and Rubia ceae. [4] The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns (turf) and grassland. Uses for graminoids include food (as grain, sprouted grain, shoots or rhizomes), drink (beer, whisky), pasture for livestock, thatching th atch, paper, fuel, clothing, insulation, constructio n, sports turf, basket weaving and many others. Many grasses are short, but some grasses can grow tall, such as bamboo. Plants from the grass family can grow in many places and make grasslands, including areas which are very arid or cold. There are several other plants that look similar to grass and are referred to as such, but are not members of the grass family. These plants include rushes, reeds, papyrus and water chestnut. Seagrass is a monocot in the order Alismatales. Grasses are an important food for many animals, such as deer, buffalo, cattle, mice, grasshoppers, cater pillars and many other grazers. Unlike other plants, grasses grow from the bottom, so when animals eat grass they usually do not destroy the part that grows. [5] This is a part of why the plants are successful. Without grass, soil may wash away into rivers (erosion).
It might look good for a season, but I feel like it would be bumpy again after a frozen winter and spring defrost here. We have low spots for other known reasons, but general bumpiness is the norm year after year.
If lawn-obsessed, these are annual tasks. Personally, my obsession is having as little grass as possible. Backyard looks like a forest, and that's very intentional.
It's a lawn, not your garage floor. Yeah, it's not gonna be completely smooth. Mow it high, water & feed it and just enjoy its beautiful imperfections.
Don’t need to fertilize the seed. The seed has all the nutrients it needs to start and grow plus the soil nutrients,Fertilizing could in fact kill the seed as nitrogen is capable of burning. Nitrogen does only one thing for grass. So…wait for seeds to sprout and the grass to get stronger before fertilizing.
..1) pull all weeds now ...in September- 2) mix seed an fine soil together an spreading even ...3) water ...4) the next day rent a roller an only roll once ....5) in five days if it has not rained water for 20 minutes....6) stop watering in October ...7) Spring use weed an feed very lightly hand cast .....8) pull any weeds an add a little seed fine soil mix to the area ....9) once the lawn is 2 inches- - cut lawn . p.s. only water once a week in the morning.
Sorry, but that 'level' won't last! The reason is that you have a compacted soil topped with not-so-compacted soil, even though you roll it. You have driven across this ground repeatedly with your mower. Its weight, plus yours, is concentrated on the four small patches where your tires contact the ground, and compact it more with every pass you make. This is a LOT more weight per square inch than a roller; therefore you need to 'loosen' the existing soil first. You can do this with a rented aerator. Use only the type that removes the 'turds'. Break them up with a gas-powered mower (Electric do not have the speed or force to do this), with the back of a hard rake or you can rake them off the lawn and break them up however. A aerator pattern of 3" x 3" at the greatest depth you can is the best. This gives the maximum aeration while still leaving enough grass roots behind. Screened top soil is not necessarily the best choice. The best soil for lawn grasses is either 95% silt (clay) and 5% sand or the opposite. A soil composition of 95% sand requires an irrigation system. Yearly, a little organic material should be added. That's best to be done after aerating. Rake whichever material you have spread (Depends on what your lawn needs) into the lawn. Much of it will fall into aeration holes which delivers the product to the roots much faster. If you have no access to an aerator, you can do the tedious job of mimicking a "Slicer" (What properly equipped sports field maintainers use in addition to aeration) With a spade or, my preference, a square-point spade. Drive the spade about 6" deep and pull-back on the handle about 20-degrees. Make straight lines about 6" apart to loosen all your lawn. A "Slicer is a little bit similar to what farmers use to turn their fields, but it only lifts the soil in place. When you have finished the above is the time to add what your lawn requires for nutrients, sand/compost, peat moss, ... . If you have easy access to some earthworms, they would be beneficial to add at this time also (When you're finished working on your lawn for the day). Next you roll the yard first in one direction and then in the opposite or at 45-degrees. Then spread your grass seed and lightly rake it in (Leaf rake works best). Note: grass seed only requires 1/16" of soil on top of it. Do not roll afterwards. Such compaction will make it difficult for many of the delicate new roots to weave their way into the soil. Keep the soil moist at all times until the new grass is at least 1" tall. Note that different grass species take differeing lengths of time to sprout!!! Bluegrass typically takes 40 days on average, so you need to look at which seed is in your mix. ALWAYS use a mix, and use a mix appropriate for the conditions in your yard. DO NOT cut your lawn until the new grass is AT LEAST 3" tall. I took a course on sports field management at work which was presented by Guelph University and I worked in sports field maintenance for the City of Ottawa. Here's one other tip: If you get a lot of dandelions, it means you don't have enough calcium in your soil. Ground up egg shells is the cheapest remedy, but that will take forever. At home I use diatomaceous earth bought in large bags, from Amazon or from a farmer's co-op. How much is needed depends on your soil composition. Diatomaceous earth is also great to add to soil used for growing tomatoes. If your tomatoes suffer from bottom-end rot, this is a quick cure. In addition, it keeps most crawling insects off your plants.
So many people try to seed, but they just leave it thinking it'll grow with the rest of the grass. That shit needs to drink when everything around it is bullying the moisture away.
So far I can afford a pallet.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
You’re doing better than me lol
Same 😂😅
Hey me too. I can steal it from Walmart trash in the back
@@jeaiousxlive3024 Strength and Honor!
All of the sudden my bumpy lawn doesn’t seem so bad after all
Lazy fuck lol
😅 ikr ..sheesh 👀
I love sitting at home, watching videos too. 😂
Nah it’s all good. I did this at home just by spreading topsoil with a 4x2 and putting a level on top to make sure it was even. Also sprinkled the grass seed by hand. It’s a bit more time consuming but saves a hell of a lot of money
You can buy or rent a push or pull spreader for cheap to make this infinitely easier
This gave the motivation I needed to ignore my bumpy lawn, thank you 😅
Teasing us with Fall Out Boy. I keep waiting for the rest. Lawn looks great!
i never would have known but this is an interesting way to get background music
AM I MORE THAN YOU BARGAINED FOR YET?
Right? I’m a hardcore FOB fan, I was spiraling between that and how many things he needed to unbumpy a lawn. Not worth
Lmao same, I was use about to say that
I would have to buy 7 things to do this.
Guess you dont really want to do it then... continue scrolling
I would hire someone with the tools. Or, what I did at the ranch, a guy "Disced" a nice path for us. What was once very lumpy became smooth and lovely. The grass came back by itself.
His yard wasn’t bumpy, or when he put it on one and a half it would have brought up more than grass. It would’ve brought up some of the yard to smooth out the bumps.😂
4000 later you’ll have a slightly less bumpy yard though!!!! Lmao real men strengthen their ankles in their bumpy lawns
It's more like 10 if you don't have most of it.
I have some dips in my lawn, i just add topsoil to the indentation and flatten it with my feet 🤷
😂😂😂
😂😂😂😂
"How to level a bumpy lawn"
Step 1: "Have a ton of cash"
Facts. I love but hate being a homeowner lol
&/or a ton of time lol
Right?! I think i have better things to spend my hard earned cash on....
:) 1. Buy all the existing machines / tools around the world to make a perfect landscape
2. Buy a lot of grass seeds.
3. Use million gallons of water
4. Done
Probably wekend rental of tools. Tool rental is cheap. Best section of home improvement
The moment I win powerball jackpot I’ll get to fixing those bumps.
😂😂😂
Former golf course superintendent here. Easier option is to just core aerate. Chop up your cores mowing low. Water thoroughly and use the roller. Holes allow your lawn to "squish" to level. Core debris fills holes nicely. Fewer steps, labor and sand is pricey. Topdressing does a better job, but it's expensive and tedious without the right tools.
I aerated with a 5’ aerator. Sometimes dragged the cores to fill low spots. If I couldn’t pull up a 2” core I would put it off until it rained.
There ain’t much dirt in a whole yard full of cores. I’d top-dress with an inch of comtill. Not much there either. It takes years to smooth a lawn that way. Aerating two times a year.
I’d have loved to level lawns like this guy. One and done!
While that's great advice, a core aerator is an expensive implement, if you want a decent one.
I’m 71 and been landscaping my whole life. You provided some very good pointers…especially with the pallet and leveling rake. Good job.
Thank you!
Suggestion... you seem to have a fairly big backyard. Instead of growing grass, convert part of the backyard into a vegetable garden, with maybe a few fruit trees. Get the whole family involved, especially kids. It will be a huge life lesson for them. You can use the grass clippings, fall leaves and kitchen scraps to make compost for your vegetable garden. Please give it a thought. Start small and expand over time. Good luck!
Kids who work, are kids who eat. Your choice, kids, I don't make the rules.
It just sucks when you cleared out 25 trees and areas where the stumps used to be start caving in. there are around 20 rocks that stick up about 2 inches. I’m forced to cut at 3 1/2 inches which isn’t bad, but I have to cut basically werkly
Bro the song is killing Me😂😂 just waiting for the beat to kick off
Step 1. decide if a bumpy lawn matters.
Very curious so you went all the way down to one and a half inches which is extremely low and you did not gouge at all? Then your yard was not bumpy if I was to lower it from 3 3/4 to 1 or two on my commercial Scagg, it would putmud where the deck scrapes through the low ground I’m confused I don’t think your yard was bumpy
Another option is to grow food. If I'm going to spend money for tools for a lawn I could spend the same and provide nutritional food for the family. The cost at stores is out of hand 😅
Yep. Efforts should yield edibles! 👍😃👍🕊🕊
Absolutely! That’s what I’m working on this year.
Hopefully you don’t have deer and other wildlife that will appreciate your efforts.
@@1985230ceThat's what happened to my family any time we tried growing anything. Way too many deer for the area and the city only reluctantly started culling lol.
Back in the day we just pulled a large barrel filled with water behind a lawnmower. Let it roll behind the riding lawnmower.
Shawn... Shawn... here's a dog on a riiiiidin lawnmowa cuttin' the mf graaaass.
Never thought I'd watch a stranger level his lawn, while hes edging me with FallOutBoy😢
my neighbor rented a asphalt/concrete roller and used it on his lawn..
staying away from his septic tank....worked great
Dog is gorgeous! Hope you gave him some good scratches for supervising your job site.
Our lawn used to be smooth until recently I noticed bumps. Turns out we had moles digging around causing the ground to unlevel. Got one of the solar repellents and after a couple of weeks, a good low mow without bagging up clippings eventually leveled our lawn back out. Video method would have definitely gotten our lawn leveled a lot faster and less patchy over time. Eventually our lawn filled out fully the next season. No more moles.
leveling with sand works best
Great advise...like do we all happen to have all those to tools to do your process
You mean I don’t have to till the entire thing and start from scratch? I’m lucky because we have the Eugene Toolbox Project Library here and they have pretty much every tool you’ve mentioned to check out! We just moved in and the front and back lawns are super lumpy. Can’t play on them or you’ll sprain an ankle. 🙆♂️
After applying the sand soil mixture, did you wait it to dry or make it wet before you put the seeds? Also did you apply fertilizer right after you applied seeds or wait like a day or so? Did you water between seeds and fertilizer? OR, all the instructions are right after without waiting? I am sorry I asked too many questions but because of the length of the video, you are limited and skip couple of information, I understand :)
This is so much equipment for something I would never notice
It’s not so much you notice it it more means you can cut lower
@@user-gw9rv8xn5q doesn't really seem to matter at all
if you plan on using a reel mower, it does make a difference. I'm trying to get a small rose garden super flat like this because my rider doesn't fit in there and I want to use my reel mower in there. I use it in there now, but the ruts and holes make it difficult to use and it gets hung up a bit.
Right?!? All that expensive equipment, seeds, fertilizer and time and energy to make SURE your little bit of lawn looks perfectly even is just wild to me lol.
@@oweno88I used to work at a private golf club. I golfed for free. I take way more pride in a great lawn. Feels so peaceful on a mint golf course. Grass is a art. Not as easy as it looks. But very rewarding.
Does this make the soil compact and hard? Is it good for the soil to be more compact or loose?
@@cameronwise3563 The soil will settle over time with water and time. It won’t cause compaction necessarily, but you can aerate in the future to help relieve compaction if needed.
Better result would be achieved by mixing the seeds directly within your mix of top soil and sand from the beginning and then spread and rolled.
The only thing I liked from this. Video was the dog. 🐶
I have 2.5 acre lot. Let maybe 1/2 acre stay trees, 1/2 acre unmowed, maybe 1/3 acre I planted a "wildflower mix" and some marigolds and poppies again unmowed. The rest is pretty nice grass we have a huge garden like 1200 sqft and a big greenhouse
Did you have to do a lot to plant the wildflowers? I want to plant some but don’t want to add a whole lot of extra work to a yard I’m trying to get under control. Thanks
Can spent more money on his lawn in a hour then I have in 15 years
But how healthy is your lawn? How much of it is weeds?
Do I really need rhe roller? I need to fix my lawn (yes I can do the job, but not thw money😢)
Pre Geminate in bucket in cheese cloth. 24hrs under water. Next 3 days go 12hr in and 12hrs out.... Then mix with fertilizer then spread!!! 😁 You'll have grass in 5-7 days
I have grass is 5 days without pre-germinating. 🤷🏻♂️
Put sand on top of the grass. Water it. Do it til its level. We had a hide lawn. Fixed it.
What's a hide lawn? Does adding sand work in midwest states? Lastly, Does it have to be sand (would a soil mix work)?
Watering 3-4 times a day in the southern midwest might be over kill. Might depend on the seed, too.
Would love to try this but too old to try on our 1 acre lawn
For larger yards, would you recommend one of those roller mulch spreaders to help ease the soil/sand distribution? Just trying to figure out if there’s an easier way as I have about 1acre to do 😮
Grass is a type of plant with narrow leaves growing from the base. Their appearance as a common plant was in the mid-Cretaceous period.
There are 12,000 species now. [1]
A common kind of grass is used to cover the ground in places such as lawns and parks. Grass is usually the color green. That is because they are wind-pollinated rather than insect-pollinated, so they do not have to attract insects. Green is the best colour for photosynthesis.
Grasslands such as savannah and prairie where grasses are dominant cover 40.5% of the land area of the Earth, except Greenland and Antarctica. [2]
Grasses are monocotyledon herbaceous plants.
They include the "grass" of the family Poaceae, which are called grass by ordinary people. This family is also called the Graminee, and includes some of the sedges (Cyperaceae) and the rushes (Juncaceae). [3] These three families are not very closely related, though all of them belong to clades in the order Poles. They are similar adaptations to a similar life-style.
With around 780 genera and around 12,000 species, [1] the Poaceae is the fifth-largest plant family, after
the Asteraceae, Orchidacee, Fabaceae and Rubia ceae. [4]
The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns (turf) and grassland. Uses for graminoids include food (as grain, sprouted grain, shoots or rhizomes), drink
(beer, whisky), pasture for livestock, thatching th atch, paper, fuel, clothing, insulation, constructio n, sports turf, basket weaving and many others.
Many grasses are short, but some grasses can grow tall, such as bamboo. Plants from the grass family can grow in many places and make grasslands, including areas which are very arid or cold. There are several other plants that look similar to grass and are referred to as such, but are not members of the grass family. These plants include rushes, reeds, papyrus and water chestnut. Seagrass is a monocot in the order Alismatales.
Grasses are an important food for many animals, such
as deer, buffalo, cattle, mice, grasshoppers, cater pillars and many other grazers. Unlike other plants, grasses grow from the bottom, so when animals eat grass they usually do not destroy the part that grows. [5] This is a part of why the plants are successful. Without grass, soil may wash away into rivers (erosion).
Leveling rakes are sooo nice!
I love DIY projects with tons of tools that nobody has
I need to do this - lawn is very bumpy.. how much of the topsoil/sand mix do i need for about 4000 sq ft? 4 yards?
Can we get a budget version?
Super nice!
Niiiice! Did you aerate or dethatch before this? Also, what is your normal lawn height?
No I didn’t. But it would have been a good idea to do so. Usually mow around 3”
Haha. Yep would be nice to not have to stare at the ground looking for ankle breakers when I stroll my lawn.
This is fine for low spots but what can be done about the high spots like years of moles?
Should I do this in summer or fall? Do you do it every year?
NOT summer. Fall is best and spring is 2nd best.
Level lawn? What is that? I love my north georgia mountains and hills.
This is a great video!
It might look good for a season, but I feel like it would be bumpy again after a frozen winter and spring defrost here. We have low spots for other known reasons, but general bumpiness is the norm year after year.
If lawn-obsessed, these are annual tasks. Personally, my obsession is having as little grass as possible. Backyard looks like a forest, and that's very intentional.
Lawns are so yesterday imho (although ur lawns will look amazing 🤩)
Did it work?
But what if you don't want to have a monocrop lawn that's a blight on the environment?
Great Work!
Thanks!
My lawn have 1 super high bump, what to do :O
I dont want to fill the other parts to that height tho.
Cost?
Sugar were goin down to the garden centre.
Did you buy bags of soil? Can you order this mix of soil and sand? What’s the average cost of this?
It's a lawn, not your garage floor. Yeah, it's not gonna be completely smooth. Mow it high, water & feed it and just enjoy its beautiful imperfections.
I think it should be said that if its only a few bumps just dig out the bump until its level and spread the seed on top.
Water 3 to 4 times a day do you mean 3 to 4 times a week?
3-4 x per day for about 5 mins persone. Need to keep grass seed wet until it germinates. Then you can back it down to 3-4 days a week.
Is this for Johnson and crabgrass lumps?
Bumpy is an understatement.
Oh man my lawn needs this bad
i overseed and then add the sand/soil
That is definitely a good way to about it as long as you aren’t throwing more than about 3/4” of soil on top of the seed.
Don’t need to fertilize the seed. The seed has all the nutrients it needs to start and grow plus the soil nutrients,Fertilizing could in fact kill the seed as nitrogen is capable of burning. Nitrogen does only one thing for grass. So…wait for seeds to sprout and the grass to get stronger before fertilizing.
Can I borrow the pallet when you’re done with it? 😂
Can you show me on4 acres of roller coaster hills and sxs ruts?
I walk my lawn. If I don't trip, it's good!
Make sure to water 3 to 4 times a day. I don’t have a borehole sir!
Love the pallet
Plant it with flowers and prairie plants.
Or plant drought tolerant plants and native species. Less weeding and more natural resistance to pests.
You only need to water once a day. Getting it wet once EVERY day works just fine. It doesn't need to stay sprinkler wet 24/7
Where did you get the roller?
What month is best to do this?
..1) pull all weeds now ...in September- 2) mix seed an fine soil together an spreading even ...3) water ...4) the next day rent a roller an only roll once ....5) in five days if it has not rained water for 20 minutes....6) stop watering in October ...7) Spring use weed an feed very lightly hand cast .....8) pull any weeds an add a little seed fine soil mix to the area ....9) once the lawn is 2 inches- - cut lawn . p.s. only water once a week in the morning.
Sorry, but that 'level' won't last! The reason is that you have a compacted soil topped with not-so-compacted soil, even though you roll it. You have driven across this ground repeatedly with your mower. Its weight, plus yours, is concentrated on the four small patches where your tires contact the ground, and compact it more with every pass you make. This is a LOT more weight per square inch than a roller; therefore you need to 'loosen' the existing soil first. You can do this with a rented aerator. Use only the type that removes the 'turds'. Break them up with a gas-powered mower (Electric do not have the speed or force to do this), with the back of a hard rake or you can rake them off the lawn and break them up however. A aerator pattern of 3" x 3" at the greatest depth you can is the best. This gives the maximum aeration while still leaving enough grass roots behind.
Screened top soil is not necessarily the best choice. The best soil for lawn grasses is either 95% silt (clay) and 5% sand or the opposite. A soil composition of 95% sand requires an irrigation system. Yearly, a little organic material should be added. That's best to be done after aerating. Rake whichever material you have spread (Depends on what your lawn needs) into the lawn. Much of it will fall into aeration holes which delivers the product to the roots much faster.
If you have no access to an aerator, you can do the tedious job of mimicking a "Slicer" (What properly equipped sports field maintainers use in addition to aeration) With a spade or, my preference, a square-point spade. Drive the spade about 6" deep and pull-back on the handle about 20-degrees. Make straight lines about 6" apart to loosen all your lawn.
A "Slicer is a little bit similar to what farmers use to turn their fields, but it only lifts the soil in place.
When you have finished the above is the time to add what your lawn requires for nutrients, sand/compost, peat moss, ... . If you have easy access to some earthworms, they would be beneficial to add at this time also (When you're finished working on your lawn for the day).
Next you roll the yard first in one direction and then in the opposite or at 45-degrees. Then spread your grass seed and lightly rake it in (Leaf rake works best).
Note: grass seed only requires 1/16" of soil on top of it. Do not roll afterwards. Such compaction will make it difficult for many of the delicate new roots to weave their way into the soil.
Keep the soil moist at all times until the new grass is at least 1" tall. Note that different grass species take differeing lengths of time to sprout!!! Bluegrass typically takes 40 days on average, so you need to look at which seed is in your mix. ALWAYS use a mix, and use a mix appropriate for the conditions in your yard.
DO NOT cut your lawn until the new grass is AT LEAST 3" tall.
I took a course on sports field management at work which was presented by Guelph University and I worked in sports field maintenance for the City of Ottawa.
Here's one other tip: If you get a lot of dandelions, it means you don't have enough calcium in your soil. Ground up egg shells is the cheapest remedy, but that will take forever.
At home I use diatomaceous earth bought in large bags, from Amazon or from a farmer's co-op. How much is needed depends on your soil composition.
Diatomaceous earth is also great to add to soil used for growing tomatoes. If your tomatoes suffer from bottom-end rot, this is a quick cure. In addition, it keeps most crawling insects off your plants.
Seed first. Soil. Rake. Done.
Just sayin'. Great video. Thanks.
Yes? But what if the areas you have are deep ruts you are gonna have a ton of soil covering that area
I think I’ll just live with the bumpy lawn, lol
So many people try to seed, but they just leave it thinking it'll grow with the rest of the grass. That shit needs to drink when everything around it is bullying the moisture away.
When should i start this process? It is January 19
Me waiting for Fall Out Boy to finish the intro
A loaded gun complex
what grass type do you have brother? is it fescue?
Yeaaa...i think ill just rent and live in an apartment or townhome, that has a yard maintenence team, for the rest of my life. 😅
What grass type are you doing this to?
Cool season grass of KBG, PRG and Fescues.
Carbon footprint ?
No one does this in my area. No one knows what I'm talking about and look at me funny when I say 'Sand'. I can't do it myself so yea - that sucks.
If you just want a green yard, why not spread clover seed? Rolling without loosening the existing soil will only temporarily achieve smooth soil!
16 4 8 isn’t a starter fertilizer but I’m Sure it looks good!
You’re exactly right! It’s what I had on hand. A few days later I sprayed a liquid starter fert too.
@@thedadbodlawn i started using the Anderson’s this past season. I got great results with all there products.
I can get my lawn this way. I. Have 4 acres and moles. I dont have the time for this or the money.
Couldn't you just mix the grass seed with the soil mix?
My bumps are huge, and Ill have yo start with sand then soil
Is that fertilizer petfriendly?
Dethatch first ??
Dad game strong 💪
"...but it's still bumpy." - "Well have you tried a Roller?"
If only where I live would allow me to do this.
How about smoothing out ruts from mowing on a slope
I was waiting for the moment where we would all go down down at an earlier round
Best time of year for this?
Fall is the best time.
Fall is best then spring
I don’t think that is considered a starter fertilizer but it’s a good product for either existing Bermuda or seed. Well my yard is Bermuda anyway. Lol