Thread: Tilling a lawn
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Old 19-04-2008, 02:45 PM posted to rec.gardens
New homeowner New homeowner is offline
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Default Tilling a lawn

On Apr 18, 8:47*pm, "dwight" wrote:
"Jangchub" wrote in message

news


On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:41:01 -0700 (PDT), New homeowner
wrote:


Hello all.
I have a question about tilling a lawn.
I am in the process of tilling my lawn, and want to make sure I am
doing it right.
I just tilled up a patch about 15 feet by 10, just to get used to the
machine.
I tilled it once, and raked out the patches of old grass. Tilled it
again, and once again, raked out the old stuff.
Then I leveled it out.
The whole reason I'm tilling isn't because of bad grass. Actually, the
grass is very good. However, the previous owners of the house had 2
dogs, that dug up the yard pretty good. Divits everywhere, and for
whatever reason, the lawn slops off about 6 inches in the middle.
I want to level it all out nice.
Now, after I'm done tilling and leveling, I plan on spreading seed, A
question I have is, do I need to somehow bury the seed a little? If
so, how do I go about doing that? I don't plan on using a roller,
basically, I can't get ahold of one.
Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks


I see you are on PDT, but don't know where you live or what type of
seed you plan on using, but if it is perennial rye, or blulegrass you
spread the seed and gently rake it in. *The key is to keep it watered
and do not let the seed dry out. *This entails fine spray watering up
to five or more times a day to keep the top layer moist till the seed
germinates.


I believe the OP is in the Boston area.

My lawn has divits and slopes, too, but I use a John Deere to flatten it
out.

)


Yes, I am in Boston. As of today, I have 1/2 the lawn tilled. Hope to
finish tomorrow
I plan on using scotts sun/shade mix. using a spreader to throw down
the seed, and gently rake it in, and cover with straw.
And water a few times a day.
But I have another question, How do I actually make sure the soil is
level before I spread? I can already see where the low spots are, and
can eyeball it, but is the "eyeball" method good enough? This is such
a pain in the ass, I just want to make sure I get it right the first
time. Because there WON'T be a second,lol