Ben Emms wrote:
Hi all. I need some help. I'm trying to sow part of my lawn that is
bare and have put some top soil down on it but having spent hours
de-clumping it there are now hundreds or even thousands of small
marble sized balls of top soil all over it from the left overs of
breaking down the clumps. The whole point of doing this other than
obviously that top soil is needed anyway, was to cover up lots of
small stones that were underneath it, but now I have the equivalent
of those stones only as hard pieces of clumped top soil. What I want
to know is, do I need to get rid of all these small balls of top soil
or is it OK to sow the seed on it anyway? Also I am half
contemplating turfing it as I'm not sure I want to wait for the grass
to grow from seed (I have a young family and could do with the lawn
for the summer), but in this case does the same still apply ie. would
i have to get rid of the balls first? Any thoughts gratefully
appreciated. Thanks.

Just roll them in with a lawn roller. then very lightly rake the surface with a
leaf rake to loosen just enough soil to cover the seed. Rake the seed in, roll
again lightly, and you're on your way.