I'm transplanting some grass from healthy areas of my lawn that I'm trimming
back, to thin areas in several spots. The grass is thin and not really
growing probably due to rocky soil (heavy gravel left there from
preconstruction) and also probably due to shallow roots from some pines. If
I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how do I
best cut out these roots? They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size. Tried a
tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or something else
altogether?

jeffc wrote:
I'm transplanting some grass from healthy areas of my lawn that I'm trimming
back, to thin areas in several spots. The grass is thin and not really
growing probably due to rocky soil (heavy gravel left there from
preconstruction) and also probably due to shallow roots from some pines. If
I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how do I
best cut out these roots? They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size. Tried a
tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or something else
altogether?



are you trying to kill the trees?

"jeffc" wrote:
I'm transplanting some grass from healthy areas of my lawn that I'm
trimming back, to thin areas in several spots. The grass is thin and not
really growing probably due to rocky soil (heavy gravel left there from
preconstruction) and also probably due to shallow roots from some pines.
If I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how
do I best cut out these roots? They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size.
Tried a tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or
something else altogether?

Why bother transplanting bad turf? Where do you live?

wrote:

Add some quality, fine compost, and maybe a bit of lime? (A soil test
would be a good idea). Oh, and if you /really/ want nice turf under your
pines, get a lawn vac that will pick up the needles.

Forgtaboutit. Grass and pines donut mix very well.

jeffc said:

I'm transplanting some grass from healthy areas of my lawn that I'm trimming
back, to thin areas in several spots. The grass is thin and not really
growing probably due to rocky soil (heavy gravel left there from
preconstruction)

And, you're transplanting some sort of 'magic' grass, that will ignore, and
somehow overcome the fate of it's predecessor?

and also probably due to shallow roots from some pines.

If the pines are still there, I'd venture a guess that you'd find /most/ of
their roots, "shallow".

If
I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how do I
best cut out these roots?

Why would you want to cut them out? They're there for a reason, you know.
The trees' roots are shallow because that's where the food is (and the
water, and the air, etc). If they're actually pines, that may be part of
the problem. Pine needles can raise the acidity of the soil to levels that
most grasses just can't tolerate. So, the transplanted sod will die for the
same reasons the old sod was dying, and the trees will suffer damage, for
no reason at all. Seems pretty much a waste of time, energy, and sod
'transplanted from the healthy areas of your lawn'.


They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size. Tried a
tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or something else
altogether?

Add some quality, fine compost, and maybe a bit of lime? (A soil test would
be a good idea). Oh, and if you /really/ want nice turf under your pines,
get a lawn vac that will pick up the needles.

--

Eggs

Do Amish people get one phone call when arrested?

I have a lot of pines and very nice grass.


James



Forgtaboutit. Grass and pines donut mix very well.

"James" wrote:
I have a lot of pines and very nice grass.

James

Forgtaboutit. Grass and pines donut mix very well.

How high are the limbs over your nice grass?

For crissakes people, yes I know what roots are for. If you don't want to
answer the question, don't answer, but this is pretty annoying.

"Steveo" wrote in message
...
"James" wrote:
I have a lot of pines and very nice grass.

James

Forgtaboutit. Grass and pines donut mix very well.

How high are the limbs over your nice grass?

The limbs are very high over all the grass. 90% of the grass looks great.
The grass only has small patches that are bad in an overall nice back lawn.
The transplanting I've done so far has worked fine. I just need to get out
some roots so I can dig out some of the gravel and get some good dirt in
those patches. Everywhere there is decent soil the grass is doing fine.

jeffc said:

For crissakes people, yes I know what roots are for. If you don't want to
answer the question, don't answer, but this is pretty annoying.

Your question was answered. I also gave you an alternative solution, which
would be more beneficial to your lawn, as well as your trees. Apparently,
you missed it (or you're determined to damage your trees).

--

Eggs

-A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good.

jeffc said:

I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how do I
best cut out these roots? They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size. Tried a
tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or something
else altogether?

If you have to do it, use loppers. Or hand pruners, if you've got a strong
grip. That's what I use for cutting out the roots of the damned white
aspen that send up shoots all over the yard. (The neighbor is retired
and doesn't have the resources to have them professionally taken down,
and they are too large and leaning too much to make them safe for
non-professionals.)

Pick out bypass-cut loppers with the narrowest blades, the better to
winkle them down into the dirt past the stones.
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

jeffc wrote:
I'm transplanting some grass from healthy areas of my lawn that I'm trimming
back, to thin areas in several spots. The grass is thin and not really
growing probably due to rocky soil (heavy gravel left there from
preconstruction) and also probably due to shallow roots from some pines. If
I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how do I
best cut out these roots? They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size. Tried a
tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or something else
altogether?



If you don't care about the tree - they make pruning blades for sawzalls
that really do a number on roots. They are about 8-10" long and go
through dirt and roots with ease. I don't know about gravel and rocks.
Maybe look for a carbide blade.

--
Art

Abe said:

I'm transplanting some grass from healthy areas of my lawn that I'm trimming
back, to thin areas in several spots. The grass is thin and not really
growing probably due to rocky soil (heavy gravel left there from
preconstruction) and also probably due to shallow roots from some pines. If
I'm cutting up small areas (several feet square in several places) how do I
best cut out these roots? They are 1/4" to maybe 3/4" in size. Tried a
tree pruning saw but it curves the wrong way. Other saws, or something else
altogether?

A good sharp hand axe.

You can't be serious.

--

Eggs

Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a man
who can't get his pants off.

"Eggs Zachtly" wrote in message
...
jeffc said:

For crissakes people, yes I know what roots are for. If you don't want
to
answer the question, don't answer, but this is pretty annoying.

Your question was answered. I also gave you an alternative solution, which
would be more beneficial to your lawn, as well as your trees. Apparently,
you missed it (or you're determined to damage your trees).

No, I don't need a lawn vac because pine needles aren't a problem. I don't
need compost because the grass I'm transplanting comes with 3" of it's own
"compost" - it's healthy grass with enough dirt underneath transplanted with
it. This tactic has worked fine for me whenever I've tried it, and no it's
not "magic" grass and no the transplanted grass doesn't "suffer the same
fate".

Thank you for the helpful suggestions.