garden lawn problem
 

Hi

I moved in to a new house - the builders gardeners levelled my front lawn
with top soil and sowed the area with grass. This was in sept - the grass
has a fair coverage although it is not 100 dense yet and no doubt the spring
will help that. The problem is - the area is like a marsh. if you stand on
you sink an inch or so. It is like it is just soil.

Will it sort over the spring as more grass spreads or do I need to take
action now ?

David

"David Cleland" wrote:
Hi

I moved in to a new house - the builders gardeners levelled my front lawn
with top soil and sowed the area with grass. This was in sept - the grass
has a fair coverage although it is not 100 dense yet and no doubt the
spring will help that. The problem is - the area is like a marsh. if you
stand on you sink an inch or so. It is like it is just soil.

Will it sort over the spring as more grass spreads or do I need to take
action now ?

David

The eventual turf root structure and soil compaction should help, as long
as it's not a drainage problem.

I agree. Actually it could be a very good thing if they used quality
top soil and it's deep, new and just not compacted much. I'd much
rather have that than some hard compacted base. Besides drainage, the
other issues I'd keep an I on is how much it settles relative to other
fixed parts of the landscape, eg sidewalks, driveways, etc. And watch
out for any areas that are noticeably lower/higher than others, as
these things can be fixed easier before the grass gets established.

Thanks all,

My only concern is that we have walked on a few spots that are now a little
uneven. I take it as the roots take I can stamp it level a little ?

David


wrote in message
oups.com...
I agree. Actually it could be a very good thing if they used quality
top soil and it's deep, new and just not compacted much. I'd much
rather have that than some hard compacted base. Besides drainage, the
other issues I'd keep an I on is how much it settles relative to other
fixed parts of the landscape, eg sidewalks, driveways, etc. And watch
out for any areas that are noticeably lower/higher than others, as
these things can be fixed easier before the grass gets established.

David Cleland wrote:

Thanks all,

My only concern is that we have walked on a few spots that are now a little
uneven. I take it as the roots take I can stamp it level a little ?

David


wrote in message
oups.com...

I agree. Actually it could be a very good thing if they used quality
top soil and it's deep, new and just not compacted much. I'd much
rather have that than some hard compacted base. Besides drainage, the
other issues I'd keep an I on is how much it settles relative to other
fixed parts of the landscape, eg sidewalks, driveways, etc. And watch
out for any areas that are noticeably lower/higher than others, as
these things can be fixed easier before the grass gets established.






Sounds like the subsoil hasn't been compacted. Probably very good
quality topsoil with a lot of organic matter. As was said before, watch
for excess settling. You might try rolling it. If you left impressions
just from walking on it, I think you need a good experienced turf dude
to look at and evaluate the lawn. I've seen and repaired situations
where the soil settled up to a foot in a year. Depends on the subsoil
structure. What part of the country are you in?

I am in Northern Ireland - so that won't be much help to many :) I have
flatted the foot prints as best I can. It was good top soil and it was only
put down in Sept and although is visibly green it is not at all dense.

Around the edges are pretty solid so I am hoping this will move towards the
center rather than it being soft for life.

The grass is not strong yet and the impression I am getting from your
replies is that the roots may sort things out in the spring?

I think I will leave it until April time and if it is not settled I will get
the gardener back -we did pay for the lawn and if we are left with something
the kids can not play on we need to get them back for re-evaluation.

I have so much to learn........



David



Sounds like the subsoil hasn't been compacted. Probably very good quality
topsoil with a lot of organic matter. As was said before, watch for excess
settling. You might try rolling it. If you left impressions just from
walking on it, I think you need a good experienced turf dude to look at
and evaluate the lawn. I've seen and repaired situations where the soil
settled up to a foot in a year. Depends on the subsoil structure. What
part of the country are you in?

stay off the soil until it dries out ... then you can fill in the
divots. then in the spring when it warms up you can add more seed. the
grass/lawn takes a good year or two to really fill in.

David Cleland wrote:

Hi

I moved in to a new house - the builders gardeners levelled my front lawn
with top soil and sowed the area with grass. This was in sept - the grass
has a fair coverage although it is not 100 dense yet and no doubt the spring
will help that. The problem is - the area is like a marsh. if you stand on
you sink an inch or so. It is like it is just soil.

Will it sort over the spring as more grass spreads or do I need to take
action now ?

David

I'd also test the soil now for PH. It's fairly common for new topsoil
like you have to be low in PH and require lime. If needed, you could
put that down now so it will have time to work over the winter. And
make sure to apply fertilizer in early spring to get it off to a good
and fast start.