I want to put down some lawn turves,
but the ground is very "cloddy".
I've tried breaking up the clods with a fork,
and also stamping on them with boots on.
This was quite effective.

I also tried a light roller, but this had no effect.

I tried watering the patch,
and it was slightly easier to break up the clods after that.

But does anyone have a better way of dealing with cloddy soil?

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

On Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:13:23 +0200, Timothy Murphy
wrote:

I want to put down some lawn turves,
but the ground is very "cloddy".
I've tried breaking up the clods with a fork,
and also stamping on them with boots on.
This was quite effective.

I also tried a light roller, but this had no effect.

I tried watering the patch,
and it was slightly easier to break up the clods after that.

But does anyone have a better way of dealing with cloddy soil?


Hire a rotovator for a day. HSS have a range of 3 from very light
duty to reasonably heavy duty. Local tool hire companies may do
something at cheaper rates.

rbel

On Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:58:48 +0100, rbel wrote:

On Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:13:23 +0200, Timothy Murphy
wrote:

I want to put down some lawn turves,
but the ground is very "cloddy".
I've tried breaking up the clods with a fork,
and also stamping on them with boots on.
This was quite effective.

I also tried a light roller, but this had no effect.

I tried watering the patch,
and it was slightly easier to break up the clods after that.

But does anyone have a better way of dealing with cloddy soil?


Hire a rotovator for a day. HSS have a range of 3 from very light
duty to reasonably heavy duty. Local tool hire companies may do
something at cheaper rates.

A good idea to prepare the soil now; but you seem not to be in one of
the rainy areas, so I'd wait till it's less droughty. This will allow
the soil to settle nicely, and maybe let you knock out some more weeds
before the turf goes on: that'll give you a better lawn anyway.

--
Mike.

On Jul 23, 7:13*pm, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I want to put down some lawn turves,
but the ground is very "cloddy".
I've tried breaking up the clods with a fork,
and also stamping on them with boots on.
This was quite effective.

I also tried a light roller, but this had no effect.

I tried watering the patch,
and it was slightly easier to break up the clods after that.

But does anyone have a better way of dealing with cloddy soil?

The traditional way is to let the frost bust the clods up over Winter.
If it's clay (probably is) you can buy and rotovate in a few tons of
sharp sand. Also lime helps.
Cheapest place for lime is builder's merchant.


BTW,you could save money by planting seed. September (and April) is
the traditional times

harry wrote in news:253becbc-2be3-4246-9436-
:

On Jul 23, 7:13*pm, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I want to put down some lawn turves,
but the ground is very "cloddy".
I've tried breaking up the clods with a fork,
and also stamping on them with boots on.
This was quite effective.

I also tried a light roller, but this had no effect.

I tried watering the patch,
and it was slightly easier to break up the clods after that.

But does anyone have a better way of dealing with cloddy soil?

The traditional way is to let the frost bust the clods up over Winter.
If it's clay (probably is) you can buy and rotovate in a few tons of
sharp sand. Also lime helps.
Cheapest place for lime is builder's merchant.

and grass seed


BTW,you could save money by planting seed. September (and April) is
the traditional times

Yes.
September is the better of the two, I think. I have sown in both months but
the September sowings have had less weed growth in my experience.

If it was me doing this I would hire a rotovator and roller, do the work
now and seed it. OK it's not an instant lawn, but less expensive and I am
sure you will have to hire the rotovator and roller anyway even if you wait
'till spring when the frost has helped.

I wish you luck.
Baz

On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:00:02 GMT, Baz wrote:

harry wrote in news:253becbc-2be3-4246-9436-
:

On Jul 23, 7:13*pm, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I want to put down some lawn turves,
but the ground is very "cloddy".
I've tried breaking up the clods with a fork,
and also stamping on them with boots on.
This was quite effective.

I also tried a light roller, but this had no effect.

I tried watering the patch,
and it was slightly easier to break up the clods after that.

But does anyone have a better way of dealing with cloddy soil?

The traditional way is to let the frost bust the clods up over Winter.
If it's clay (probably is) you can buy and rotovate in a few tons of
sharp sand. Also lime helps.
Cheapest place for lime is builder's merchant.

and grass seed


BTW,you could save money by planting seed. September (and April) is
the traditional times

Yes.
September is the better of the two, I think. I have sown in both months but
the September sowings have had less weed growth in my experience.

If it was me doing this I would hire a rotovator and roller, do the work
now and seed it. OK it's not an instant lawn, but less expensive and I am
sure you will have to hire the rotovator and roller anyway even if you wait
'till spring when the frost has helped.

I wish you luck.
Baz

I would rotovate but not use a roller - if the soil is "cloddy" which
means heavy, rolling will simply pack it again; just use the usual
heeling routine. Digging (or rotovating) in a mix of sharp sand plus
larger grit will help. Then you've got August to watch for developing
weed seedlings and remove them before seeding in early September. With
the modern fast-germinating seeds, you'll have grass growing nicely by
October.

For so-called rolling of a lawn, the roller on the back of a lawn
mower will usually be heavy enough to run over each spring - just push
the handle down so only the roller is in contact with the ground.


Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk

Jake Nospam@invalid wrote in
:

I would rotovate but not use a roller - if the soil is "cloddy" which
means heavy, rolling will simply pack it again; just use the usual
heeling routine. Digging (or rotovating) in a mix of sharp sand plus
larger grit will help. Then you've got August to watch for developing
weed seedlings and remove them before seeding in early September. With
the modern fast-germinating seeds, you'll have grass growing nicely by
October.

For so-called rolling of a lawn, the roller on the back of a lawn
mower will usually be heavy enough to run over each spring - just push
the handle down so only the roller is in contact with the ground.


Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk


Jake,
With respect to you, I have 'done' many many lawns over the years in both
light and clay soils.
We are talking clay soil here and cloddy?
A heavy roller is a MUST before and after seeding. This is to ensure an
even surface if that is required, and I think it is! Who needs sand?

Please don't think I am criticising your method or you.
Baz

On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:51:46 GMT, Baz wrote:

Jake Nospam@invalid wrote in
:

I would rotovate but not use a roller - if the soil is "cloddy" which
means heavy, rolling will simply pack it again; just use the usual
heeling routine. Digging (or rotovating) in a mix of sharp sand plus
larger grit will help. Then you've got August to watch for developing
weed seedlings and remove them before seeding in early September. With
the modern fast-germinating seeds, you'll have grass growing nicely by
October.

For so-called rolling of a lawn, the roller on the back of a lawn
mower will usually be heavy enough to run over each spring - just push
the handle down so only the roller is in contact with the ground.


Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk


Jake,
With respect to you, I have 'done' many many lawns over the years in both
light and clay soils.
We are talking clay soil here and cloddy?
A heavy roller is a MUST before and after seeding. This is to ensure an
even surface if that is required, and I think it is! Who needs sand?

Please don't think I am criticising your method or you.
Baz

No probs, Baz.

I added "grit" to the list out of respect for Harry who simply
suggested sharp sand, which I don't think is enough in clay soil. FWIW
I would leave out the sharp sand and add more grit.

We can agree to differ on rolling a clay soil and Tim will have to
make his own decision. I'm in the camp that says the old fashioned
lawn rolling idea is dated on anything other than a very light, sandy
soil.( For a laugh have a look at a pic on my web site at:

http://www.rivendell.org.uk/gallery/...?album=2&pos=7

though I was only little then!) IMO, the biggest lawn problem these
days is compaction which is what rolling with a heavy thing achieves.
All I give a lawn is a gentle treatment in the spring to counteract
the winter effect.

Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk

On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:21:17 +0100, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:51:46 GMT, Baz wrote:

Jake Nospam@invalid wrote in
m:

I would rotovate but not use a roller - if the soil is "cloddy" which
means heavy, rolling will simply pack it again; just use the usual
heeling routine. Digging (or rotovating) in a mix of sharp sand plus
larger grit will help. Then you've got August to watch for developing
weed seedlings and remove them before seeding in early September. With
the modern fast-germinating seeds, you'll have grass growing nicely by
October.

For so-called rolling of a lawn, the roller on the back of a lawn
mower will usually be heavy enough to run over each spring - just push
the handle down so only the roller is in contact with the ground.


Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk


Jake,
With respect to you, I have 'done' many many lawns over the years in both
light and clay soils.
We are talking clay soil here and cloddy?
A heavy roller is a MUST before and after seeding. This is to ensure an
even surface if that is required, and I think it is! Who needs sand?

Please don't think I am criticising your method or you.
Baz

No probs, Baz.

I added "grit" to the list out of respect for Harry who simply
suggested sharp sand, which I don't think is enough in clay soil. FWIW
I would leave out the sharp sand and add more grit.

We can agree to differ on rolling a clay soil and Tim will have to
make his own decision. I'm in the camp that says the old fashioned
lawn rolling idea is dated on anything other than a very light, sandy
soil.( For a laugh have a look at a pic on my web site at:

http://www.rivendell.org.uk/gallery/...?album=2&pos=7

though I was only little then!) IMO, the biggest lawn problem these
days is compaction which is what rolling with a heavy thing achieves.
All I give a lawn is a gentle treatment in the spring to counteract
the winter effect.

I'm not a rolling fan, either. Apart from its unsuitability for claggy
soils, one problem our OP might, or would, have when starting from
scratch, is that you don't necessarily get a real level surface with
the roller. Instead, you can have high spots _temporarily_ levelled
off by being squashed to match the neighbouring low spots. Whether or
not you roll, the official approach is to level off the tilth with a
"lute" (no relation to the musical one): it's a board of convenient
length with a couple of holes for attaching a rope which you use to
drag it up and down and across your patch to level it. Then you can
think about rolling if that's what turns you on.

--
Mike.

On Jul 24, 3:51*pm, Baz wrote:
Jake Nospam@invalid wrote :





I would rotovate but not use a *roller - if the soil is "cloddy" which
means heavy, rolling will simply pack it again; just use the usual
heeling routine. Digging (or rotovating) in a mix of sharp sand plus
larger grit will help. Then you've got August to watch for developing
weed seedlings and remove them before seeding in early September. With
the modern fast-germinating seeds, you'll have grass growing nicely by
October.

For so-called rolling of a lawn, the roller on the back of a lawn
mower will usually be heavy enough to run over each spring - just push
the handle down so only the roller is in contact with the ground.

Cheers
Jake
==============================================
Gardening at the dry end (east) of Swansea Bay
in between reading anything by JRR Tolkien.

www.rivendell.org.uk

Jake,
With respect to you, I have 'done' many many lawns over the years in both
light and clay soils.
We are talking clay soil here and cloddy?
A heavy roller is a MUST before and after seeding. This is to ensure an
even surface if that is required, and I think it is! Who needs sand?

Please don't think I am criticising your method or you.
Baz- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Sharp sand is gritty. Grass doesn't do well on heavy soils, anything
you can do to lighten it is good, saves on the spiking in years to
come.
You need lots of sand to make an appreciable difference.