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Bumpy lawn- Absolute beginner

isthiaqaisthiaqa Posts: 4
in Garden design
Hi everyone
my very first post and I have just started to give my garden some thought after moving into a new house recently.
My first task is to tackle a bumpy lawn. It has quite a few dips in the lawn. It is on a slight slope as well. 

So im thinking maybe either fill the dips with some soil and to skim off the grass where there are larger bumps in the lawn, and level out like this.

is this the correct approach?

also, should I leave the existing grass or just turn it all to soil? And then should I plant grass seed or lay a lawn turf?

apologises if none of this makes sense or is the completely wrong approach to take. Like I said I’m an absolute beginner and would appreciate any help. I can snap some pictures as well to post here if that helps. 

Thanks in advance to all. 

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hello :) Could you show us some photos please .... then we’ll have some idea of the sort of lumps and bumps we are challenged with, as well as the general state of the grass, which will help us decide on options available. 

    To upload photos click on the little ‘landscape’ icon above the text box. If your pics won’t upload reducing their size usually works.  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • isthiaqaisthiaqa Posts: 4


    Here are some pics 
  • isthiaqaisthiaqa Posts: 4
    Dovefromabove said:
    Hello :) Could you show us some photos please .... then we’ll have some idea of the sort of lumps and bumps we are challenged with, as well as the general state of the grass, which will help us decide on options available. 

    To upload photos click on the little ‘landscape’ icon above the text box. If your pics won’t upload reducing their size usually works.  :)
    Thanks for taking time to have a read!
    ive attached some pics now 😊
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hello again @isthiaqa ... sorry ... somehow this slipped off my radar :flushed:

    I think that your  lawn would benefit from a good scarifying ...either with a spring-tine hand lawn rake , or an electric lawn rake/scarifier (you can hire them quite easily).  That’ll get rid of most of the moss and any dead grass (thatch). 

    You can then scatter some lawn seed over the lawn ... mostly over the bare patches and a bit over the rest to blend it in. 

    Keep it watered until the grass seed is growing strongly. 

    From then onwards mow at least once a week on medium height. 

    It rather looks as if your lawn was cut too short last year and that encouraged moss to develop. 

    I hope that helps but don’t hesitate to ask if you have more queries 😊 



    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • isthiaqaisthiaqa Posts: 4
    Dovefromabove said:
    Hello again @isthiaqa ... sorry ... somehow this slipped off my radar :flushed:

    I think that your  lawn would benefit from a good scarifying ...either with a spring-tine hand lawn rake , or an electric lawn rake/scarifier (you can hire them quite easily).  That’ll get rid of most of the moss and any dead grass (thatch). 

    You can then scatter some lawn seed over the lawn ... mostly over the bare patches and a bit over the rest to blend it in. 

    Keep it watered until the grass seed is growing strongly. 

    From then onwards mow at least once a week on medium height. 

    It rather looks as if your lawn was cut too short last year and that encouraged moss to develop. 

    I hope that helps but don’t hesitate to ask if you have more queries 😊 


    Thanks for the reply again.

    Will that action help with the actual bumps in the lawn as they are a few inches deep. Difficult to show on the pictures. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited March 2019
    You can level bumps and hollows by carefully peeling back the turf and either scraping soil away from the bump or filling the hollow and then folding back the turf. 

    This  should explain better 
    https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/topic/repair-renovation/repairing-the-lawn

    But I think id get the grass growing properly first before levelling ... other people may say different. 

    @glasgowdan is good on lawns ... I’ve tagged him so hopefully he’ll see this and pop in. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • treehugger80treehugger80 Posts: 1,923
    I would scarify first, then aerate (punch holes with a fork about 4-5inches deep giving it a good wriggle to open up the soil underneath the lawn), then spread sandy top soil over everything, sweep into the aeration holes and into any dips then grass seed over the top of any bare patches,
    then later in the summer you can deal with high sections by cutting a H shape over the lump, peeling back the turf and digging some of the soil out, then flapping the turf back.
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