New lawn - levelling out the bumps
LG_
Posts: 4,357
Hello
I'm currently creating a new lawn, a few inches above the old one (see http://www.gardenersworld.com/forum/garden-design/raising-the-level-of-a-lawn/762061.html for backstory).
So far I've added about 6 tons of material - shingle, sharp sand and topsoil - and I'm trying to get it as level and finished as I can before adding the last couple of inches which will be bought-in topsoil.
To this end I've raked and trodden a couple of times and I know I'll need to do it a few more times, but does anyone have any tips on how best to reduce the hills and hollows? The edge I'm working to is level, which helps, and each time I rake the lawn area it looks good and level. Then when I do the lawn shuffle thing I'm amazed how bumpy it is. I feel like it'll be a never ending 'add a spadeful here, lose a spadeful there' and while I'm willing to keep at it I'm slightly despairing of ever achieving a nice flat surface. It doesn't have to be perfect, I'm not looking for a bowling green, but I only plan to do this once and want it to at least start off as good as it can be.
Also, a few inches down there is turf that needs to rot down (see previous thread), so in the interest of it beng as level as possible I thought I should wait a few weeks for this to flatten down. This could mean laying turf in December - is that stupid?
Would be glad of any words of wisdom.
Posts
Part of my large garden is rough and bumpy due to rabbits burrowing (before I lived here) - so heaps and hollows galore. This makes mowing a scalp and miss affair! I think what needs to be done is: remove turf from high and low areas. Remove soil from high spots to level them out; to even things up, put surplus soil in the low areas to raise the level; then replace the turf. Depending on the scale of the problem it may still need bought in soil to fill low areas. So easy to say! Hard work to do! I've not started yet. If anyone has an easier way I look forward to learning about it.
No, I didn't kill off the turf but I'm pretty confident I did get rid of all the weeds.
The bumps and hollows are not so much undulations as, well, bumps and hollows. ie I'm only aware of them when I'm shuffling along treading the earth down. It's a matter of some areas being more solid than others so that when I'm shuffling, some compresses and some doesn't. They feel quite significant underfoot even though they don't look it which is why I want to try to get rid of them. I will try the scaffolding board approach I think.
I know December sounds unpleasant, for me, but would it be okay for the turf (if we happened to have a dryish, mildish week, say?). Im not wedded to doing it then, spring may well be more sensible, but I'm wondering what my options are.
If we had snow that settled for a while this winter I think that newly laid turf might be very unhappy
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'd definitely put off the turfing till spring. It's not cheap and it would be pretty soul destroying to have to replace it ...not to mention all the repeated work in doing that.
Leaving it over winter is actually beneficial - the rain/snow will encourage the ground to settle more, so you'll be able to go over the area and fill any holes again before laying the turf.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
October and November is the best time for laying turf. It can be laid December -Feb providing the soil isn't frozen or waterlogged
. March and April would be the next best for laying turf but it more prone to drought the main killer, and it will take longer to establish due to the ground be colder.
Like pansyface said use some scaffold planks for levelling, I prefer to use the back of the rake for firming the ground as long as you can firm it down hard enough but using your feet fine as well. Any bump and hallows you missed can be address when laying the turf. I buy some top dressing just in case for filling in gaps, or it can be used to level out any small hallows in spring after the grass has started to grow.
Best to do any work on a dry day as well, it will make the job a lot easier.
I used a rake to level my lawn after rotovating. It looks good now, not perfect, but good. It was hard work.
Thanks all. Much as I'm itching to get on and finish the job, I'm going to force myself to hold out until the spring to be sure that the turf underneath has fully died down and isn't going to sink further. I'll use your scaffolding plank / hollow-filling-as-I-go-along tips then
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Meanwhile I'll get on with the other gazillion jobs that need doing...