Quick Lawn Help Please!

[Brian Kent]

I need recommendations on quick lawn repair. How can I level it quickly?

My son is getting married on October 22. It will be a backyard wedding. The lawn area where the chairs will be is 30' by 60'. It was new sod when we bought the house a year ago.

Since then, the gophers have done their damage - several holes and mounds per week. The dogs used to dig trenches to try to get to the gophers.

I have filled all holes, and can pretty well keep up with the new ones. The dogs are no longer digging. The remaining problem is the uneven remnants of all of these repairs. I am looking for safety, not for beauty.

With a wedding coming up in 4-1/2 weeks, I need to level the lawn. Yesterday I walked all around with a wheel barrow full of dirt, filling in low spots, evening it out with the hose.

I appreciate any recommendations, short of re-sodding 1800 sq. ft. What would you do to make the lawn safer for high-heeled guests?
Is 4 weeks long enough to get some new sprouts going, too, or should I only work on leveling?

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Brian

[Sean Troy]

I need recommendations on quick lawn repair. How can I level it quickly?

My son is getting married on October 22. It will be a backyard wedding. The lawn area where the chairs will be is 30' by 60'. It was new sod when we bought the house a year ago.

Since then, the gophers have done their damage - several holes and mounds per week. The dogs used to dig trenches to try to get to the gophers.

I have filled all holes, and can pretty well keep up with the new ones. The dogs are no longer digging. The remaining problem is the uneven remnants of all of these repairs. I am looking for safety, not for beauty.

With a wedding coming up in 4-1/2 weeks, I need to level the lawn. Yesterday I walked all around with a wheel barrow full of dirt, filling in low spots, evening it out with the hose.

I appreciate any recommendations, short of re-sodding 1800 sq. ft. What would you do to make the lawn safer for high-heeled guests?
Is 4 weeks long enough to get some new sprouts going, too, or should I only work on leveling?

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Brian

Four weeks is plenty of time to get some grass growing if you get on it right away. I don't think there is a easy way to make any lawn safe for high heals short of laying down plywood and that won't look good for a wedding.

[curtis rosche]

steam roler, thats what the amish around here do. they use a heavy roller to flatten it. ive never seen them use one of those huge multi ton rollers though, not sure if they would sink, or just kill the grass. but those rollers under 2000, they seem to be common around here. try after a rain to get the smoothest surface is what i was told once

[John Pratt]

A lot of tool rental places rent out the lawn rollers that you can tow behind a lawn mower/tractor. you just have to add water to the drum. I've used one on mine to level the sod/ground before. As far as high heels go, I can't help.

[Brian Kent]

I like the idea of a roller. If I can level with a roller ASAP and get a little fresh seed growing, I can stop watering enough days in advance that they are walking on a lawn and not a marsh. I'll look into a roller rental.

[Graham Wintersgill]

If you have to add more dirt then before applying mix grass seed through it so it goes down ready mixed.

Regards

[Ben Hatcher]

A slit seeder will do a better job of filling in the bare spots if you have a significant number of them.

[Brian Kent]

Ben, I now know what a slit seeder is. Never hear of that before.

I am looking today for lawn roller services. Otherwise I need to rent a roller, a tractor, a trailer, and a truck to pull it.

What about the 24" wide hand-pushed rollers?

[Ben Hatcher]

If your soil is sandy and the bumps from tunnels, the hand pushed roller will do a decent job for you. I tried one on our clay soil to fix bumps caused by tree roots and it was completely ineffective. My local BORG rents the push rollers for $11...certainly worth a try.

[Brian Kent]

Not sandy. The underlying stuff is clay, with sod over the top that has some give. For $11, I'll give it a try.

[Jim Koepke]

You can also use sand to fill in some of the shallow spots. Don't try this on deep holes. It is usually only good for leveling areas less than an inch.

jtk

[Ben Hatcher]

Don't add sand to clay. Sand + Clay are the main ingredients in bricks. Clay actually compacts better when sand is added. And it isn't any better if the two don't mix because sand doesn't hold water well and isn't a very good growing medium for grass. Anything rooted in sand will die if not watered frequently. Topsoil is a much better choice.

[Brian Kent]

If topsoil contains manure, how long will it stink (warm days, daily watering)?

[Ben Hatcher]

Not long. A week, maybe two. If it really stinks, then it hasn't fully composted and you should avoid it.

[Brian Kent]

I filled holes with topsoil and seeded this morning. There is some composted manure in the topsoil, but it already is not bad. I walked up and down what will be the aisle the bride walks on, to make sure all holes were filled and bumps pushed down. That would be a heck of a time to trip - with all eyes on the bride.

[Mark Kelly 92040]

Brian,

Another thing you might consider is to use a rake (the kind with the hard tines, not a leaf rake) to blend the areas that are soil with the surrounding turf. You don't say what type of turf you have so I'm assuming it is tall fescue like most of the yards in SD County. The raking will help even out the bare spots and make the use of the hand roller a little more effective. Make sure that you use a good topping mix when you put down your seed, which should also be of good quality. Hydroscape in Escondido is a good place to get both the seed and the topping mix. I'd use the roller again once you get the seed and topping mix down to make sure you have a good planting. Make sure you keep the planted areas wet during the heat of the day and don't let them dry out until the seed starts to sprout.

Mark

[Rick Potter]

Good advice so far, Brian.

We just had 160 people in our back yard for a wedding reception. My yard has a lot of clay too. You might want to hold off on the watering for 5-6 days, as the clay holds it a long time. We held off for three days, but they were 103 degree days. No problems.

Rick Potter

[Dave Ogren]

I had a similar problem with a portion of my lawn. I think that you have to eliminate the boring problem or it will keep happening. Moles and Voles feed on Grub worms. I think gophers do also (But not positive). So you have to eliminate the food source. I purchased a bag of grub killer for about $15 that would treat about 5,000 square feet. Spread it out and watered it in and problem solved. Oh! this is not a big box store item, I got it at an agriculture chemical supply store.
Good luck,

Dave

[Brian Kent]

Thank you for the new info about grub worms. I never heard about that one.

[ray hampton]

Brian, If your lawn are open [no trees or buildings ] talk to any of your friends that own dune buggies or 4x4 pickup trucks and ask them to pack the soil down for you

[Lavy Garcia]

Well you have plenty of options yet and you can do what is you are want to do.You can put and grow up the fresh grass.It will must help you to best.If you don't want to grow.So,you can put some synthetic grass mats which make your lawn so good for the wedding and it would also be really good for you and gives you the multiple benefits for you.

[Greg Portland]

Have you considered a powered sod cutter? Cut the lawn into strips, roll, and then prepare the dirt (box blade on the back of a mower or small tractor). Roll the turf back into place and you've got a flat lawn.

[John M Wilson]

Check the date on the post! The wedding is long over, and the happy couple have already celebrated their first anniversary.