Mending Soil

[seige101]

Over the past 2 years i have been bringing in fill to plant a nice lawn around the house. I was buying some nice composted manure/leaves,grass etc from a local farmer. Unfortunately he passed away over the winter and i had to find a new source. Had another 20 yards delivered and spread and i knew right away it was inferior to what i had purchased in the past.

This new soil drains water to well and does not retain it at all (i think to much sand). I was in a rush this spring to get the grass planted so i didn't add anything into it then. I planted grass and now have a half grass/weed mixture, recently started getting a handle on the weeks. Is there anything i could lightly add on top in very small doses to help build up the soil a little bit to help it drain slower/ retain more water? Or do i have to add a couple inches on top and rototill it into the soil?

One last thing while i am asking you all, the grass i planted last year is a nice dark green. This years grass planted in april is a much lighter almost lime green colored with darker patches. Same exact seed from the same bag. Is this because the new grass is younger or because of a deficiency in the soil?

 

[save$]

New lawns require a lot of TLC. I would try more traditional methods before resorting to tilling it under. Test the soil to see if it needs lime, fertilizer etc. Try using the lawn mulcher when cutting the grass. Try to cut it on the higher settings. New lawns need to be kept watered and fed on a regular schedule. I would not use products like weed and feed on new lawns. Ok to use BT to keep the grub population down. Contact your local extension service. They may tell you what grasses grow best in your soil conditions.

 

[seige101]

Thanks for the reply. I am mowing on the highest mower setting and mulching back into the grass. I did ask what the best type of grass for my area was, and planted the right mix for my mainly sunny yard. Don't remember what the heck it was though!

 

[fishingpol]

I had compacted soil in my yard a few years ago. I rented a core aerator and went over the lawn in a few directions. I put down a few yards of compost and raked it into the holes. The compost helps retain some water and provided nutrients for worms which aerated the soil also. UMASS Amherst does soil testing for about $10.00 and will probably tell you quite a bit about what you have and what you need.

Here is a good website that I go to for lawn care:

http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp

http://www.umass.edu/soiltest/

 

[PapaDave]

About 3 years ago I had pretty bad grass in the front yard. The garden had been amended well (goats and chickens and bunnies), so I took about 12 wheelbarrows full into that area and thinly spread it out. Planted some new seed, and it looks much better than the rest of the lawn. Took a couple years for that seed to really take hold. Still a few bare spots where the dogs do their duty.
If you have access to some compost, you could add a thin layer right on top and rake it in.

 

[billb3]

It's common to add sand to pasture soil here to grow grass so that water doesn't stand and create standing/poor draining disease problems. Also a couple inches of well draining base under that. Then a watering system to make up for the water not being retained. Makes for an expensive lawn - like a golf course. Looks nice though.
You probably have a combination of different soil, planting conditions (Spring can be tough fighting weeds) and an old bag of mixed seed may have some that didn't survive the Winter and didn't sprout so you've ended up with a different kind of grass.
Mulching and adding sifted ( small particles) compost or manure every now and then in small thin amounts should help.


I've done the weed free scottslawn not a blade out of place lawn thing and it is fun and an accomplishment and looks nice.
I'd rather look at a garden out my front window. If my yard looks like a turn of the century weed patch well that's fine with me.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I hope that you didn't ask for "fill"
If you ask for compost, you should get a great soil amendment. If you ask for loam, then you will get the base- it sounds like you were getting compost, and this time got loam.

I mix in white clover seed at about 1:10 with grass. Fertilizes itself, amongst other things.
The only reason we call it a weed now is that the first weed killers killed it along with everything else- so the producers rebranded clover as a weed. Before that, it was common practice to add clover to grass seed.

But then again- I'm like Billb3. I can grow the hell out of grass if I want to, but instead I have weeds and better things to do- like- whatever my wife says I need to do (jk)

 

[Dune]

Pale green indicates nitrogen deficiency. Agree with last years grass seed being a poor choice. Find a better source and rake in a thin layer of compost on top.
For nitrogen a manure tea is an easy organic fix, just don't overdo it.

 

[PapaDave]

I don't know, I had some leftover rye in a bag that got soaked and started sprouting. I put it in one of my raised beds as a "green manure" and it took off like a banshee.
Maybe it was because of the bunnie crap. Hmmm.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Rye seed is like a sprinter on the blocks waiting for that starter pistol

 

[fishingpol]

I have a lot of clover, probably low nitrogen but the honeybees really like it until I mow.

 

[save$]

I have a lot of clover, probably low nitrogen but the honeybees really like it until I mow.

Clover is one of those plants that fixes nitrogen in its roots. Sort of the same for beans and peas. If you dig clover up, you will find little bunches on the roots. In their own way, they are building nitrogen in your soil.

"As a legume, clover obtains nitrogen from the atmosphere and fixes it into the soil in organic forms for its own use as well as for the grass growing around it," from http://www.bing.com/search?FORM=BB07DF&PC=BB07&q=clover+adding+nitrogen+to+the+soil&src=IE-SearchBox

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Dark green lawns have a proper amount of iron in the soil and the correct soil Ph, grass gets lighter in color or yellow when the soil Ph is incorrect or there is a lack of iron in the soil. Send a soil sample to the extension service and take it from there.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

In many NE areas Lime needs to be added for the proper pH. All the pine trees we have make the soil very acidic.

I added some rich top soil in a few places to plant new grass and it made all the old grass around the rich top soil a nice dark green. LOL

So now I have a bare spot with a ring of nice dark green grass around it!

 

[save$]

I was very lucky. Winter before last, while at Lowes, I came across a pallet full of that composted stuff you top dress your lawn with. It was frozen, but selling for 44 cents a bag. Usual price is between 6 to 7 dollars. So I got the whole pallet for very little. They even loaded it on my truck. That was good because they had to break the bags away from each other. I would never been able to handle that myself. I have been using it everywhere, even to fill planters etc. Still have several bags left. Did the same thing at Wal-Mart two years before. That time is was Miracle Grow potting soil at $2.00 a bag, the really big ones!

 

[MasterMech]

You can manipulate the soil by top dressing. Add small layers, 1/4" at a time. Core aeration prior to top dressing will allow you to lay down much more material in one shot. Funny thing is, on golf courses, we add sand to our soil! Grass grows just fine in sandy soil BTW.

Always test your soil before making any alterations. Grass seed usually has a shelf life of about 1 season. Last summer's seed will not give satisfactory results compared to a fresh bag.

 

[seige101]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I will be getting soil samples in the next week and going from there.

I was not happy with the additional loam i received this year, he spread it with the bucket of his tractor and it really really packed it down. The previous person i hired used a york rake to spread it out and it was light and fluffy when seeding. I did rototill before i seeded but some spots didn't get down that low due to rocks. Deffinately looks like i need to use a Core aerator this fall.

The loam i received in previous years was a compost mix

What about thatch? It looks on the existing lawn there is quite a bit of thatch down at the surface. How thick before i de-thatch? How often should i have to do it?

Thanks everyone!

 

[MasterMech]

De-Thatching depends on your grass variety and your mowing habits. Mowing often and using a mulch kit will do the most to prevent excessive thatch build up. You need some thatch to aid in moisture retention but more than 3/4" is excessive. De-thatching is best accomplished in the late spring. Don't do it in the fall as the thatch is necessary to protect the roots over the winter.

If you have lots of rocks then running a core aerator over that lawn will be, well, rocky...