Borders, Grass and Drainage

[Andyc84]

I'll be perfectly honest and say i'm not sure either way about your raking attachement for your scarifier. It will depend on exactly what it should be used for and how, specific to that tool.

I do know that they should be different operations.

As previously discussed they serve two seperate functions to achieve a healthy lawn.

 

[morpheus83uk]

More research done I have found the Hollow Tine Lawn Aerators which take up plugs of soil which I believe (correct me if I am wrong here) you then go over with a lawn mower to smash them up and help distribute them back out over the soil.. At this point could you put coarse sand and top soil on or is that going to compact the lawn more since its more soil and when it settles over the year compact and make the problem worse?

I maybe over thinking it however I just want to get it right the first time opposed to having to do it again and again as I screwed up the first time and cause myself problems next year or later on.

Thanks

James

 

[Andyc84]

What you have said appears to be along the right lines, but compaction is compaction and will happen over time and will occur more in trafficed areas.

Its all a bit trial and error to be honest, it depends on your specific site and conditions.

I would agree with your final statement about over thinking it, grass is fairly hardy, which is why we use it for lawns and football pitches and rugby pitches etc. as long as you don't totally kill an area off then it'll come back.

it will just take a bit of TLC.

good luck.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thanks your comments.

I came out of the house this morning to some large cracks in the soil in my front garden. I have done a bit of research and found that it's quite common with clay soil. I have found that using the 50/50 mix of coarse sand and top soil is recommended to fill the gaps and also to water it quite heavily to get some moisture back into the clay. I presume that by doing this and the aeration, and scarification it should perk up over time?

Thanks

James

 

[Andyc84]

Yep, clay soil moves lots during dry or wet periods, expanding and contracting, its noting to worry about...

filling it will help, but you don't need to over water it the addition of sand and top soil will help over time to reduce the overall volume of clay and therefore will reduce the overall effect of the cracks in time.

You might also want to look at re-seeding in the autumn and spring to help top up patches etc. do a bit of research on here for seeding etc before the time comes.

Just look after it and take your time, it's not something that will fix over a weekend.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Oh I am very much aware its not a weekend job and its going to take some time its just I want to get it right first time so I am not back tracing or making it worse in the future.

The reason for my thinking of watering it was that I was going to move the sand and soil around with the hose just help the process along a little bit and get some water a bit deeper into the current surface.

I was told a good mix of 50/50 coarse soil (building / sharp sand) and also top soil so I presume this bag of sand would be fine to use?

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Building-Sand-Major-Bag/p/220129

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Sharp-Sand-Major-Bag/p/220112

I presume that the top soil can be bought in bags of say 500 liters or something?

Thanks

James

 

[Andyc84]

Again, depending on where you go, I think you could get a bag from 25L up to a tipper truck delivering 20 tonnes, so entierly up to you with how much you think you'll need and how much you want to do at a time...

Do a goolge search for your local area and see what you can find.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thanks I was just wondering if you could get large size bags of top soil from like garden centres as when I did a quick Google search there were just large tonne sacks of it which I don't think I would need but who knows.

Would the sand I posted above be alright to mix in with the top soil once I have found what I need? Which would be better the sharp sand or building sand?

Thanks

James

 

[Andyc84]

sharp sand should be fine again to use, rather than the soft sand.

This is usually to top dress, so you want to read up on top dressing.

I wouldn't use the hose to push the mixture around as you will likely end up with a very uneven lawn, you should try and top dress when it is dry so you can achieve a nice level surface...

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thanks I am thinking that I need to get some topsoil and some sharp sand and then mix the two.

I have read that just peat or just top soil are fine however some have said a "compost blend" which is 50% topsoil and 50% organic matter. I presume the 50/50 is the best but everyone seems to have their own opinions on this.

If I get some sharp sand and compost blend (for example) and then add shovel full's of each into the wheel barrow and mixing it around as I go should be fine after aeration and seeding and then use a fine spray with the hose once finished to act like rain will help?

I presume once I have mixed the top dressing I can just use a standard rake to move the soil around so that the holes and cracks and filled and to spread it out as evenly as possible?

Also as both my front and back gardens are on slight inclines would this have any impact on any of this? I know I can level it so I have a level ground and over time the cracking and the clay soil will reduce and the grass will grow better but I am just wondering if there is any impact on it with it being on a slight incline.

BTW - Thanks for all the advice so far I have learned a lot from you guys and knowing what to search for to research.

James

 

[morpheus83uk]

I am looking at this for the top soil please could someone advise if this is the correct stuff?

http://www.stockportstone.co.uk/product_detail.cfm?id=98

Or

http://www.compostdirect.com/sterilised-top-soil/p21

Or

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Multi-Purpose-Top-Soil-25L/p/200247

I am looking at mixing it with the sharp sand below:

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Sharp-Sand-Major-Bag/p/220112#

Many Thanks

James

 

[morpheus83uk]

Can anyone let me know if this is the correct stuff? If it is I will see if I can get it cheaper as I want to get a few bags of each first and see how hat goes to work out what I need and to get a feel for what I am doing. Also is he 50/50 mix the correct way to go?

Thanks

James

 

[Andyc84]

Go back to the lawn care website link I gave you and look at the section on top soil and what you will need (assunming you are on clay if I remember correctly) is a sandy loam soil. Read up on this as it is important to get it correct, however, at first glance, most of your links would provide you with the correct sort of soil, just add the correct ammount of sand to get the correct mix.

 

[morpheus83uk]

Thanks I have had a look on there before posting and I found it was sandy loam however it looks like its the same as the vital earth with the sharp sand mixed in. Well it sounds the same to me anyway which could be wrong.

Its now the mix I am wondering about would 50/50 be too much of one or would it be alright? As I cant find out from the site you have given me the ratio to use.

Thanks

James

 

[Andyc84]

It will entierly depend on how "sandy" the topsoil that you bring in is. you want to mix it so that the consistency is correct for application, that being a dry sandy mix but without it all being sand.

it's hard to explain really, so you will have to make a best guess, but google some images for top dressing clay soil and that might help you get the idea.

Either way, if you do too much or too little sand it shouldnt really make it worse, so again, a little trial and error, but either way, you should only be helping the situation.