Lawn experts, questions about hard soil

[Big A]

This new yard of ours has super-hard soil, which I think is due to a high clay content. Because of this there are bare spots, and the lawn in general stays yellowed. We tried planting some flowers, which died because they couldn't root themselves.

I've pretty much resigned to the fact that I've got to "rip and replace" the top layer of soil and sod as soon as it starts cooling off again, though I'm open to other ideas that are less extreme, if they'll do the trick. I've not yet aerated the yard, just regular watering, and I put down some gypsum last weekend.

Is there anything else I can do short of new dirt?

[Country cracker]

I had a similar problem with patches due to hard clay. I put down some scotts turf builder and watered the piss out of it and in about 2 weeks I had new grass

[Country cracker]

and don't cut your grass to short I cut mine on the 4th setting

[zemog]

What type grass / sprinkler system in place ?

[zemog]

Aerification followed by top dressing with sand is an option , depending on the severity it may take several applications to see any notable difference. If there is no irrigation in place and not much grass worth keeping it might be cheaper to do as you meantioned

[Big A]

I've got a sprinkler system, though there is a pretty bad break in the back yard zone, though that's at the top of my to do list to fix.

I am ready to formulate a plan of attack, and pay a pro to come evaluate, and schedule next steps, though I was wondering if the situation was salvageable in terms of the soil. I don't want to pay someone who is going to come out and recommend a rip and replace anyway.

There are plenty of other green lawns in the neighborhood, so I guess that should tell me that I can save this yard if I put the time and effort in, but at some point it becomes "easier" to pull a layer, level it, and start over.

[lincolnboy]

clay soil conditioner but i have not really used it or knew someone that has.

[zemog]

You can have conditioner ( gypsum) along with pretty much any other product mixed with the top dressing sand , I always use a blend with peat to help my sand based greens hold water

[Big A]

You can have conditioner ( gypsum) along with pretty much any other product mixed with the top dressing sand , I always use a blend with peat to help my sand based greens hold water

I laid down a couple bags of gypsum two weekends ago, I don't see any change yet, but it's still being watered in.

[Goku025]

I just laid down 1400sq of celebration bermuda sod in my backyard about 2 and a half weeks ago. I had a similar problem, the prior owners did not take care of the front or back, so it was rock hard soil and would not grow crap. I was tired of wasting money on seeds top soil and wasted water. I wish i had a before pic.

I rented a tiller and tilled the entire back yard down 5 inces, 4 times total. Dropped some starter fertilizer down and tilled that in for my 4th and final tilling, leveled it out. I watered it about 1 inch into the soil the evening before i got my sod delivered.

It was some hard work, but it came out beautiful. I can now walk on my grass barefoot and not worry about the burrs sticking my family.

[Big A]

Thanks for sharing Goku, this is exactly the route I think I'll go. Did you have to do anything with the existing grass, or did tilling pretty much kill it? I have concerns of having the different types of grass growing/looking funny. Have you had any issues getting the sod to take this time of year?

I got the sprinklers fixed, and regular watering has the soil a little softer to walk on, but it's still really uneven. Hopefully that will make tilling a tad easier.

[wickedblkgt]

If you have St Augustine, put down a fertilizer and water it in. Let it grow and when its time to cut, cut it so the blade is off the ground 3 1/2 inches. If you keep St Augustine healthy, it will take over your yard. My 2 cents.

[Chili]

Big A is in Cali, for those of you that don't know. So his conditions are pretty different than we have here in north Texas.

I wish I had anything to add.. I just water and mow.

[ceyko]

We've also adopted the water/cut strategy and it is helping.

Wife mows twice a week at a higher setting. Seems to be f'ing with the weeds and promoting growth with the grass. We're also bagging 1 acre worth to assist with weed seeds being spread. Don't know if that makes a difference, but it comes in handy for compost too.

[wickedblkgt]

Mulch, it puts nutrience back into the lawn.