Hello,

I am in the North Dallas area and am planning on having some major work done on my backyard to level it. Basically half of the lawn will be covered with dirt, which means I need to re-sod or hydromulch. Well, the price is high (~$600) to resod or hydromulch because it is a large area. Can I re-seed myself this time of year with the large bags of seed you can get from Home Depot or should I leave it a muddy mess until Jan or Feb? The work on the yard will not be done until end of Nov. Oh, I have bermuda grass...

Thanks for any and all help,
Jody

if it were me I'd spread annual rye right now, then seed or plug bermuda once it gets warm in spring. Might as well have something growing there over the winter else you'll have a lot of erosion. By planting rye now, you get the soil broken up a bit and control erosion - then in Spring when the yard has settled you can level it out a bit if needed and get your Bermuda down. with the rye there to keep it from washing away. While i was at it I'd add plenty of amendments now and organic ferts so they can break down and get the area wormy before Spring

Being that I have never seeded before (except for small areas), how would I seed with bermuda in the spring after the winter rye has been seeded? I mean, I know that you are supposed to rake up an area to be seeded so the seed can get in the top layer of soil....how will I be able to do this in the spring if rye grass is there and the area is large? Sorry for the ignorance, but if I do this, I want to do it right.

Much appreciation for your help,
Jody

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If you want to do it right you will have some pretty ugly "turf" for quite a while. Bermuda seed will not sprout in any numbers until late next June. If you seed with either annual or perennial rye right now it will be dead long before then. No matter what you want in the way of seeded bermuda, there will be some gaps where there is no grass.

Bermuda is more than a warm season grass, it is a hot season grass. Spring seeding is always disappointing. Another alternative is sodding a better variety of bermuda now and living with the dormant sod until spring.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

Thanks David.....My next question is, do you know where I can get this better bermuda sod for less than what the contractor wants to charge me?

Jody

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Check the prices at the good nurseries around. They will load it in your truck for you but you have to unload it. Your contractor is going to charge you to lay it. Well, laying sod out is pretty much a no brainer, so I can't see paying a contractor for that. You could even hire a high school kid to lay it if you don't have the back for it. The only trick is to roll it down afterward. Rent a sod or seed roller. The reason you need to roll it is you will have "bubbles" underneath the sod where the bottom of the sod does not meet the top of the soil. When that happens you get dead spots where the roots try to grow into air. That doesn't work and the sod dries out right there. So roll it down.

The next thing you need to know about sod is that it was highly fertilized prior to your receiving it. It is, therefore, susceptable to fungal disease. What I always suggest for new sod is immediately put down 20 pounds of ordinary corn meal per 1,000 square feet of sod. The corn meal will prevent the fungal disease from coming in. I know this sounds like an old wive's tale but it really works. The research was done at Texas A&M at Stephenville. It works by attracting a different fungus which stops the disease fungi. The secondary fungus is harmless to plants but death to disease fungi.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

David,

One person told me that what they did to their backyard when they had a new house built was just get a pallet of sod and lay out the sections in a checkerboard fashion. He said it took a season, but by the next summer, he had a full lawn. If I did something like that, what would be some good preparations I could do to the soil before placing the sections down? After that, I would do the corn meal as you suggest.

Thanks,
Jody

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Since you are having the lawn leveled, I am going to assume you are going to hire a professional finish grader. That guy will come in with a box hoe with tines on the back of a small tractor. In a morning he will have your entire yard plowed up and re-leveled with a guarantee that the water will drain away from all the buildings and not puddle up anywhere. It should look so nice you would want to sleep on it - perfectly smooth with no clods or rocks showing. The soil level should start 4 inches below the sill on the house and slope away. In the coming months the soil will settle in a little so he might talk you into pushing the soil up a little high toward the sill. That should be okay assuming you are 4 inches or lower now. Otherwise, if you are closer to 4 inches now, and he can't make it lower, he needs to take soil away.

Before the grader arrives, you should have about 2 cubic yards (or more) of compost per 1,000 square feet of back yard. Have them deliver it into the back yard if at all possible. The grader will spread it and blend it into your yard for you. While he is working you should have the sod delivered.

After he leaves, you can lay the sod out. If you do the checkerboard thing, you need to be sure you over-seed the empty squares and cover with sand to bring up the height. Otherwise you will have very serious weeds growing in the empty squares. If you checkerboard it, you should expect to see some movement and shifting of the squares as there is nothing to really hold them in position. I suppose you could use spikes to nail them down

When you do the checkerboard thing AND seed in between, then you have a problem with using corn meal. The corn meal will suppress the germination of your rye grass. Instead of using corn meal right away, I would take a risk of getting the fungus disease for a couple weeks while the rye sprouts. I would let the rye germinate fully and get growing (don't skimp on the seed) and then use the corn meal when the rye is at full height. Remember to mow it high. That will give the roots a chance to dig in before you mow. There is a tendency for new grass to be pulled out by the roots if the grass is mowed short too soon.

Back to the theme of the first paragraph, I want to urge you to not try to level the back yard yourself. Many people rent a tiller, work their buns off, and really make a lumpy mess that holds water at the first sprinkle. Even if you till the yard to dust, a tiller will never give you the same level, drainage, or consistency of structure as a tractor with a box hoe.

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David Hall
Moderator
Dirt Doctor Lawns Forum

David,

No....wouldn't even try to level my backyard. About halfway through the yard it's fairly flat with a slight slope for drainage. Then it just slopes fairly quickly. According to elevation maps of my house, from the house to the fence, there is a total 4 foot drop. This is a BIG job and requires a 4' tall retaining wall to be installed, and then backfill will be dumped....basically only half the yard will need to be resodded. If I was stupid enough to try this myself, well....I would deserve whatever I got! Anyway, we think we will probably wait until next summer (near the end of summer or beginning of fall). Our contractor starting saying he "forgot" this and that AFTER we had applied for a loan. We hadn't signed final papers for the loan (thank goodness), so no harm done, just frustration because I want to get the yard fixed.

That brings me to my next question, do you (or anybody else) know of a good landscape company that does such projects that you would recommend? Would love to find an organic company that could do this so they could start the new section of yard off right, but it doesn't have to be.

Thanks,
Jody

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There are several: Northaven Gardens, Rohde's, Redenta's, Ron's. They all do good work. Hope this helps!
Kathe

Kathe,

I actually go to Rohde's. I didn't know they did big retaining walls, etc.? I don't think they do...I think they just refer you to another company. Hmmmm... I'll check it out though and the others. Thanks so much for your help...
Jody

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To everyone's health...
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I agree with Kathe, I had Rhode's raise, slope and level off my front and side yard. I got tired of having a lake in my front yard everytime it would rain hard. They did a pretty good job. If you interested in using them, have Carol come out and take a look see. She did mine and I am very satisfied with her work. The best part is they are organic so they do not just use 'dirt'. She will prescribe dirt with compost so the grass will grow and grow real well.

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Greg...
Converting one person at a time to Organics, the only way to go!! [ ME ]

Greg,

I wrote Carol an email before I got any other estimates and she wanted to charge me $75 just to come out and look. I prefer to get an estimate before paying any money. I realize she is a professional landscaper and has folks draw up the plans, which I don't mind paying for if I wanted landscape design. But all I want is to put up a retaining wall and level my yard....don't need any fancy landscaping. Did she charge you $75 to come out and look?

Thanks,
Jody

_________________
To everyone's health...
http://www.nutronix.com/JGib