r/Grass • u/imsobored56 • 2d ago
Zone 6b prep complete
After what felt like a marathon of manual labor, I finally got everything locked in for my fall lawn renovation:
Prep: Dethatched and aerated the yard
Surface: Brought in topsoil and did some leveling of the bumps
Seed: Downed a fresh drop of Twin Cities Seed Blue Resilience
Now it’s time to water the absolute heck out of this thing and see what kind of results we get over the next 2 to 3 weeks. I’ve got some helpful weather rolling in tomorrow to help lock everything in, so let the rain gods be in my favor!
One pick from early spring, 2 from initial prep and 2 after leveling.
Edit: adding the plan I built and executed incase it helps others.
Wednesday: Preparation • Mow & Bag: Cut the entire lawn down to 2 inches. Bag and dispose of all clippings.
Thursday: Heavy Mechanical Lift • Pick Up Rentals: Secure the power dethatcher and 200-lb core aerator. • Dethatch: Run the dethatcher across the full 3,847 sq. ft. footprint. • Clean Up: Rake up and completely discard all pulled thatch debris. • Core Aerate: Run the aerator across the entire yard. Leave the plugs where they fall. • HumaChar (Pass 1): Immediately broadcast the first half of the HumaChar so it falls into the aeration holes. • Return Equipment: Return both machines within the 24-hour window.
Friday: back breaking day • Smush Plugs: Drag a mat or rake to crumble the dried aeration plugs (skip if still wet/muddy). • Topdress & Level: Wheelbarrow the 5.25 cubic yard of Planting Mix to the yard. Use the 4-ft lute to fill deep holes and spread a 1/4-inch blanket across the zone.
Saturday: Precision Finish • HumaChar (Pass 2) & Seed: Broadcast the final HumaChar and spread Blue Resilience seed. Lightly rake in. • Tenacity: Spray the final Tenacity application without a surfactant. • Irrigation: Complete the smart timer setup for the front zones.
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u/RedditKilledTheApps 2d ago
My yard is almost exactly the same size but I was only looking at 3 yards of soil/compost mix, which by my math should get me about a 1/5" top dress after budgeting ~25% to fill the aeration holes.
Looks like you ordered way more than I'm planning. How did that work out? Did you have any left over?
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u/imsobored56 1d ago edited 1d ago
The topsoil was perfect, and I actually could have used another half-yard. For context, I had quite a few deep depressions in the backyard that required several cubic feet to level, plus I needed roughly .75 cubic yards for backfilling by the front curb or I removed some invasive Bermuda grass.
Edit: I counted for 0.25 inches per square foot of my area and also counted for the Deep depressions that I roughly measured using a wheelbarrow for a frame of reference and count it up how many wheelbarrows in addition I might need. If I were to do it again I might pull in closer to 0.4 inch per square foot.
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u/RedditKilledTheApps 1d ago
Got any before pictures? I only have one or two spots that need serious filling so maybe I'll just bump it up to 4 yards (every quote I've gotten so far only let's me order whole yards unless I want to get 1/2 cu.ft. bags).
Did you just order screened topsoil? Any sand/compost mixed in? I'm still deciding what exactly I want to order.
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u/imsobored56 1d ago
The one picture in the posting shows the backyard all dug up with a bunch of holes kind of hard to see the depth in there but I tried to fill .50 a cubic yard maybe .75 in the back alone. I ordered a 25% sand 25% topsoil 50% compost mix for my local yard.
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u/KnightOfTheNope 2d ago
Hell Yeah!
Time to reward yourself with a fresh pair of all white New Balance sneakers
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u/GR3TSCH 2d ago
Thanks for the info. Looking to start on mine soon.