The Grass Doctor

Garden Tips: How much inches of old soil do I need to remove to plant new grass?

The new lawn will be growing in NY weather so which grass seed/type do your think is best. Grass is only on the South, East and West of the house and does not get much sun due to tall oak trees. Grass has lots of weed: d-lions and clovers.

Public Comments

1. Just till the soil, no need to remove it.
2. You don't need to add any new soil, just use a rototiller to aerate the ground first, removing any weeds and rocks you might come across. Once you've done this, be sure to rake the soil to ensure that it's level. However, if you'd like to lay some topsoil you should do so when you're leveling the ground so you don't have to do it twice! A thin layer (around a half inch to an inch deep) should be sufficient. "Once the ground is prepared, the next step is to spread a starter fertilizer. You should ask the sod farm which type of fertilizer they recommend; it differs depending on the climate. Sometimes, starter fertilizer is spread after the sod is installed. Again, ask the sod farm what they recommend for your sod type and region." Good luck!
3. Use a good rear tine tiller to about 6 inches depth and till the whole yard - prior to that use roundup on the area to plant the seed so that all the weeds are gone and wait about a week to till and replant. I would advise you to use fescue or bluegrass if its a shady area you are planting in. Just be sure to keep the ground moist once you have seeded it until the seed is at a good mowing length - and then water as needed.