Preparing ground for lawn...

I've got myself in a bit of a pickle trying to lay a lawn.

Our house's garden was all tarmac when we bought it. I dug up an area to turn into a lawn. After digging down to about 8 inches I filled in with topsoil and levelled, before sowing grass about two weeks ago.

Unfortunately, you can see from the picture how it looks after the recent weather.



I originally tried to make the ground perfectly level, hence the temporary retaining brick walls. However, I think this was a mistake, because it left no slope to help the water drain off. After pulling away the bricks at either end, the water is not pooling nearly so much there. But there is still a lot of surface water during the rainfaill.

The pools of water do dry up quite quickly after the rain stops, but the rain has left lots of dips and bumps which will need levelling. And I assumed that the standing water would drown the seed.

I had thought I would wait until the wet weather stops, and have another go at levelling, but with a slope off this time. Not that I really know the right angles or direction.

Unfortunately, today the grass has decided to start sprouting, so that's going to make levelling it all difficult without raking up the new shoots.


I'm hoping that someone can help advise me the best way to go about remedying the situation. Should I rake it all over again to make a slope, destroying the new grass in the process? Or just fill in the dips with topsoil and see what happens?

Thanks very much...

 

Best left alone at present until ground has dried out .. Then see what can be done ..

Dave

 

Thanks Dave. I definitely won't be doing anything until it is all dry..

But what I meant was - when it is dry, do I just need to fill in the dips, or will the same thing just happen when it rains. And if so, do I need to make the whole lawn slope?

Also - now that the grass has started growing, will this make it impossible to re-landscape it?

Thanks

 

It also looks way too low. Is it or just the pic's ? The ground level seems a lot lower than the surrounding. If this is the case, the water will drain into your patch.
With such large spaces, i would always turf. Just be personal choice mind.

regards
G

 

Is that a concrete path on the left ? If so that is obviously going to be your lawn level
The easiest option would be turf but that would be more costly
Which ever way you go you need to relevel the whole area which is not a big issue ..I would suggest you use a mix of topsoil and some sharp sand,this will rake out easier. Spread it over the area and rake over in one direction .. Firm by treading the area with your heels ,then rake in the opposite direction . You can do this a few times until you are happy with your finished level.. Use what I think is a concrete path as your guide ..You could then lay turf .. or just reseed ..
You will just have to sacrifice the existing germinating seed ,some of it will survive ..
Where you have laid a row of old bricked would be better with a piece of timber fastened in place with a few stakes .
Hope this makes sense and helps ..

Dave

 

Unless you are wanting a perfect looking lawn this summer I would leave it.

Next Autumn I would spread some more soil (or if your soil is heavy just sand will do, but use sharp sand), work it into the grass which will be looking good by then, and if you have areas where the soil you have added is more than 1/4" - 1/2" deep then I would "over seed" them (apply seed at about 1/2 the normal rate, that will then combine with the grass that grows through from underneath). No harm overseeding it anyway, even in areas where the added topsoil is very thin.

Either way, don't go near it whilst its wet because you'll compact/destroy the soil structure, and once it dries we will be heading for warmer summer weather and you run the risk that re-seeding will struggle to get established and you will have to water and molly-coddle for the rest of the summer ..., and turfing will also need watering to get it established (and if you have hosepipe ban in your area you probably have, at most, a 28 day concession to water it to get it established, and it will need longer watering for longer than that unless this "flood-drought" :D continues).

If you need to get it level (either because you "start again", or when you top-dress it in the Autumn) you can use a ladder to get the surface smooth. Tie a rope to the rungs at each end and pull it about front-to-back and side-to-side; if it skates over the surface put some blocks on it to weight it down a bit so it drags an inch or so of soil in front of the ladder.

Once the grass is up and growing strongly if you still get standing water for more than 30 - 60 minutes after a downpour finishes then you need to pay attention to the drainage of your lawn - come back and ask again if you find yourself needing to sort that out.

 

More excellent advice from Kristan !!

 

Thanks to all for the replies and advice.

Mr Grinch - the ground is level with the path. I actually just left a strip of the original tarmac along the boundary to form the 'path' which I will hopefully pave when funds and time allow.

Kristen - just any lawn would be nice this year - we've had a carpark for a garden for the last 3 years and we really wanted to get somewhere for my 3-year old to play outside. In fact, I already have some trees in pots which I plan to plant at the end of the lawn, and I am hoping to get these in soon.

Your plan sounds like the best option. But I was wondering if just bringing it level again by filling patches would create the same problems next year. It was all level and trodden down when I originally put the topsoil down, but it seems like this was the problem - no way for the excess water to run off.

Should I try to get a slight slope on the lawn when I top dress it? Or is a completely level/flat lawn supposed to be able to absorb unlimited water without needing to drain it off?

 

I think that once you have grass on the area it will either absorb, and drink, any normal amount of water, or disguise it enough that it is not a problem.

However, if you find you have standing water on the lawn (I mean frequently, not after a rare monsoon-like downpour when you might expect some "flooding") then you have a drainage problem, and you will need to tackle that. That could be done as part of preparing the site, but I don't see the point this year - let the seed you ahve germinate, look green (albeit a bit bumpy) this year,a nd take stock in the Autumn.

Its a small area and does not appear to have higher ground around it. Higher ground is liable to provide a source of water FLOWING downhill, and that is a different problem. But a "flat" piece of ground should be able to deal with the rain that falls directly onto it. Some may run off, but that just moved the problem elsewhere. If once you have a "lawn" the rain doesn't seep into it within 60 minutes or so after the rain stops then you'll need some drainage work ... but that can be retro fitted (albeit that it might be easier before laying the lawn - but having said that you only need to do that if you find you have a real problem)

A seed bed will usually look like a lake after heavy rain ... a lawn, on the same spot, usually won't.

 

Thanks Kristen. That's exactly what I wanted to know. So it doesn't seem like I need to worry about creating a slope.The water tends to absorb fairly quickly after the rain stops, so it sounds like my main concern is just to get the grass growing, rather than heavy re-landscaping.

Thanks very much for your help