Uneven yards can be tricky for little kids to navigate. Depressions make walking and running unsafe, and they hold water, creating wet, muddy conditions. When a couple wanted their backyard to be flatter and retain less water, landscape contractor Lee Gilliam answered their call. With a simple process, he was able to repair the soil, regrade the lawn, and seed it for the growing season.
How to Regrade a Yard
- Start by dethatching the lawn. This involves removing the dead grass, roots, twigs, and other debris that pack down on top of the soil. Use a metal rake or a power dethatcher to cut through the thatch layer and bring it to the surface for removal.
- Use the wheelbarrow to bring in the loam. Dump it in piles across the yard and spread it out with the rake. Level it out with the leveling rake, pushing it back and forth to fill the low spots in the yard.
- Fill the seed spreader with limestone and spread it across the lawn, on top of the fresh loam. The limestone will repair the soil and bring up the soil’s pH level to help grass grow.
- With the limestone spread, it’s time to spread the grass seed and fertilizer. If the lawn is small, it’s best to spread the seed by hand, as you can control where it goes and ensure that everything is covered equally. Cast it out in long, sweeping tosses, covering the entire yard.
- Use the back of a metal rake to knock down any piles of grass seed and spread it around. The goal is to ensure that all of the grass seed is spread evenly and in contact with the soil.
- Fill the wheelbarrow with peat moss and spread it over the grass seed. Water the seed once or twice each day for around two weeks to keep the peat moss from blowing away.
Materials
Tools
You can choose to rent a power dethatcher.
