Leveling a VERY Bumpy Lawn

[@MrBeanfien]

i moved 2 yards of sand today on 1200 square feet! i feel you pain! its looking good! keep it up!

[@atmac8459]

‘You’re not leveling your grass. You’re leveling the ground.’ Truth of all truths no other creator has made about this process

[@KamiKomplex504]

The holes filled with sand I did that to start off some clay sodded over in a new construction and it has done so well. The ground always feels moist, my neighbors create run off rivers but I water once or twice a week, a little mini soak cycle of 2x 30 mins w 15 mins break ... Absolutely recommend. Fill it up with some biochar at the very bottom while you are at it. Know how good char is like glass? There is a reason, just look at a periodic table. Carbon is multi purpose and also helps infiltration but also retention.

[@antoniobrown3219]

Excellent tips as always! Your vid was perfect for me because I have a very bumpy lawn and everyone else that does a vid on this but theirs is already relatively flat, lol! Best tip is the link on where and how much you can purchase the leveling mix...Thanks for that!

[@RangerHercMom]

Love your videos! So helpful! Could you add leveling rake to your list of product recommendations? Thanks!!

[@campion05]

Doc, you must know some people at Soil 3 to get such a finely mixed product. I was glad to find the leveling mix with compost like you use in my area this past June, BUT both bags were full of golf ball sized lumps of compost not mixed with the sand. I called them and they said they have had no other issues. "Try spreading it out to dry first" she said. ( ya right like I'm going to handle it twice? ) I used it anyway. Cutting Bermuda turf very low, shovel fanning it out, drag mating it, and brushing it in. Still had clumps of compost sitting in the grass a month later making dead holes like when you don't pick up the aeration plugs. Just a heads up to others who may want to purchase the leveling mix to open your bags before the fork lift guy leaves to make sure the sand and compost is THOROUGHLY mixed! Thanks Doc for the continued videos on turf maintenance.

[@HowTowithDoc]

Over the years I have had small humic balls but never any large ones. If we use on the putting green we take the time to screen it but that would not work for a large project. These bags were very good. Maybe they started screening more.

[@campion05]

@@HowTowithDoc Thank you for your time. I think I'll stick with bagged sand and potting soil as you suggested years ago. Seemed to work very well where sod sank up to three inches due to drainage pipe installations three years ago. The farm looks great. Cheers from Upstate SC.

[@smithsonian2464]

It really seems like you moved heaven and earth, quite literally, to transform this property into what it is now Doc.

[@Cathal_6400]

Good video Mike ehrmantraut

[@gvmdax]

Great stuff, thanks Doc!

[@catherinemurphy873]

Very interesting. Thanks 👍

[@1nnu3ndo]

Hi Doc, I was told seed doesn't germinate well on sand as it doesn't hold any nutrients unlike soil, which seemed logical. But seeing your results, you obviously know what you're doing. So was I being misinformed?

[@sylvi73]

How much did you invested finantially and hourly in this project? Your explanations are very useful, I will start leveling my yard little by little until I get the leveling as perfect as can be possible.

[@markd9105]

I have an area where I need to do some leveling it's not extremely bumpy but bumpy when walking on and mowing. I've been wondering if just adding dirt and running a rake over and reseeding would work. So your video should give me some good ideas. 👍

[@jimplantenberg8597]

Was that a concrete float you were using along with the landscaping rake?

[@adamghazal9204]

Thanks Doc

[@seg183pool21]

Hi Doc great video, but I have a question about re-seeding after leveling, what goes down first and second and so on ? Thanks Doc.

[@revelationakagoldeneagle8045]

Knock down the high spots, fill in the low. Rinse and Repeat 🔁

[@kesm66]

Can you use a 50 50 mix of topsoil/sand to level a lawn that already has Zeon Zoysia sod?

[@devinmoran475]

Does leveling help with areas in the yard that collect excessive amounts of water?

[@jenniedavis4564]

This soil company doesn’t deliver to Arkansas. What do you recommend I use instead?

[@Animusapertus]

I'm in the northeast, US, I can't find any "leveling mix" in my area they all have "compost" none are pre mixed with sand, their all soil mixtures. . I have about 10 thousand square feet to fix, and it's really bumpy, a lot of ruts and long ruts. Some say soil/compost is better for bigger ruts, some say sand i dont know what to use. And I've seen one guy on here "ruined" his lawn because it rained when he did a sand leveling, but here your watering the sand lol. I'm confused now haha

[@mikelopapa8139]

Which kind of soil is it actually? That company delivers to me I’m in ATL too.

[@imdmusic2012]

In your deep fill areas, you mentioned that you packed it in. Did you pack it using a roller or something? I was wondering if you used a lawn roller, or something else.

[@CR-ow2wp]

I was wondering the same thing. A lawn roller would have been great to pack in the material to minimize settling.

[@HowTowithDoc]

No real need if filling with the leveling mix which is 70 - 80 % sand.

[@DannyCutchin]

is there any danger of using a sand based leveling mix on a heavy clay soil lawn?

[@Bloozestringer]

Plan on losing those flower beds or spending some time to keep the bermuda out of them. Makes great lawn grass if you don't have ornamental beds. After decades of having the stuff I've never found an ideal solution to keep it knocked back at the edges (tried 8" barriers, every fabric known in the universe, cutout V-shaped edges, OVer the Top spray, etc..). It eventually finds it's way in. Worse than bindweed I swear from trying to contain.

[@jackwhite6030]

It has been hot and humid all summer in N. Florida 2023.

[@teaglet1]

I need leveling mix very badly. Where can I find it?

[@davidcarter3053]

Doc, what is the brand of your hat and where can i get one?

[@donnaber4918]

Doc, which do you recommend sand or topsoil for leveling? I have a zoysia lawn in N Florida.

[@skytom88]

Sand.. topsoil is organic and will degrade over time and your ground will be back to not being level

[@HowTowithDoc]

You should be able to find a leveling mix.

[@vinniefanelli1347]

I thought you said there was too much shade for Bermuda grass? You also had Zoysia, why not put down more Zoysia seed?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Storm took down half the trees and the change was explained earlier in videos. No more zoysia seed really available.

[@jimmymiller4732]

A: What happened to the Zeneth Zoysia? B: Are you not concerned about all of the shade given that Bermuda does not like shade?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Storm took one of the big shade trees. Just a bad crop year for zoysia.

[@jimmymiller4732]

@@HowTowithDocYeah the price for Zeneth Zoysia Seed is beyond insanity

[@loracsaber7688]

Can you level with dirt instead of sand mix? My whole yard is clay and sand and I'm having a hard time getting grass to spread and take root. My yard looks like a mini golf course.

[@Jacob99174]

Clay and sand are not a great mix. From what I read, definitely level of a mixture soil/sand. Soil alone clumps and leaves voids

[@timparrish788]

Doc, would you mind telling us what Bermuda seed is in the Scott’s bag? I have seeded gold glove from Scotts. I went back a year later and went to several stores to find the same variety out of a fear of a different color or blade thickness. Thanks.

[@HowTowithDoc]

Each time I order or buy it the variety varies. one bag was New Mexico Primo and another was the Gold Glove. It will vary on their sourcing that year.

[@CR-ow2wp]

Doc, was there anything different that could have been done to save that beautiful cool season lawn? Or is cool season grass just a lost cause in the Georgia heat? It's an interesting topic that doesn't come up often since it's rare to see people south of the transition zone trying to maintain a cool season lawn. Your cool season grass looked absolutely stunning, especially after a fresh cut with the Ego mower.

[@HowTowithDoc]

Too much heat just was suffering.

[@directoppositeent]

Good topic, I live in Oklahoma and the heat is much more intense then Georgia and there's people and some businesses that have rye grass lawns year around I don't get how they pull it off with 100 degree heat every other day

[@MarkuMowiaMi]

What would be your advice for leveling a really bumpy bermuda sod lawn? Is reseeding still an option in that case?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Little by little. i.e. take it max 1" at a time.

[@JennErmyMedia]

Hey Doc, or anyone. Bermuda here. Live in the south. I burn my yard in the spring. Shortly after the burn, could I do some leveling then?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Yes, just not heavy.

[@Krossmann52]

So do you need to mix with fine dirt too? Or does grass seed germinate just fine in Sand?

[@HowTowithDoc]

The leveling mix is 70/30. I'm not sure how you could mix in dirt well to sand. Plain sand will not germinate well in the heat.

[@infiltretor287]

In the front did you remove the straw or did it decomposes?

[@HowTowithDoc]

We removed some... then had to put down more due to the irrigation. Leaving a LIGHT amount is fine.

[@clintonbrigham9667]

Could you use a large fertilizer spreader to do this?

[@HowTowithDoc]

No the material doesn't flow.

[@Enjoying-Life]

What’s in the leveling mix?

[@myk5486]

What about if u have high spots and basically scalping the lawn?

[@jaygermania]

I am doing manual core aeration without refilling, then take a fork and loosen the area around. Seems to be working however, it is only tiny parts of the lawn and rather clayy underneath.

[@jeffreydye181]

Any particular sand for this job?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Listed on the page

[@ScreamingEagle228]

@@HowTowithDocwhy wouldn’t you just say the type

[@LearnAboutSC]

why would you mix in common bermuda seed?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Because it was there already and will do better in our area / soil.

[@sanafe5085]

What is dirt booster?

[@MW-xm1rc]

If your lawn has earth worms and night-crawlers, then YOU are going to have a lawn with bumps.

[@Yokomohoyo69]

Why you killed your old lawn doc?

[@HowTowithDoc]

Watch more videos.... we covered it extensively in the scalp.

[@drholt2]

Smoothing, NOT leveling

[@pluto1jack]

Thanks for all the great instructions, but can you help me with the cash to hire some great help, buy reel mowers, aerators, and all related equipment to do this stuff while we just narrate the video? Buy all the supplies to build ent 3 or 4 residences, beach properties, country properties, and city properties. If you can help us with that, that would be really great. I have ONE decent property that I’m struggling to pay for.

[@WhittyPics]

Too much like work at your house

[@HowTowithDoc]

I need a time clock.