Know anything about landscaping?

[Dulcee]

DH and I had 8 big pines pulled down from our front yard yesterday. We also had those stumps plus about 10 that were there from a previous owner ground out about a foot below ground level. The tree guys used the mulch that built up from grinding and the dirt it turned up to fill the remaining wholes and smoothed the whole area over fairly nicely.

Now we're left with about a 2500 sq ft section of a mix of mulch and red clay dirt (lucky us and our NC soil...). My question is this, before putting down grass seed (the rest of our front yard is grass) do we need to add additional top soil?

We got a starter fertilizer to mix in but we're now questioning if we need additional non-clay/mulch top soil for the seed to take. Part of me feels hey the rest of the yard is growing just fine in red clay....the other half isn't so sure but I'd rather not lay out another $200ish for dirt if I can avoid it.

Thoughts?

[Altair]

If the area is mostly pine mulch, I would add soil to it. Best would be at least a 50 50 mix. What type grass do you have? Sod may be a better choice now, but more expensive.

[disney obsessed]

Yes. We had a bunch of trees taken down and tried to plant the area thinking it would be great. We had to do it all over again. Save the time, money and frustration. Bring it in now.

[Dulcee]

I'd love to get sod but the budget just won't allow it. Additionally the rest of our lawn isn't exactly gorgeous, we plan on overseeding the (semi) established areas with new seed while we try to establish this new area. Before the trees came down this area was mostly stumps, weeds, moss and pine needles.

I believe we ended up with a turf type fescue seed blend (brand name Lesco) that was suggested for this area of the country . The ground seems like a 50/50 mix of red soil/mulch now. The tree guys pulled up a fair amount of dirt while grinding as they removed most of the tree's root systems in addition to the stumps.

[Dulcee]

Yes. We had a bunch of trees taken down and tried to plant the area thinking it would be great. We had to do it all over again. Save the time, money and frustration. Bring it in now.

Good to know... while I don't want to dump more money into dirt I also don't want to waste the $200 in seed and fertilizer we bought. May just need to bite the bullet and buy some top soil.

[Altair]

Turf-type Tall Fescue goes down at 5-6 pounds per 1000 square feet. It is a large seed and it's a clump grass, so don't go too light. Plan on reseeding again in the fall, depending on your summer.:thumbsup:

[Dulcee]

Turf-type Tall Fescue goes down at 5-6 pounds per 1000 square feet. It is a large seed and it's a clump grass, so don't go too light. Plan on reseeding again in the fall, depending on your summer.:thumbsup:

Thanks for the tips!

[DizneyRox]

As the wood decomposes, etc you will be left with large indentations in the ground where the stumps were. Be prepared to fill those over the next few years.

[Tink1]

As the wood decomposes, etc you will be left with large indentations in the ground where the stumps were. Be prepared to fill those over the next few years.

This!

And the fresh mulch they used to fill those holes are considered "hot" (very acidic) you may want to mix some soil and some lime in there before you even add topsoil.

Garden Web has a nice lawn forum if you are looking for people who are into their lawns as much as we are into Disney.

Nanc

[Ms. Mode]

I agree with Tink and Roz; we had a tree removed two years ago and are just now seeing the grass grow over the area. Mulch is very hard to grow over...you need to cover it with a LOT of dirt first! Plus, seed and re-seed as necessary. Eventually you will have the grass you want and the DH will be mowing, mowing, mowing....:)

[Dulcee]

This!

And the fresh mulch they used to fill those holes are considered "hot" (very acidic) you may want to mix some soil and some lime in there before you even add topsoil.

Garden Web has a nice lawn forum if you are looking for people who are into their lawns as much as we are into Disney.

Nanc

Thanks! This was hugely helpful. I had no idea people were so interested in growing lawns lol

Anyway we found someone to deliver topsoil this weekend at a decent price.

15 tons of topsoil + Me + DH + 2 shovels should make for one loooong weekend lol

[DizneyRox]

15 tons is a LOT of dirt... I had close to 70 tons delivered last year. Took a guy with a small backhoe a couple days to move it around as I wanted.