# leveling my lawn



## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

Just joined the forum today. Funny, I was researching how to level my lawn AFTER I went ahead and did it. I just did my front lawn (3,000 ft) to see how it goes. I have *** 2 years old from new sod. I recently dialed my mower deck down to 2" cut height and was scalping areas, so I thought this would help that out.

Turns out after reading some google stuff, I probably should have waited until this fall. My soil is loamy sand, so I didn't think I needed to aerate, and since it is only 2 years old, didn't think it needed to be dethatched. I laid down about 3 tons of sand and there are definitely more areas that will need leveling in the future. I do have an irrigation system to help the lawn recover during the hot months.

Since I am a complete novice and haven't had a real lawn to tend until 2 years ago, I thought this site would be a helpful resource.

I really don't have any specific questions (don't know what I don't know), but just thought I would post and introduce myself, and see if any of you had any thoughts, good or bad.

And just to prove what a novice I am, the last picture is my back yard. Overall looks good, but you can probably see where the milorganite I put down 6 weeks ago really hit. (never fertilized before). I'm just glad I had the foresight to buy stuff that wouldn't burn the lawn!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Welcome to TLF. Your lawn looks great and the sand leveling will help.

Connor has a great video on sand leveling for cool season lawns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiB0FsXsYvM


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## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

So, I'm second guessing my topdressing strategy. From afar, it looks good, but when you walk on it...well still very uneven. I expected it wouldn't turn into a putting green after this, but there are spots that I'm still trying to rake smooth. My wife walked across it and noticed immediately that it felt "more stiff and solid". Don't know if that's a good thing at this point.

Some thoughts:

1: research before pulling the trigger on this

2: don't let the delivery guy dump 3 tons of sand on the lawn (still have quite a depression where it was dumped) AND, as you can see from the above pics, tire tracks..

3: This Connor guy has it dialed in, man! I did just a small front yard experiment and am freaked out about the results...this guy did his whole yard, no problem!!

4: helps to have a tow-behind leveling implement. I used an upside-down rake used for baseball diamonds which helped a ton.

5: I probably should have started with a roller first. After seeing the tire tracks left behind, I really think the roller method would have worked quite well for me, at least as a start.

Anyway, mowed again today, and left the clippings. (last mowed 4 days ago at 2") and I can definitely see that the lawn needed it. Put down some more milorganite in tighter rows this time to avoid striping. There are areas that will probably die off due to sand cover, but we'll just see how it goes!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Connor is a member here. @wardconnor . He has done the sand leveling a few times and could give you pointers. @Pete1313 just applyed sand this weekend. I dont have the experience. They both lower their hoc, keep it at 1/4in Max of sand and water it so it works itself into the soil.

They both have lawn journals that you should look at.


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

You will get there. I have done 3 rounds of sand. It's a crazy amount of work but it's so rewarding and worth it. Slow and steady.


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## gopher (Jun 23, 2018)

Lowered the mower down to 1.5" today and tried the mow again. Worked better this time. Less scalping, so I think the sand is working. Marathon watched Connors videos also. Got me thinking about reel mowers. One question I have is, how do they do on slopes? Seems they would slide a lot? I have a 20 degree slope (measured on my phone) in the backyard, and am wondering if that would be a deal breaker? Also, those of you who mow low...is it necessary to apply all of those chemical applications? I have some chemistry background, but you guys are next level!


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## Delmarva Keith (May 12, 2018)

gopher said:


> Lowered the mower down to 1.5" today and tried the mow again. Worked better this time. Less scalping, so I think the sand is working. Marathon watched Connors videos also. Got me thinking about reel mowers. One question I have is, how do they do on slopes? Seems they would slide a lot? I have a 20 degree slope (measured on my phone) in the backyard, and am wondering if that would be a deal breaker? Also, those of you who mow low...is it necessary to apply all of those chemical applications? I have some chemistry background, but you guys are next level!


Looking good!


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@gopher here is a tread about greensmower and slopes.

In regards to chemicals, pgr is very helpful in reducing the how often you mow. Once you now you don't want it looking long.


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