# Spring Leveling



## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

Are there any issues with leveling the lawn in the spring? I've largely seen it done in the fall, but I'm itching to start leveling my lawn and begin to address some low spots.

Also, any distinct advantages on sand versus soil? Was looking at a soil/compost/sand mix for leveling for my first bout. I know sand will get it ultimately more level, but didnt know if i should start with some more coarse with the soil.


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

i dont have any expert advice to give but i just finished using 70/30 soil/compost mix to level my yard. i did use a 3x3 drag mat to go over the yard a few times to smooth everything over and i was suprised by how well it turned out. i had some very bumpy spots from moles and patchwork i did last year. i think next year i will use sand to get more fine tuned leveling but the soil mix works alot better for how uneven my yard was. just my $.02


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## stotea (Jul 31, 2017)

Sand and compost are soil, or at least components of soil. Do you mean loam? You can use whatever you want, really. It's just that sand won't compact and/or break down like compost and loam.

Edit: a disadvantage of sand is that it contains no nutrients or OM. It can also be extremely difficult to spread if it's moist or if your grass is tall.


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## ryeguy (Sep 28, 2017)

jha4aamu said:


> i dont have any expert advice to give but i just finished using 70/30 soil/compost mix to level my yard. i did use a 3x3 drag mat to go over the yard a few times to smooth everything over and i was suprised by how well it turned out. i had some very bumpy spots from moles and patchwork i did last year. i think next year i will use sand to get more fine tuned leveling but the soil mix works alot better for how uneven my yard was. just my $.02


How much did you add to your lawn (in inches)?


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

I had 2 yards of soil delivered and the area I leveled was roughly 8-900 sq ft. I didnt spread it evenly throughout the entire yard so it's hard to say how many inches I added.


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## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

stotea said:


> Sand and compost are soil, or at least components of soil. Do you mean loam?


Here's the product i was looking at using: https://jonestopsoil.com/shop/topsoil/soil-topsoil-supersoil/

Its 60% topsoil, 20% mason sand, and 20% comtil. The alternative would be masons sand alone, or buying some more masons sand and mixing it in for higher ratio of sand.


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## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

jha4aamu said:


> i did use a 3x3 drag mat to go over the yard a few times to smooth everything over and i was suprised by how well it turned out.


Did you get a drag mat somewhere, or make your own? Just wondering any good resources. I was looking at using one of these LevelLawn tools not sure if a drag mat would be better: 
https://golfgriffin.com/product/lev...j9E95Rv0vZxFojlj5kgA0i-4Mt7SNxwRoC_ZgQAvD_BwE


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## SpiveyJr (Jun 7, 2018)

It's funny this post came up because last night I was looking at my backyard and seeing how lumpy and uneven it looks and wondered if people leveled during the spring. I would think spring would be a great time to level because the grass is so short and stunted from winter and you can really see the difference now before the grass starts growing.


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## jha4aamu (Oct 16, 2017)

Wlodyd said:


> jha4aamu said:
> 
> 
> > i did use a 3x3 drag mat to go over the yard a few times to smooth everything over and i was suprised by how well it turned out.
> ...


I bought my drag mat from Ebay https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F391976312068

I used my levelawn too around tight spaces but its alot easier to just pull a drag mat if you have a rider or ATV


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## Shindoman (Apr 22, 2018)

I use the level lawn with great success, but I'm going to get a drag mat soon to help get things really flat.


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## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

One additional question on this.... i put down prodiamine a few days ago. If I level qith a topsoil/sand/compost mix should i be concerned about the new soil bringing in weed seeds? I was going to wait a few weeks to level so the grass is growing strong and the low spots have a better chance of growing through.

Should i put down a lower dose of prodiamine on new soil? Or dithiopyr or something else?


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## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

@Wlodyd 
I think that you should wait a little, until your turf is actively growing (probably a couple of mows), to drop and level topsoil. It looks like you might have a little time going by the soil temp link below (I plugged in Columbus) before CG should germinate, but a digital meat thermometer would give you more accuracy for your property.

Yes. I would apply PreM to the newly added mix, but at the regular rate.

http://www.greencastonline.com/tools/soil-temperature


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