# What to do?/ Minimum Soil Depth?



## Hoosier (Jun 12, 2018)

I have an area in my lawn that has been bare all summer long. I figured until now that I just didn't do a good job seeding last fall, and that the grass I tried to establish in the spring just burnt up in the summer. But, just did a screwdriver test, and realized that the reason I'm not getting anything to grow is that at about 3 inches deep, I'm hitting rock (there is a lot of limestone in the area - just made this connection when I remembered that they had to bring the jackhammer in when installing the fence last summer in order to get a few of the posts in). That, coupled with the very hot and pretty dry summer here, means nothing really had a chance to survive there. It's much more bare now than it was in the spring, partially due to hitting it with Roundup a couple times due to invading Bermuda, so I know that something will grow there with some TLC.

I'll have to add soil to the area, but due to the fence already being in, and budget, I'm not going to be able to add a ton and re-grade the entire yard. So a couple questions:

-Will compost work to build this area up? It's hard to find good topsoil around here, and I've had really good luck in the past topdressing with Black Kow. I'm planning on seeding in about 1.5 weeks on 9/22.

-What is the minimum depth of soil needed to have a somewhat healthy Fescue yard? Now that I know the problem, I'll just have to make sure that this area gets a lot more/frequent water than the rest of the yard, but would like to at least try to build the area up enough to give it a fighting chance.


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## JohnP (Oct 24, 2017)

Compost breaks down fairly quickly. I wouldn't level with compost.

Have you done the screwdriver through the whole section? The obvious most ideal solution would be to do some excavating, 3" down isn't much...the real question is how thick is the potential limestone below that going to be?

The 2nd photo makes it seem like some leveling could be a possibility, but I know Connor Ward just posted a video with some 7" grass roots. If you could strike a balance between syringing that area a little more and leveling it a bit with something other than compost you might be able to have a win win if limestone excavation is not ideal.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

If you have rocks, can you remove them? If I recall correctly, usga greens soil depth standard is 300mm (~12in). I would say that will be the ideal minimum in my mind.

This year I fixed an issue I had with rocks from 4in to 10in deep. Water all is not going to fix the problem. Roots can't get nutrients. I also think rocks hold on to heat more than the soil(moisture), so the roots also get a beating. I was able to keep the area green with water until summer showed up.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I would say at least 8" at a minimum though the grass might still struggle with that. I had a stump buried about 4-5" below grade and the grass died every year. Get out the shovel and see how big those rocks are. Best to remove them if possible.


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## Hoosier (Jun 12, 2018)

Thank you guys for the input. Did some more poking around, and it has to be an entire slab - the whole area is only a few inches deep. I guess I'll attempt to add soil, and just see what happens. Maybe I'll at least have grass cover every spring until the fall grass I grow there gets burnt up. I had another area with this issue (picture below) and started digging up that little rock, only to find out it was basically like an iceberg where there is a tiny bit showing, but would have needed a stick of dynamite to break up what was hiding under the soil, so decided I'll just have to live with it.

If I'm going the bag route, what would be the best thing to use instead of compost? Rather not pay $8/bag for Scott's Lawn soil, but not sure of an alternative that would be available at the big box stores?


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

For the rock, you can use a stone chisel and remove the top portion of it and put the dirt back. Bummer about the slab though. Did you poke around to find the edges of the slab? See how big it is?


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## JohnP (Oct 24, 2017)

Don't spend $8/bag. Couple options. Get the $2/bag stuff as long as it's not full of rock and stick. *OR* Call around to some local garden centers and see what they charge to deliver a couple cubic yards of soil.

Just keep in mind what was said, you're going to struggle and doing this might bury the problem deeper which would make a future fix harder. Like Suburban said above, even if you can excavate a few inches, bust out a few inches, and then clean it out and fill it back in first that will give you a higher chance of success.


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## Hoosier (Jun 12, 2018)

I may try a chisel on the small one... when i dug around it, it was wider than would be ideal to do by hand. As for the slab, it pretty much drops off right where the grass starts to grow. I'll just have to try to bury it deep enough, since I'm already laughing at the conversation I'd have to have with my wife trying to explain why we need to spend thousands of dollars to break it up so that I can grow grass in a 300 square foot area of the lawn 

On a positive note, even the Bermuda I have trying to take over the yard struggles to grow in that area!


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## Miggity (Apr 25, 2018)

I know this was not your plan, but have you considered a raised garden (flower or vegetable) bed or beds over the large slab? A multi-tiered retaining wall paver garden would make it a point of interest rather than constantly fighting the depth issue with turf.


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## Wlodyd (Aug 27, 2018)

From what you describe thats not some "rock" you're going to be able to remove. Whether mechanically or by hand, its actual limestone bedrock. They probably hammered (or blasted) out a ton in building ur house. It'll be a pretty massive undertaking to remove it and theres always bigger potential issues in removing rock (karsting). Its a small enough area thats probably not the case, but just saying it may not be easy. that layer could be a 2" stone, or 20' in depth... you dont know.

Good news is you have a great structural foundation to build something there! I would agree with miggity to spend the money investing in building something else there.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Looks like a great spot for a swing set.


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