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We live on Long Island,NY where we built a new house. Last September our lawn was seeded. It came in beautifully although a little sparse in places. This summer the grass was destroyed by fungus. About half the lawn died due to the fungus, overwatering and poor drainage. I don't think the ground was rotilled before seeding. I seem to remember the landscaper saying there was a lot of construction debris left in the ground. Also there are many pebbles and rocks.
We have been interviewing new landscapers as we are not happy with the lack of communication and what has happened to the grass. Soil compaction is responsible for the poor drainage. One landscaper recommended gypsum. I have read that is a waste of money. One tree specialist told us that the are machines that can be used to pump compressed air into the ground to break it up. Is anyone familiar with the process and does work?
Any other thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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Sure. It's called air tilling.
It's a safer way to till around trees so no surprise it was suggested by a tree specialist.
If you don't have any existing landscaping or underground utilities or anything that could be damaged by tilling, the cheapest solution is going to be just a rototiller. You should remove the rocks and debris that's in the soil, level it and add some topsoil. That's only going to go so deep though. If you're dealing with hard pan or excessively compacted soil, you'll have to try something else. It's a tiller, not a jackhammer. But if your pockets are deep enough, the air tilling leaves you with mess and less work.
Did they say they would use an lawn aerator?
It doesn't use compressed air.
It uses hallow spikes that remove a plug of sod.
This allows air to get to the roots.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snofarmer
Did they say they would use an lawn aerator?
It doesn't use compressed air.
It uses hallow spikes that remove a plug of sod.
This allows air to get to the roots.
Aeration is good for established lawns but it's not really going to do much to solve a soil compaction problem.
Air tilling uses actual compressed air to break up the soil.
LIwannabe,
Do a google search on the internet and put in Baby Shampoo and
compacted lawns. Do a search on Baby Shampoo and aeorating
your lawn.
I had the exact same problem you have.
We had laid sod down and I was devastated.
I read an article on applying baby shampoo to the lawn with a
hose end sprayer I bought from Walmart, just regular Johnsons baby shampoo,
and it worked. I couldn't believe it.
The lawn is beautiful now.
My hubby was worried about my mental sanity, but he is pleased
now. The ground will ge nice and soft and mushy.
Try it, you aren't going to believe it's that easy.
(I did it at night, noone could see the bubbles LOL).
Thank you all for your replies. I will research Baby Shampoo first as I fear compressed-air will cost me an arm and a leg. This is NY everything is more costly. I don't know how many companies offer it either to make negotiating possible.
I viewed a website that had video which showed a hand-held compressor and a motorized. My only worry with compressed air is that the wand could pierce the sprinklers that are 4-6" below ground. Perhaps the hand held could minimize that risk.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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Surfactants (like baby shampoo and shampoo & beer blends) will make the ground mushy on the surface and retain water (which can help with new lawn establishment) but will do nothing to solve your actual soil compaction.
Sprinkler lines should be marked out anyway and you can avoid those areas.
While you have no lawn... this is the time to fix the problem.
Location: ๏̯͡๏﴿ Gwinnett-That's a Civil Matter-County
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Reputation: 3547
Shallow irrigation lines usually indicate some lovely hardpan.
That's probably as deep as they could dig without a jackhammer.
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