Planting grass on fill area

[HawkinsHollow]

I am just wrapping up filling in a 30 x 50 foot spot that was too sloped to be usable, now it is nice and flat. Flat land on my knoll is at a premium so I wanted to make this a nice little spot to camp. My plan is to make is a nice grassy area. How important is adding topsoil to this area to successfully grow nice grass? The dirt is pretty red. Would a soil test and some lime/Fert get me started? I'm cheap.

 

[sea2summit]

Probably not as important as making sure you have good solid compaction so it doesn't settle substantially in the first few months/rains?

If you want to do it on the cheap I'd get a few round bales of hay, unroll them about 2" thick over the entire area and see what happens. Add some grass seed if you want to increase the chances of success.

 

[dodge man]

I’d make sure the top inch is somewhat loose and not compacted and just seed it. I’ve had various luck covering with straw afterwards. Sometimes I think that introduces weed seed.

 

[cmyoung2]

Do the soil test. That red dirt is probably very acidic, will need lime. Probably need a good bit of P also. Test and find out how much. The lime will work best if tilled in some. Organic matter is good, poultry litter would add both fertilizer and organic. Hay works, but may be a little slow to break down, but it would protect seedlings if not too thick and may help prevent erosion.

 

[rgr33]

Don’t have that red dirt here, but had a 50x80 low spot that was difficult to mow. Filled with a lot of concrete chunks, then topped with some really ugly yellow clay.

then seeded heavily, and threw some straw over the top. Fertilized after the grass got about an inch high.
Looks great.

 

[deezler]

Grass isn't all that picky, if you're just making a camping pad. Make sure the top layer is loose so it can get rooted and hold moisture. Do you have a tiller?

Whats the sun to shade ratio?

 

[rScotty]

I am just wrapping up filling in a 30 x 50 foot spot that was too sloped to be usable, now it is nice and flat. Flat land on my knoll is at a premium so I wanted to make this a nice little spot to camp. My plan is to make is a nice grassy area. How important is adding topsoil to this area to successfully grow nice grass? The dirt is pretty red. Would a soil test and some lime/Fert get me started? I'm cheap.

I'm now in the 8th year of rebuilding after completely reshaping a couple of acres. Ours is much larger than your little flat spot but the principle is the same. We did a medium amount of fertilizing, a little tilling, lots of seeding, and endless watering. Results are frankly just too slow for us. Should have started over, but after a couple of years there was a little grass sprouting and I talked myself out of starting over. Probably would have been ahead if I had.

If my time machine was working I'd go back and tell myself that time is priceless. I'd say to get a soil test, do whatever it says, and cover the whole area with a couple of inches of good healthy top soil. 30x50 you can rake by hand. Then put down some good seed. I think dollar wise the cheap start vs the expense up front would have come to the same money after a couple of years, but if I had done it right it would have saved a decade of work and been better sooner.

It's been a fun project, but sure could have been more successful. Next time I'll know.

If you are going to go the cheap route, Id'd suggest you set a time limit of a couple of years..... and if it doesn't work be prepared to start over. That's such a tiny area. It can't cost much to do it really right.
rScotty

 

[deezler]

I can also say that I messed up when doing my main "front" yard at my new home build back in 2015. I rushed it, since my wife didn't care about grass one bit and was on my case to finish other things, like the bathrooms LOL.

I spread what topsoil I could, and thought I had raked it all pretty smooth. Turns out I didn't smooth it nearly enough, and it was miserable to mow for the first few years. Plus the areas that got a thicker layer of top soil (2-3" or more) grew much nicer grass than the areas that stayed closer to pure sand.

I always felt like I should rototill the entire 1/2 acre and start over, but that would have sucked to do. Now heading into summer #7, I'm glad I didn't mess with it, it's all lush grass now - the good stuff has taken over, and the weedy, sandy parts are harder to spot now. It's just a yard in the woods, after all.

TL;DR - if you want lush grass fast, add top soil and do it right. If you can wait a few years for it all to fill in, just bomb some seed and sit back and relax.

 

[kenmbz]

It's funny, but I buy contractor grass seed and have better luck with that than the expensive brands.
Hard to find now the cheap ones.
Neighbor had a new sceptic put in, expensive grass all died.
Went over there and put a few handfuls of the contractor bag seeds and all good now.

That was fresh mixed soil from the dig.

For my trench I added 1/4" of topsoil (about 100' by 5' wide by 3' deep) and that really perked up the grass in about 10 days to sprout. Was long about a week later and still going well.

Try spring or fall, so the roots get deep. I try not to water too much after I see them take off, want deep roots.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Thanks for all the replies. Some good stuff here!
Compaction is good, I have been spreading it in 1 to 2 foot lifts and running it in with my tractor. This has been an ongoing process over 4 months and so far there has been no noticeable settling and very little erosion even after some big rain events.

I just had 5 tandem loads of dirt delivered to finish it up and luckily this new dirt has some good organics and topsoil in it. I will still do a soil test as they are pretty cheap from our county extension office.

@rScotty ands @deezler are making a strong case for some nice topsoil. I have a material yard right next door, maybe will go that route. I didn't pay a dime for fill dirt might as well spring for a little topsoil to make it nice.

 

[Egon]

Soil test and then add proper ingredients plus seed. Then go over it a few times with a lawnmower that has detaching springs on the blades that scratch up and loosen the surface to spread everything more evenly.

 

[KennyG]

I’d make sure the top inch is somewhat loose and not compacted and just seed it. I’ve had various luck covering with straw afterwards. Sometimes I think that introduces weed seed.

My experience is that straw works great, but hay brings in weeds. If you have cheap access to top soil, I would add a couple of inches, lightly till, seed and then roll. Then water, water, water.

 

[deezler]

@rScotty ands @deezler are making a strong case for some nice topsoil. I have a material yard right next door, maybe will go that route. I didn't pay a dime for fill dirt might as well spring for a little topsoil to make it nice.

Might as well. You really only need 2-3" of topsoil on top to get the grass started happy and healthy, too. Once it roots deeply through that, it won't care as much what the soil is (just my opinion/experience here in the sandy/clay mix of Michigan). I also tend to go with the generic "contractor-mix" cheap(er) stuff from tractor supply, it works great.

How about some pics of your new area, while we're chattin here?

 

[Borane4]

For 30x50 you might just lime it at 1000 lbs per acre (so for you, a 50lb bag) and throw 30lb/acre of annual rye all over it, or 1 lb for your piece. That will probably be faster and less expensive than a soil test. Or, do the above and take a soil sample for testing beforehand. Correct as needed when the results come back.

 

[jaxs]

Lawns established on the cheap look cheap until redone right. 2 or 3 inches of decent soil might sprout seed but plants need deeper soil to thrive. 6" deep is minimum. That;s close to 30 yards. By all means have soil tested and amend if required. The only reason I can see for covering surface with hay is to surpress seed germination and growth which doesn't sound right for this project. Tilling orgnic matter in before planting would be more benificial. I'm not familiar with sod for your area but St Augustine is best in N. Texas and can't be established from seed.

 

[KennyG]

Seed will sprout and grow through the straw. The straw cuts the moisture loss way down. It will decay and disappear in a year.

 

[RalphVa]

I am just wrapping up filling in a 30 x 50 foot spot that was too sloped to be usable, now it is nice and flat. Flat land on my knoll is at a premium so I wanted to make this a nice little spot to camp. My plan is to make is a nice grassy area. How important is adding topsoil to this area to successfully grow nice grass? The dirt is pretty red. Would a soil test and some lime/Fert get me started? I'm cheap.

Best is to put down seed protector mat. Can buy at Lowes/Home Depot. It retains moisture and keeps the seeds from being washed away. Use ground stakes to hold it down. At Lowes anyway, they're in the same area.

A little bit of compost sprinkled over it would help. Don't need much. Might be a tad early but maybe not in Chattanooga.

Straw will help some and cheaper but is not the best.

No fert. Lime would be okay.

 

[jaxs]

Seed will sprout and grow through the straw. The straw cuts the moisture loss way down. It will decay and disappear

Mulch is applied around transplants or seedlings to retain moisture and supress weeds. I've never heard a horticulturist reccomend applying mulch over newly planted seed.

 

[KennyG]

Mulch is applied around transplants or seedlings to retain moisture and supress weeds. I've never heard a horticulturist reccomend applying mulch over newly planted seed.

Around here, a thin (1 to 2 inch) layer of straw is commonly applied over seeded areas. When they do highway work, they typically hydroseed and then have a straw blower to cover it. If you do a quick internet search, you will find lots of articles recommending straw mulching.

 

[deezler]

Uh oh, this is getting expensive now!

Just to be safe, I would get 50 to 55 yards of a premium blend of 35% cultured peat moss, 25% organic compost, 40% virgin top soil. Rototill it exactly 7 times, wait one week, two more passes. Hydroseed a mixture of at least 5 grass seed varieties, hand seed 10% more bluegrass over that, and finish with a pinch of rye. Garnish is optional.

Water it with exactly 2L/sq meter per day, +/- 0.2%. If it's not sunny enough, consider bringing in some of those LED grow lights all the weed farms like to use. A simple array of those running off a portable generator is cheap insurance (premium gas only).

If you don't do all this, exactly as prescribed, your rural hilltop campsite is gonna look like ****, forever.