Anyone level their lawn with sand?

[Mat4644]

Works good leveling a yard but if you have kids that play games on the lawn the grass is less durable.

 

[Maxify55]

Out here on the farm I was just shocked when my old manure spreader could handle a load of sand mounded in the bed.
Then, further when the belt actually moved it off the backend.
Flip a chain harrow over to the smooth side & drag it into the piles behind a UTV.
Job done...Down Home Style

 

[npalen]

Out here on the farm I was just shocked when my old manure spreader could handle a load of sand mounded in the bed.
Then, further when the belt actually moved it off the backend.
Flip a chain harrow over to the smooth side & drag it into the piles behind a UTV.
Job done...Down Home Style

We thought about using a manure spreader to spread some sand on the football field this Spring. Wasn't sure how the slatted conveyor would handle the load. Did it actually move the entire pile in the spreader or just each slat full of sand as the conveyor progressed?

 

[Maxify55]

I was shocked to see the mounded load of polymeric sand traverse the 6' bed of the Millcreek 37 Spreader most efficiently.
Who'da thunk it?

 

[goeduck]

They say one man's poison might be another man's meat. Once you've dealt with clay soil hard as cement when dry then sticky as bubble gum when wet,soil that moles are able to burrow through is a blessing..

On the parcel that I live about 6 inches down my soil is very, very hard. Few rocks but just very hard soil. I have to use a steel bar to break it up when digging. The top 6 inches seem to be a superhighway for moles but they seldom surface.

On my larger parcels the soil is much more normal, very easy to dig and soft.

 

[goeduck]

Dog pee creates green/dead spots.

 

[strantor]

I'm surprised to hear so many success stories about sand. It must vary by location. Personally I've found sand to be an absolute waste of time (or worse). It gets washed away before it has a chance to become part of the landscape, and washed to places I didn't want it. I fill low spots with clods of black dirt that I harvest from high spots, break it up get it wet, stomp it down. For a few weeks after it looks like the aftermath of one of those pimple popping videos, but it grows back in fast enough.

 

[TractorGuy]

Being the cheapo I am I have been sifting sand/clay mix from piles I have that are full of wood debris. The only thing I don't like about it is the soil is full of Crotalaria. Every where I disturb the vegetation and leave plain dirt the Crotalaria sprouts within days. As long as I can mow it it dies out and grass will take over.

Screening though 3/4" expanded metal makes a fine looking top soil but it remains full of every kind of weed you can imagine.

Never the less I use it and just spread with a shovel and rake. I figure the centipede and mowing will eventually choke out the weeds.

 

[kthompson]

TractorGuy, You "might" find covering your dirt with black plastic if in the sun it may get hot enough to damage the seeds in it. I can not remember here the weed or weed seed that is about only way to kill. You may can find someone who plants in greenhouse or some kind of beds who uses a "GAS" to kill the weed seed in the soil who you could hire to gas yours killing those seeds. Feel most certain it requires pesticide license to buy those chemicals.

 

[bdog]

I apply Milorganite to my lawn every two weeks. I water the heck out of it. It has came back pretty good since the sand.

I could see the sand washing away if you applied it on a really steep area or had a heavy rain before the grass came back. I haven稚 noticed any movement.

 

[goeduck]

View attachment 667188

I apply Milorganite to my lawn every two weeks. I water the heck out of it. It has came back pretty good since the sand.

I could see the sand washing away if you applied it on a really steep area or had a heavy rain before the grass came back. I haven稚 noticed any movement.

Beautiful lawn, very nice! Milorganite is a biosolid?

 

[bdog]

Thanks. Yes it is. Comes from the Milwaukee sewer plant. I like it because I don’t think it is possible to apply too much. With chemical fertilizers and my irregular shaped yard it is easy to over apply fertilizer.

 

[Tomtint]

My lawn took a beating over the last 2 months. We get almost full sun all day long and it's really difficult to keep any moisture in the soil at all. And with the extended weeks of 90* days we had this year.. the grass got torched. I was gone for a little over a week and came back to see that the lawn developed "brown spot" fungus. ..I applied a fungaside today after I dethatched and mowed a few times. Going to mow again real low on saturday and aerate..then over seed the whole lawn.. it's never ending .