Leveling ground

Hello,

After many years of neglect I have decided to make a new lawn in th back garden.I have cleared brambles roots etc, removed what old gras there was left and now want to level the ground.The area is 22 x 4 approx and is bordered by a concrete path down the long side and pati paving at the rear of the house. My question is should I make the ground level with the path/patio o perhaps slightly lower to allow for the height of the grass? Appologies if this seems a stupid question but I am by no means gardener! Thanks in advance

nilo

-- niloc

Reply to
niloc
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ahhhhhh HELP...Ive been shoveling/raking dirt around the garden now fo

2 hours and its no flatter than it was in the first place! Ooops ther another weed.... more large stones, the heal of my boot has just made 3 inch hole in the ground. How flat is flat? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

-- niloc

Reply to
niloc

Don't you have to allow for tamped stone too?

Reply to
Steveo

I took it to mean s/he has an existing concrete walk and patio, and wants to redo only the neglected yard/garden area. So he is asking how far below the top of the sidewalk/patio should s/he should dig/rake/level the dirt after weeding/burning/tilling.

Reply to
CANNON-FODDER

Yes exactly that but does anybody have the answer?

nilo

-- niloc

Reply to
niloc

what sort of grass are you growing? How well draining is your soil? I have truf rye and fescue and the grass grows a little higher than the paths, a couple of cms. The grass itself bushes and I have encouraged that so whilst the ground level is roughly level with the path or slightly under it, the stems of the grass and the green growth sticks above it. The grass may be a little over thatched however that does not worry me greatly, I have a good supply of worms that do a job in eating it down and moisture percolates through the soil well. When I mow I run the wheels the the mower along the path and it makes no discernible difference to the grass. Some people recommend a slight fall off to the grass to allow water to run off the paths. I don't have much of a problem with this as my soil is very well draining. If you have heavy soil which does not drain well having it at path level will leave the water little place to go quickly whereas dropping the soil level down a bit will create a place for the water to go and slowly drain away.

rob

Reply to
George.com

I think the primary concern should be to avoid a problem when driving a lawnmower or walking across the sod and hard surfaces. You want to have a safe and easy transition.

Make the ground level with the hard surface. If you're going to put in sod rathr than seed, level the lawn so that the grass blade base is at the same level as the patio. The reason is not for the health of the grass, but to make it easier to move a lawnmower, cart or wagon across the area without having to lift it up to clear the hard surface, and to prevent a tripping problem. Don't make the grass surface higher than the hard surface because rainfall may tend to collect and run off down the hard surface rather than soak into the lawn.

Also, although no one's mentioned it, make sure you have it graded properly so that drainage runs away from the house or other structure and does not cause a problem for your neighbors. You may also want to consider creating a subtle swale to better direct the water in the right direction. Regards --

Reply to
JimR

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