Anyone know much about grass?!

Have been putting this one off for weeks, but its about time I get the seed down before it gets too cold!

I turned over all the soil to a depth of around a foot... then added 4" of topsoil ontop of the lot...

Let it settle for around a month now but I find its still quite spongey.

Before I put the seed in, I am thinking it might be wise to hire a vibrating plate compactor and whack it all down to make it less "springy"... fill in any recesses and then rake the surface to take the seed...

Does this sound like a bad idea? Will a vibrating plate just sink into the mud and be lost?!

The usual trick is to get a few mates round and do a "Zorba the Greek" walk across the ground - side-by-side, shuffling along in very short steps (one footprint just in front of the previous one) and putting your weight on your heels. The idea is to compress it down a bit,but not squash it completely. You'll have to rake it flat again afterwards.

I think a vibrating plate would be OTT.

BTW: you're getting a bit late for grass seed! That's usually a September job, maybe early October, not heading into November!

[Edited on 31/10/11 by David Jenkins]

Yeah I know im a bit late... But I am down in the South... its almost tropical here ALL THE TIME If I get it in this week I think I should be ok.

does it have to be grass?

I know your pain, its as David says, shuffle walk to pack it down then rack in some seed and roll if possible....

You just need some friends round to help....



Or, go the whole hog

You want a gritty sandy base for grass carefully graded and not too compacted, just stamping it down by walking on a plank is usually enough, the grass roots will soon lock it into a solid surface.

Sowing grass at this time of year is 2 months too late, it just won't sprout.

[Edited on 31/10/11 by britishtrident]

My son out law seeded a lawn after a lot of pushing! 3 1/2 weeks ago it is coming up at the moment but I thought that was too late. We have been lucky that the weather has been so mild. That was just walked over after preparing .

A roller (and not a tarmac compacting one!!), a rake and a straight edge are recommended by those in the know.....the roller will show up the low spots....rake the high spots into the low spots.......level with a straight edge ...and repeat. .....or do the shuffle as suggested above.

Spongey is good...young grass hates hard-compacted soil...don't Whacker for gawd sake

[Edited on 31/10/11 by Litemoth]