Do I need to dig away the grasses?

KUIPORNG

Try to do some planting on the front yard against the wall which most of our neighbour already did... Question, can I be lazy that just pour whole bunch of top soil on existing grasses and plant my flower/tree/...etc.

or do I do the hardwork to dig out the grasses underneath first?

I don't mind the work if it is required, but I do mind the work if in fact it is not required.

cibula11

If you do it the "lazy" way, eventually you will have that grass growing through your flower beds for an unsitely look.

If height is not an issue, you could put black plastic down and then top soil over that. You could also spray the grass with some round up or other weed/grass killer, top with plastic and then topsoil.

Best method would be to dig away the current grass, but if you want a quick and easy method use weed killer and plastic and you should be good to go.

KUIPORNG

Thanks for the info,
I will do the digging,I just don't want to do waste my effort if it is not require, I will do a few sq. feet a day... it is good family time watching the kids playing outside while I do the digging anyway...

cibula11

About how many sq ft are you having to remove?

KUIPORNG

may be 20 sq. ft... or a bit more...

slakker

a layer of newspaper (about 8 to 10 sheets thick) wetted down with topsoil on top works pretty good as well to kill the grass/weeds. The newspaper will breakdown over time and you can plant right through it.

cibula11

I would say totally up to you. Obviously you can kill the grass or remove it. Removing it will not allow any water to be soaked up into the grass. Even dead grass with help with erosion and drainage issues.

billinak

I've heard of a method whereby you cut the sod into sections, flip it over, add soil, and plant on top. The grass on the bottom dies and adds nutrients and you don't have to find good fill or a place to dispose of the sod.

Jeekinz

Remove the grass with a flat shovel. Try to dig far enough down to get most of the roots and shake of excess dirt. If you add bags of topsoil, you must..MUST turn that in with the soil already there. There is very little nutrients in bagged topsoil.

KUIPORNG

as it kind of kill (how many birds) may be 3 with one stone....

can anyone used this method to confirm this will work....

as the poster said he/she only heard of this before... would like someone with real experience to confirm if I am going to try it...


gee.... didn't know even that has so much knowledge involve....