Has anyone ever tried using potting soil that is sold in bags as top soil for lawn?

My house is relatively new and the ground surrounding it does not grow a lot of grass yet. The soil has lots of small rocks, and so the lawn would not be able to grow densely on it. I obviously need top soil. I got a quote for top soil and its a little more than I want to spend right now, about 8 grand for delivery only. The area I want to cover is pretty large, about 15,000 sq. ft., which is larger than a tennis court. It now grows patches of weeds and something that looks like it might make a lawn. I then thought about just tilling that, extract as many rocks as I can and then try to plant bluegrass and see what happensm but my neighbor said he tried that and nothing grew, the soil has a very low pH. So now I am thinking, what if I took the plating soil mix, that is sold in bags, and scatter that in a thin layer, approx. an inch, and then plant the seeds? This mix would be very rich in nutrients and it would cover all the rocks. What do you think?



Thanks,

Rick

Has anyone ever tried using potting soil that is sold in bags as top soil for lawn?
Rick I did the same thing for my back yard after I replaced the septic system. It worked fine but that is a much smaller area than you are looking at. My advice for is to first spray your entire yard with Roundup, this will eliminate all weeds and give you a fresh start Wait about a week Then rake down the yard to loosen the soil and separate out the small rocks and dead weeds. Next evenly spread a garden fertilizer such as 10-10-10 which can be bought at a local for farm store for around six dollars for a fifty pound bag (this bag will last you all summer, allowing you fertilize the yard several times.) Then water the yard heavily. Wait about two days and plant a short type fescue ( not Ky31) or whatever you grass you choose. Here is a website that will help choose what type is best for your area. Good Luck Rick. It wil take a little back work to do the raking but I guarantee the fertilizer will give you a nice lawn, plus you save thousands over buying soil. http://www.yardcare.com/expertadvice/gra...



As for the person below who claims this will not work. Obviously has never tried it. Being that I have worked on reclaiming strip mines for over twenty years, and this process will grow grass on almost rock.
Reply:You might want to do your front yard first by spreading regular top soil and then experiment later with the soil sold in bags for your side and back yards. (Or this year just experiment here and there with the bagged soil to see if your idea might work.)



I think one thing you might want to remember too is that your whole yard will not be grass. You will probably also have shrubs and flower beds as well.



Bagged soil has very little nutrients in it. It is also sterile and tends to be quite dry until it starts mixing with the soil that is already there.



I liked Steven's ideas too.
Reply:That will not help. Your soil is compacted and I'll bet you have poor drainage also. Get some lime stone, you need a pretty large amount depending on the soil. This should be tilled into the dirt. I would plant rye grass, it will grow absolutely anywhere. This type grass has an awesome root system that will help aerate your soil. Next season you will have better luck growing grass. I suggest those plugs that grow anywhere. I live in TN, have a lot of oak trees and planted 5,000 last year. They are doing extremely well, it will just take a while for them to grow a complete turf. I have patience and I'm determined to have grass! With all the work I have in one small area of my yard with the clay, rock, patchy weed area, I think if you hire a professional you will enjoy your yard more and not kill yourself in the process. It will be an enormous amount of work unless you have the proper equipment and plenty of men to help you.
Reply:why not just purchase sod? it has a nice thick established root system in about an inch of soil..... just buy the sod and lay it down over your yard. There may be some spots that die off because of the rock, but then you will only have to add dirt to those specific areas.



Or, ask someone at your local nursery for xeriscapeing and the plants that are used in your area. This can give you ideas for low maintenence groundcover and landscaping.



www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/xerisc...
Reply:potting soil is very light and will wash off easily... could be mixed with the lawn soil for a blend that might work , if watered lightly over time.
Reply:I had this problem but not in such a vast expance as yours. I have at least a foot of landscape rock that had sunk over the years into the soil. It is now mixed.



You have to remember that grass roots are rather long and you will need nutrients for the roots for the grass to grow.



what is under the rocks? is it a mixture of dirt and stones?



I through top soil down about an inch to 2 inches and then laid a layer of grass seed. Now you cannot tell this patch of rock from the rest of the yard.



good luck you will be able to do it, but you may have to pull the weeds in the other areas first.



Remember that the thicker the grass grows the grass will push out the weeds and you will probably have a beautiful yard. Watch what type of fertilizer you buy cause it will burn the grass even when you follow directions.



After you grow the grass have a professional fertilze the first couple of years to get the lawn growing well. then you can talk with garden supplier for the best and then just try test patches before you do it yourself.
Reply:it would be best to talk to another source about compost. Spreading compost on your lawn will help, also talk to some people at your local lawn and garden center about changing your ph. I use regular apple cider vinegar here in the alkaline soils of arizona. You will be amazed what a little inronite fertilizer will do. Alkaline soils bind the iron in the soil so plants cant use it. I would bet this is your biggestr problem, once you get the ph corrected, the grass should mulch it'self quite well
Reply:no i havent, your best bet is to buy top soil and get some ome to tip it of on a truck.Or you could try to rotavate what you have and rake it for ages and pick up all the stones and plane sedds or turf it.top soil is not expensive so if the ground is that bad probaly easier just to buy some.if laying turf you have to water it everyday overwise it will die and make sure you doit at the ideal time of year