LAWN ROLLERS DONT WORK. BUMPY UNEVEN Lawn this SPRING? Watch this first.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 มิ.ย. 2024
- Lumpy lawn? Uneven lawn? Clumpy, bumpy, and rough? Don’t roll it until you watch this video. Lawn rollers do have uses but tend to be misused, the times that they make sense are when:
After reseeding. If you roll after reseeding your lawn, it will help seeds to come into contact with the soil and will help the seeds germinate more quickly.
After installing sod. When you install sod, sometimes there are air pockets that might make the sod take longer to get established. By rolling your sod, you can eliminate air pockets and help your sod come in contact with the soil beneath.
The reason rolling a lawn is a bad idea is because it compacts the soil. Soil is made up of tiny particles. In between these particles, there are spaces or “pores”. These voids are essential for a number of things. Pores will help the soil maintain the right amounts of water and oxygen, which are crucial for growing a beautiful lawn. If the soil is to compacted, roots can decompose as they become waterlogged when the soil won’t drain. You want moist soil, but it has to drain as well. Compacted soil will also not allow for oxygen exchange, causing root systems to decompose and turf to die.
If you want a smooth lawn, do the work and figure out what the underlying issue is first. At that point you can work on a proper remedy like rodent control, frost heave, leveling with sand or topsoil, killing and digging out unwanted grass, correcting irrigation, insect elimination, or adjusting your fertility program.
Remember, most problems start with basic improper care. - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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Great opinions on the subject. I’ve never really considered this when I level lawns, but it has me thinking about things a little more. I’ll definitely use this info going forward. Appreciate this video, thank you.
I wish I knew this sooner . I’m glad I found this video
Lawn roller = 1 time purchase
Adding yards and yards of soil every spring = insane cost
Sorry I will disagree with the blanket statement that lawn rolling is bad. I live in the northeast with heavy freeze/thaw lumps every year. Add to that I have 2 acres of land. I roll my lawn maybe once every other year to knock the lumps down a bit so I am not breaking my back riding around on my mower and have had zero bad effect from it. The amount of soil i would need to reduce the lumps, not level, would make me go broke. Partly being I have sandy/gravely soil so no matter what it drains well and roots spread with no problem.
Side note: so happy you are selling GreeneCharge to the home owner market this year. Love the products.
I think as long as you know the trade offs, do whatever you feel is best!
I agree with you... I have 2.5 acres to cut out in the country. My problem has been moles and voles. I'm going to lay down a grub killer along with some other ideas to "help" take care of that problem. I've seen to many videos here on TH-cam by professional lawn care companies using vibrating asphalt rollers.... thats what I'm going with.
Seasons coming big John you are the man always learning something from your brother.👍🇺🇸
Thanks Joe!
Very useful. I’m working with a friend this Spring and we were considering rolling. His situation is new construction that wasn’t graded correctly. We will be assessing closer soon but this definitely helps. 🙌🏽
There’s some good news on some of this, those rollers are pretty light and unless you are going out when it’s soaking wet, you won’t damage anything, but you also won’t accomplish much either! Take a top down approach and smear in some good top dressing material
@@Lawncology Got it. Thx John.
Good stuff! The best way to fix a problem is to identify the cause.
One thing you didn't mention as a cause is pets. My dog gets out there all winter to handle business while the soil is saturated and his tracks make the yard uneven and lumpy. Great video bud. 👍🏼
True, I didn’t say that. Pete can definitely wreak some havoc.
I'm gonna rent a plate compactor for bumpy backyard. I've used plate compactors in construction and I think it may be the secret to try.
Have a blessed weekend lawn fam
You too buddy
I am so glad I watched your video, good info
Thank you!
Great video 👍
Great video. I'm doing a partial renovation, mainly due to bent grass taking over that area. I've seen some "strongly" recommend rolling, but I can't see how compacting your soil is helpful. After I rake out the dead material, I'll level, treat the dirt with RGS/Air8/Humic, seed, fert and topdress with peat moss.
Here in PA we have a radio control airplane field of about 3 acres that gets rolled every spring by a full size road roller with no bad effects to grass but is necessary to do because of frost heave during the winter and even roll it with a 2500# pull roller monthly during the summer after a rain and can tell of no bad effects but I guess it depends on the type of soil.
I miss the choose your own adventure videos. Those were great. I picked that steam roller.
Good Morning everyone
We just put in a new lawn (seed) and the gras came in great, but while that was happening, some moles went crazy in one section and now that area is very uneven and unstable. I know how to get rid of the moles, but what do you suggest for getting the mole holes compacted? I haven't mowed it yet, and I'm nervous that when I mow it, I'll end up scalping sections of the yard (or tripping, which I've done several times already when blowing leaves).
I just laid tall fescue seed about 20 days ago in my backyard on a new home build with no prior landscaping. I live in Central California. I went out today to lay starter fertilizer and noticed a lot of the grass is lumpy and mushy. It has not been over watered in my opinion. I will say I didnt use the roller during preparation. Should i use the roller now to help compact the soil and grass or is it too late and will it kill my existing tall fescue?
Good info
I use it get good seed to soil contact. It works for me.
*I miss your "hey everybody" intro LOL*
Awe. You are the only one apparently 😂
@@Lawncology thumbs up update...
Nicely done John. My lawn is a prime example of a few of the causes mentioned. My lot is over 100 yrs old and as you know I tend to it without the use of biocides and chemical fertilizers. Therefore I have all the components of a very NOT flat lawn(not gonna call it bumpy because it’s not quite THAT bad….but close).
The biological activity below my blades are a contributing factor, ie; earthworms tilling and casting + macro/micro biota building porosity and carrying out the humification process. (…not a bad thing). As well as the soil fracturing from 108 years of freeze-thaw cycles out here in Villa Park IL…(also not a bad thing).
Lastly, I’ve also had the previously mentioned coarse Fescue in fairly large amounts throughout, and can attest to its contribution to a feel of lumpiness. I’ve eradicated large swaths of it in the early 2000’s manually, and have done so continually throughout the years. Although I still pull some gnarly mutant clumps that appear now and again, I’ve come to a ratio that I’m satisfied with thru proper management and perpetual overseeding in Fall AND Spring with modern cutting edge cultivars. However, like I said - my lawn is definitely not flat or level but I would never impose compaction upon it with a heavy roller. Soil structure is the genesis of soil health.
It comes down to preference, dedication, and: What can you live with? Do you HAVE to have that pristine flat lawn? If you mow low like the current trend then yes. Are you ok with a lawn with a bit of character, a few dips and dives? I love my lawn. From the street and sidewalk, and in pics it’s a plush luxury lawn, when you are tending to it and playing on it you realize that it has soul.
The end.
Sorry for the novel brother but hey, it’s me.
My biggest takeaway from your novel (as you put it 🤪) is what can you live with? Bumps and lumps don’t matter much unless it’s causing worse damage like say scalping areas or what not. I wanted to see what the settling and winter process was going to look like on my back yard before any additional practices were implemented. I’m sure there will be corrective measures taken, but I’m not sure as to what yet. The one year I brought sand and soil in my previous iteration of backyard, was because of the heave that took place and the pressure on the rock walls.
@@Lawncology “What Can You Live With??”The 2022 lawncare season mantra. (I’m glad you took something away from that gobbledygook).
My problem is too many night crawlers. Yes, I know that sounds good right? They come up from down deep below the surface of the lawn and leave big mounds of soil on top, which then gets flattened out when someone or my dog steps on it. I end up with hard dirt on top of the grass which then dies out. I can't use poison to eliminate some of these creatures. I've been told to do core aeration and pour on some good top soil and seed. It sure is looking bad right now.
Me and my neighbors have mini lawn wars 😂. If a mower comes out then all the rest comes out also.
Cut my lawn at 1/2inch and have never rolled my lawn. But usually top dress with sand/compost mix.
Nice
I occasionally use mine after large mole damage.
Kill those bastards and even it out
@@Lawncology it would be impossible to kill all moles in my area
Can you use the lawn roller to stripe the lawn?
I made my own roller out of an old air tank (pro tip; if you’re grinding steel just inside your garage while it’s raining, and the sparks are going outside, it rains rust on your driveway. Ask me how I know.). Fun project. I don’t have much weight in it, I’ve been using it mostly to press down and press in seed in certain areas. Really helps germination, but isn’t too aggressive either. If I need more weight I have my 7 yr old sit on the frame haha.
Lol. Pressing seed works very well. I used a plate compactor on my green 😁
@@Lawncology I figured it out by accident when I replaced my sprinkler valve cover box one summer, just pushing by hand packing the dirt around it the new seed sprouted way faster than other stuff. I like to flatten, seed, lightly top dress, THEN roll or pack it. Seed to soil… good stuff.
Great video. Most of my lawns I mow are bumpy. I think it’s earth worms. How do you deal with that because they will come back up through the top dressing? Btw thanks for the awesome products!
Same here, we mow a lot of lawns with dried up worm castings on the surface and it’s beyond frustrating mowing it.
My backyard is now growing grass but certain large areas have very soft areas. When a chair is out down in that area it sinks down at least 3”. Any ideas anyone on what I can do to harden those areas?
Speaking of uneven lawns, I'm tempted to frost seed around thinned out areas with kbg. Frost heaves from freeze/thaw cycles in the soil
might be nature's way of saying thrower down. Maybe add a dusting of top dress to protect. I'm still within the window. Thoughts?
~mike
Why not? I’m a fan of spring feeding myself.
The previous owner of our house left a flatener roller. I later found out that they had sod put down in the front yard.
Has anyone aerated then soaked the lawn and then rolled it out? Seems like it would allow more movement for leveling and not compacting as much?
Help!!- I rebuilt my deck last year and my skid loader tore my grass us which I expected. What is the best way this spring to go about smoothing out the ruts and seeding so my kids can enjoy the yard again? Is rolling a good option?
You should knock down and fill. The roller won’t do much for that
I've seen this one guy, many times, throughout the years. Rent a steam roller and then core aerate after. Has a smooth lawn.
I imagine it is smooth. Rolling sand based playing fields or greens and I suppose even lawns that have transitioned to a playing type surface would need rolling. Folks who reel mow at .5” or less need smooth surfaces. The lawns I’ve been on where this is the practice look good from far but far from good up close. Usually the lawns are very thin and the mowers stripes mask the density issues.
Great info on this subject. One of the problems with TH-cam videos are that so many videos are made on topics that are not fully explained. For beginners to lawncare they can see someone using a roller and think oh that is what I need to do. Research is key and don't go by the first video you see. Well done.
Thanks buddy
Great advice @Striperman and @lawncology..!! indeed I was looking up a lawn roller to use for my leveling work. I bought my home a couple of years ago and lawn looked awful (super high and low spots, many weeds). I srated learning lawn care then.
Weeds got under control now, except for poa triv. I have been topdressing little by little because I haven't had enough time to do a big leveling work. But I want to do it this year.
I am glad to have found this video!! I almost went ahead placing an order for a roller..
I will have to fill very deep/ low spots. Should I still press down a bit with tamper ?? I ve never done this kind of task.
Thank you!
So... Here's a scenario.
I live in West Kentucky. We have insanely wet winter/spring season. I am forced to mow when it's just too wet. My lawn holds water and to be honest, I'm not going to dig it up and set a proper grade. In some places, my yard is like walking on a firm waterbed covered in sod. It displaces with just walking on it (185 lb guy). Anyway, back to the point...
When I'm forced to mow, I leave indentions from my mower tires. In fact, I can't even use my 60" Hustler because it's too heavy. I have to use a crappy little 38" tractor because it's lighter.
In theory, if I mowed with a lighter mower and dragged a roller behind me, wouldn't that smooth the "ruts" as I mow?
Note: I have a beautiful zoysia turf that looks absolutely stunning in the summer. Getting through spring without destroying it is getting on my nerves
Ummm. This one is gonna upset alot of people. Thanks for dedicating your time to educate myself and others
Ah well. Some things could be changed for the better.
Would plugging help
Sadly I rent and every time I walk on the grass, I feel like I'm about to twist and ankle. I would love to make it flat but I don't think the renter would appreciate it.
Good Vibs,, Earth worms building pyramids.
Hi John, what should I do if the Amazon driver drove on my yard and left ruts with a big box truck?
I'm not sure what to do now as this lawn is only a year old. I cut it at 1" with a reel mower. I have the video of the truck when it happened, just waiting for the response from Amazon.
Thank you!
Fill in the ruts and throw some seed down. I think rebuilding the spot is best
(Frost heave and organic matter decay causing bumpiness) what if you roll the yard and then follow up with core aeration?
Care aeration plus some topdress material would help immensely. I’m thing I could have added is that if you roll and smash soil often when wet, you’ll need to aerate often but that alone won’t solve the issue
Great info. I’m still entering the Spyker roller giveaway.
Lol. Might as well
Tbh I only added sand this season to promote growth and to even the soil balance. More of a permaculture trick rather than a lawn trick. Previous owner had let dogs destroy the lawn and the balance and health of soil was out. 30%sand 70%top soil with a dusting of lawn feed/moss killer and over seed with shaded area grass seed. Once that comes through and it warms up and I can start watering I’ll thicken it up with fast grown and hand weeding. Note I did cover the lawn with garden compost and autum leaves as mulch. So hopefully this season the soil will have a better head start in its health.
Bro i love you, such good advice and yes im one of those lawn nuts LOL simple short and posted facks
Please post more footage of you steam rolling your lawn
Lol. That’s pretty much all of it
My lawn was fairly flat last year but after the snow thaw this year I have huge heaves. Will that settle back to normal? Is so, how long will it take? Please help
Hard to say. I had that happen on a hillside and I ended up leveling the lawn where it settled. It didn’t take much but a roller is only a few hundred pound and compresses small riddles or high spots only if the soil is saturated.
My unevenness comes from worm castings. Millions of blasted worm castings. I’m in Seattle. Ground is always wet and they are constant. What do I do?
Wet soil and worms always equals that. When you press them down, they come back harder. There are vermicides, but that should be last option.
I am still going with the steam roller.
If it's sand, then it's not a big deal. I had someone roll their dolley with a heavy inflatable water slide, and it left ruts on my yard that has about 1.5 inches of sand on top.
I have squirrels that dig and cause bumps all winter
What if it’s lumpy from dog pouncing out it winter? Hard to cut grass without twisting ankle
Top dress and level
He said smooth.......😎
Dew worms. Dew worms every year no matter what. Immortal worms.
LUMPS FOREVER
And I have never had any desire to go outside every morning to cover the mounds with gypsum, since really, who the hell does?
This stopped me from getting a lawn roller though.
There is no victory in this situation lol
I bought a roller because I have mole runs that I have to flatten,
What if your yard used to be a hayfield and is very rough to mow
Top dress it
This is helpful information and thank you! I suspected a roller wouldn’t be a great idea for leveling and this video further affirms my suspicions.
The house we bought back in early 2020 was once a Christmas tree farm. There were hundreds of pine trees in bad shape and many already fallen. When we had a good bit of the land cleared and leveled, there were areas where they could only grind the stumps as opposed to dig them out (fortunately most were dug out). I’m now learning everywhere the stumps were ground, I’ll be battling depressions in the yard as the underlying matter decays. I filled in many of the depressions and seeded over them but I know it’s going to be an ongoing battle. I’m hoping over time the underlying organic matter will have decomposed enough that it’s no longer any issue.
Anyway, if anyone is having trees removed, have the stumps dug out as much as it’s possible. The grinding works but there’s a lot left underground that will lead to some holes to fill.
That’s good advice. A friend of mine does the “soak and burn” technique on trees he removes. Drills the stumps, soaks them in fuel, lights them and let’s the smolder. Seems to clear most everything out.
Can you use sand to fill deeper ruts and then put soil over it?
I would just use soil
We have mostly red clay here. I had though about tilling it all up until it was very loose, sifting all the garbage out of it, then using a leaked to smooth it before re-seeding the lawn with a perennial grass.
ah, worm mounds?
(I've got a bunch of photos, you can clearly see 1000's of these come up after rains, super obvious in bare soil) ....but yes, it seems like soil compaction causes these, then when the clay soil type is saturated with water do the worms come up for air? idk but they are little punks about it; and yes a weighted roller only causes more soil compaction at best, and at worse only crushes the worm mounds down to hard "knobs" that will never go away, when before they were fairly crumbly little 'hills' ....the two ways I've found to deal with them are raking them(just scattering the loose crumbles with a normal fan leaf rake) or if they do become set and hard to use the verticutter reel on the SunJoe(don't know why hardly anyone ever uses this reel, and only uses it with the power rake tine reel) the bladed reel does rip into the grass below the crown and will pull up live stuff, but it cuts into the top layer of soil especially cutting off the tops of the bumps vs only compacting those spots down more
I have such actively alive soil(which the worms do aerate I guess) even tho it is very dense hard clay mostly that I run the verticuter blades at least twice a season to chop off the worm mounds and loosen the surface ....I have yet to rent a core aerator nor mix non clay(to 'balance' my soil type - sand/organic?) to officially loosen my soil, but thinking that would help a bunch to give the worms 'space' to not have to bust thru the top 'crust' and make mounds after rains, or at least when the mounds are made they are softer and more likely to fall apart on their own
altho Ryan Knorr is also in my area, and even with his lawn top dressed with sand, he has shown the same worm mounds forming in his ultra short mowed yard ...he also said rolling them turns them into hard knobs - so not sure what the best solution is, as you can't just keep bringing the soil height up to match the tops of the mounds every year another inch
Worm mounds show up in what seem to be in the most compacted of soil. I get them on the green and I kick them off with my foot careful to leave the opening that was created. Pressing them down makes lumps again and a reason for worms to “come up for air.” I don’t and did it ever see them on my main lawn until I added the strip of sand filler. People who cut grass at 3/4” or less and have sand leveled will see these the most. Roots roots roots is all I can say. Aid worms in having greater space and less compaction.
Kill / control earthworms with an insecticide. Problem solved.
I’ve gone down the lawn care wormhole too much and it looks like I’m doing everything wrong
Rick the Roller is going to be offended that you canceled him. I’m telling Connor.
🤪
"Lawn Rollers Do Not Work" - THEY DO IF you're doing it right. I use a plugger, I poke the yard with 2 inch wide 8 inch deep holes, I fill it up 50%-70% with sand and compost. Depends on how much I need to flatten it, the holes can be more closer to each other. I water the area and then roll it over. It works all the time, been doing this for years. I flatten the yard and "aerate" in one go.
Cool. Good job compacting after aerating. Smart.
So here's a case where I think rolling is an option. You are already too high to add a top dressing. Adding more material will cause water to run where you don't want it. I think a good idea though would be to aerate afterwards, or use a spike roller.
Aerate, topdress, level rake to flatten.
I have gophers digging all around under the lawn. Need to smash down their tunnels
When they built the house they didnt spread it right so its lumpy
My lawn feels spongy when I walk on it.
You probably have a bad thatch layer
At least another month of snow cover here. ...Sigh...
About the same for me
IF you have ruts from tires you use a roller, Save your money on soil, On a very rainy day smooth it right out. Ruts from cars, heavy mowers whatever it is. When you got soft ground when wet it don't matter how many times you add soil to level it out, if something heavy runs over it you got ruts
Driving over super saturated ground is one of the worst possible things you can do for soil and turf health.
@@Lawncology well yeah,but sometimes it can’t be avoided when it rains for a week and the grass is long or idiots that don’t know how to drive running over the lawn by the street
@@dylan8285 lol. Yes you’re right. At that point the damage is done.
@@dylan8285 I have a manual reel mower for mowing the yard when it is too wet. Major pain in the butt, but I am not breaking the 1/3 rule nor clogging up my riders deck.
No solution for those of us doing our own thing and are exhausted, injured, or just plain over it. I need a machine to smooth this out first.
The steamroller 😂
I just had to
No help at all.... I've had several problems with heavy duty trucks leaving huge deep tire tracks through the lawn, from utility trucks doing tree trimming and tree removal trucks. Especially since the trees have gone down during rain + wind events, like 2 hurricanes just this year, the heavy duty trucks are driving across wet lawn.
You're actually better off rototilling and starting over.