I moved into this house 2 years ago and the previous owner thought it was a good idea to put a gravel path that was about 100 feet long and 5-6 feet wide right down the middle of the backyard that leads to a shed. It looked horrible when you kept it sprayed with a herbicide to keep the weeds out and even worse if you let it go and patches of weeds sprouted up here and there so I got out with a shovel and a wheelbarrow and dug it up. 15 hours later and I now have a long, wide path of bare clay in my backyard... :(

I would like to know what I need to do to sow grass in that area. I dug down about 2 inches past where the rocks stopped so I made sure and got most of them. I was thinking of going this weekend and getting a load of topsoil and laying in the area but I am not sure if if I need to break up the clay and mix it or simply lay down the topsoil and then seed. This area is on a slight incline so I am not so worried about water pooling up.

I would appreciate any advice.

Thanks

Then add 1/3" of top soil or compost or a mixture of the two. Lay the seed on top and lightly mix it in with the compost/soil so it is mostly covered but not buried deep. Keep it moist but not drenched. Since it is a bit late in the season to grow cool season grass you will have to be vigilant about keeping it wet or the seed will dry out.

Good luck!

Sod would be an excellent choice for you. No matter what you do, unless it is a complete renovation, you will always see that path because the grass will be different.

I would not dig up any more of the soil. You have done too much already. Even solid clay will support grass if you do it right. But I can almost guarantee you don't have as much clay as you thin you have. If there has never been a brickyard within 50 miles since the 1900s, then you don't have that much clay. You may have all the symptoms of clay but that is different. In order to know what your soil is you have to do some testing. My point is it doesn't matter what the soil type is at this point. Tilling or going any deeper than you already have will be a mistake. It takes years for loose soil to settle back down into a permanent structure. I understand why you went as deep as you did and I agree with it. Just don't compound the problem.

As far as the path, it has to be filled with topsoil or something otherwise I will basically wind up with a moat in my yard because in places it is inches deep. I am going to try and sow some grass though, however weak, until fall when I am going to spray the entire yard with roundup and use a power seeder. I have a real nice stand of grass near the house and a weed farm in the back half. I fully expect the weeds to take over this spot too so at least I will have that going for me as far as uniformity goes.