We had a backyard that was all weeds last year. Last spring/summer I did the work of cleaning it out completely, tilling it, adding in amendments, lime, then seeding and growing grass. I had a sprinker set up on a timer, and it came in reasonably well. (I think it's never going to be great since it's mostly under two very large maples.)

Unfortunately this summer we had to have the porch replaced, and that job took forever and basically ruined most of the lawn. I'd say about 1/3 of it is bare (sat underneath debris), and then the other 2/3rds is somewhat patchy with a decent amount of weeds.

The question I'm faced with now is, do I attempt to "repair" the lawn, or should I start from scratch?

Another question I have is, after growing the lawn last season, I found it to be "lumpier" than I would like. I've been reading about various ways to smooth out a lawn - lawn rollers, sand, etc. If I do start from scratch, is there any way to make it less lumpy? Should I not till? I have heard conflicting advice.

Thanks a lot for your help.

Jared

You learned the drawback to tilling before reseeding. It's the only way to really mix things in, but there's no way to do it in a way that guarantees even settling. The best way to get the lawn level and properly graded is to hire somebody with a box blade to do it.

Here is how tilling creates a bumpy surface: When you rototill you cannot possibly hold the tiller to a smooth, even depth. The tiller wobbles around in a herky jerky motion due to differences in the soil structure, rocks, roots, dry/moist, and other factors. When you reach a particularly hard spot the tendency is to stop moving and let the tiller fluff the soil real well. After you have finished tilling you will have very fluffy soil in heaps and mounds and a solid surface of untilled soil below the fluff. That hard surface below is bumpy. When you level the fluffy surface on top, you will be leaving a varying depth of fluffy soil. When all that fluffy soil settles, it will settle to match the profile of the uneven surface down below. Thus you end up with a bumpy lawn. And yes, I realize that just about every website, magazine article, book, and expert will tell you to rototill, but as a former employee of a finish grader (he prepares the surface for the landscaper), we did not even own a rototiller. All we used was a tractor with a box blade. It you wanted to hire that done, a good driver should be able to finish an average lot in a morning unless you have a lot of trees. My niece's husband can repair 2 acres in less than an hour.

NOW is the time to reseed if you are going to do it. Your previous project in the spring/summer was doomed from the start.

I attempted to smooth out the bumps in the lawn by using a long 2x4 as a screed over the lawn soil. This has the effect of filling in the low spots. I have no idea if this will make a significant difference. But it was inexpensive, can't make things worse, and I figure this will be a work-in-progress. This is a city lawn and there's no chance to get a tractor back there.

Another year I'll try the sand technique to improve things further.

Thanks,
Jared