What To Do About An Uneven Lawn

When you are riding or walking behind your lawn mower, nothing can be more frustrating or teeth-jarring than a bumpy or uneven lawn.

What can you do about this less than pleasant mowing experience?

Unfortunately, using a roller won't have much of an effect on the bumps and dips in your yard because the soil is anchored by roots from your lawn and other landscaping. It's a little like trying to shift concrete around. Rolling can move soil downward if it is not already well-anchored. But it will not move it from high to low spots.

There essentially are three methods to alleviate the lumpy lawn syndrome. The first two focus on placing soil in low spots. You can accomplish this by adding soil (this is called top dressing) or through core cultivation.

If you decide to add soil, do so in small increments (1/2 inch layer or less) and be sure that the soil is of the same particle size or greater to what you already have in your yard to prevent layering. The challenge is to be able to spot the low areas (easy while you are riding or walking over them!) beneath the grass. The application can be made by hand with a wheel barrow and shovel, or with a top-dressing machine, which you can find at some equipment rental stores. This essentially is a machine that will distribute the soil in an even layer, much like a rotary fertilizer spreader, but on a larger scale. Your best bet is to top dress the entire area where unevenness is a problem. The soil will naturally move from high to low spots and fill in gradually.

Core cultivation may also help alleviate your problem. The core cultivator removes plugs of soil, which end up on the surface of your lawn. Break up these soil plugs with a rake or, if you have a riding mower, with a drag. Once again, the soil will move to the low spots in the lawn over a period of time. This process will take a couple of years, but there is the immediate benefit of knowing you are eliminating soil compaction by core cultivating.

Your final option is a drastic one - although it is foolproof when you do it right. It requires total renovation - starting over from the ground up. It may seem like a lot of work, but the outcome is assured - you will have a yard that is smooth immediately after the job is complete, not two-to-three years down the road. You can also make any soil amendments at the same time, and address any drainage issues. Finally, you can also put in the turf grass of your choice - the right grass to meet your use, maintenance level and aesthetic desires.

If you are a new homeowner just starting your first lawn, do it right the first time. Be sure the yard is graded properly and the soil smoothed out before you seed or lay sod. This will eliminate the lumpy lawn problem entirely.