Question about fixing compacted soil for lawn

[bigbearbear]

There are patches of highly compacted soil in my back yard that made grass grow in a spotty manner and those that do grow doesn't do well in summer. If I try to push a screw driver into these part, the screw driver will only go down about 1/4 of an inch. With the cooler temperature now, I'm thinking of fixing these patches.

I am planning to run a power rake over (a Sun Joe electric dethatcher) the area to rake up all the dead grass, and then break up the compacted soil with a EGO battery powered cultivator. Once done I'll add some topsoil, level the area with a level rake and put down new seed.

Does this sound like a good plan or should I do something else?

Thanks.

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[Alexx1401]

Yes, what it needs is to have the hard soil loosed up, no matter how you do it. The larger the area of course the more work this can be.
Adding some nice topsoil will of course also give the new seed a good head start. As long as you are not after a lawn that looks like a golf green its very simple to have "nice" looking grass.

 

[MTpockets]

Gramma would use a stirrup hoe to breakup and dislodge the remaining vegetation. Next she would rake out the dislodged grass clumps. Then she would mix in some peat, sand and a bit of ash from the cookstove to prep the area for reseeding.

Anyway... That's what she told me while I worked the dirt with that derned stirrup hoe.

edit to add stirrup hoe

 

[Mikej]

Aeration, rake up the plugs, ad some sand and/or gypsum.

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You'll need to get some moisture in the hard stuff maybe, to get the plugger down in. Maybe best to wait 'til spring now. Maybe think about getting it aerated every other year or so in mid late June. Not too early as the holes fill in too fast with wet soil. But you want to do it before the sod gets dry/compacted.

 

[Labradorian]

If the patches are large and very compacted, drilling and blasting the affected areas is the answer.

 

[Certaindeaf]

There are patches of highly compacted soil in my back yard that made grass grow in a spotty manner and those that do grow doesn't do well in summer. If I try to push a screw driver into these part, the screw driver will only go down about 1/4 of an inch. With the cooler temperature now, I'm thinking of fixing these patches.

I am planning to run a power rake over (a Sun Joe electric dethatcher) the area to rake up all the dead grass, and then break up the compacted soil with a EGO battery powered cultivator. Once done I'll add some topsoil, level the area with a level rake and put down new seed.

Does this sound like a good plan or should I do something else?

Thanks.

If a goat isn't the answer, a hog is.