Sod cutter or scalp it?

[ARB1977]

Hey fellas later this week im starting on my sons swing set that he got for Christmas. Anyway i was thinking on using a sod cutter to rip up the lawn...its about 1250 sqft. What im thinking now instead of using the cutter i would just scalp it with my lawn mower and use some commercial grade yard fabric to keep the grass from popping through. On top of that im getting about 15 cubic feet of playground mulch, about 4" deep.

It would save about 80.00 and a ton of labor....what would you do?

 

[Barkleymut]

What type of grass exists now? Just curious. If you put down the fabric and 4" of playground mulch nothing will come through. If you get any grass that comes through then just hit it with Roundup. It is one of the most benign chemicals that you can use...or you can google homemade grass killer. There is zero need to use the sod cutter.

Also no need to scalp the grass, in fact I would hit it with the Roundup..wait a day or two then put down the fabric and then mulch. Feel free to PM me as I owned a landscaping biz for 8 years and did projects like this for many of my clients.

 

[WagonBoss]

Unless you need to lower the grade there is no need to cut the sod. If you have bermuda (probable in North Texas) Roundup will not be effective. Just cover the area with black plastic (cheaper than landscape fabric and no chemicals in the play area) and mulch over the top. 15 cubic feet won't cover 1250 square feet at 4 inches. You'll need about 15 cubic yards of mulch. Big difference.

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
What type of grass exists now? Just curious. If you put down the fabric and 4" of playground mulch nothing will come through. If you get any grass that comes through then just hit it with Roundup. It is one of the most benign chemicals that you can use...or you can google homemade grass killer. There is zero need to use the sod cutter.

Also no need to scalp the grass, in fact I would hit it with the Roundup..wait a day or two then put down the fabric and then mulch. Feel free to PM me as I owned a landscaping biz for 8 years and did projects like this for many of my clients.

Thanks for the help. Its bermuda grass....nasty stuff. Ive tried round up before and all it did was laugh at it.

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: WagonBoss
Unless you need to lower the grade there is no need to cut the sod. If you have bermuda (probable in North Texas) Roundup will not be effective. Just cover the area with black plastic (cheaper than landscape fabric and no chemicals in the play area) and mulch over the top. 15 cubic feet won't cover 1250 square feet at 4 inches. You'll need about 15 cubic yards of mulch. Big difference.

Im sorry, yea its 15 cubic yards. Would any type of black plastic work?

 

[Schmoe]

Roundup not effective????? Just put the thing on top of the grass....

 

[Barkleymut]

We have bermuda here also and I've never had a problem killing it with roundup. Just wait till it is green (cant kill it while it is dormant) and spray at the label rate and it will be dead in a few days. And yes you can use plastic if that is the cheapest route.

 

[Schmoe]

Roundup will wipe just about anything out other than a soil sterilent.

 

[jmac]

As far as Roundup being benign... contrary to the lies put out by the manufacturer, glyphosphates, the active ingredient in Roundup, is being found in groundwater. Quit using this [censored].

http://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/glyphosate051503.cfm
http://www.eastbaypesticidealert.org/glyphosate.html
http://tangergreen.com/roundup-is-toxic-stop-spraying-today/
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/service76.htm
http://current.com/items/92277642_negative-impacts-of-round-up-ready-systems.htm

 

[expat]

If you cut the Sod it will help keep the mulch in place.
Mulch, especially on plastic will spread itself around in no time.

 

[andrewg]

Apply Roundup or similar powerful grass killer first (unless you are an environmentalist....then get about thirty chickens and ten months time...grass will be completely gone). Then, get a bunch of thick, contractor grade landscape fabric. This stuff is much less slippery than the plastic and as such will hold your mulch in place better. Third, use a thick (at least 5 inches) of mulch like bark chips, sawdust, sand, or whatever you like and is common in your area.
Should work just fine and your grass will be gone.

 

[yeti]

what worked for me on several jobs -- scalp the lawn, and use the good grade of landscape fabric.plastic would work, but it'll hold water, and possibly cause drainage issues. anything that might come up through the mulch, can be killed with straight pickling vinegar. it's not toxic, and it works very well.good luck.