These Lawn Leveling Mistakes Are WAY Too Easy To Make

Most people who make lawn leveling mistakes do it on accident just like I did. Even though we have a good grasp on what needs to be done to make a lawn level and flat doesn't mean we execute well every time.

►► Want to fix your lawn but don't know where to start? ◄◄
Start with this free email series:

►► The Absolute Basics Of Lawn Care ◄◄
Learn everything about lawn care in a lot less time.

►► Need Personalized Help? ◄◄
Book A 1-On-1 Call With Me Today:

In this video, I made a lot of errors trying to make my lawn flatter before Spring really got going. I hope you can learn from my mistakes.

Of everything I did in this video, I feel like the Groundkeeper II rake was the one thing that I did right...it saved my lawn from damage after I nearly killed off a bunch of small patches.

◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙
About Me + Resources
◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙

◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙
Products Referenced In This Video
◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙

◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙
Go Deeper Down The Rabbit Hole (video/blog)
◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙

♦ This Is How You Grow ZERO Weeds In A Lawn

◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙
Also, Don't Miss These...
◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙

♦ Trending Videos From The Channel

[robertschworm]

Hi there. This video is dear to my heart!!! I watched it a few times and here is my experience - -
My mix was 1.5 yards of mason sand and 1.5 yards of screened top soil. The soil will settle so the sand gives it structure to prevent this. Yes it is best to have your mix DRY so it can be spread easily and BROOMED in.

The grass must be cut to the crown of the blade so it is a stubble to broom around and cause the blade to stand up.

Next you do not put piles of mix around the yard. Best is to have a garden cart that tips forward to dump. Move this in rows, and rake a bit out at a time and cast in front of the cart - - no height to it!!!

Next, I RAKE it out to be sure it is not too deep and cast it around the grass blades. At this point it is sitting on top of the blades as well as between them where it is low.

Finally you BROOM the blades to get the dirt knocked off the blades and settle the mix down to the canopy of the lawn ( around the crowns of the blades).

You do not use straight sand for this as it will bake HARD and the temperature of it in the sun will get up over 150 degrees and burn the surrounding grass off. So have a good ratio of dirt in there.

Next, WATER it in, and keep it moist for several days while the blades recover.

If you are planning on over seeding - then I would suggest you water this dirt WELL to soften it up and get rid of any hard crust. Apply the seed and perhaps run a leaf rake thru it to "furrow" the gound - -not a broom or you will sweep it hard to the canopy.

Finally mow at least at 3 inches tall to crowd out weeds and out compete them for space.

Remember - the trick here is cast out low mix and rake it in and have as few areas where you do not see the blades. Sweep until the blades are poking thru and standing up as best as you can. Get the dirt off the blades!!!

Bob S - Cleveland, OH

[mrpucklepops]

I seem too be one of those guys that only learns the hard way, when it comes to DIY projects. I have too royalty screw it up too see where I went wrong, but hey" its better to learn that way, then not learn at all, well" that's what I tell my wife anyway 😂 great video man 👌

[stevegoode]

I'm 74 and found your video very educational. Mistakes provide learning skills. Your children reminded me of my grandchildren. Loved them in the video

[rubenharris]

An extremely helpful and well timed video Brian. I plan to level some low spots that are much worse than what you had. This helped to alter/improve my plan for sure.

[patrickKCMO]

Good on you man for showing the mistakes and growing pains not just a perfectly groomed lawn. The kids looked like they had fun with it too!

[Faithfulfarmer]

made the same mistake for a client but luckily fixed up. it took about 10 extra hours of work fixing my mistake. taking off a large amount of the unsifted compost and mixing more sand in. it was also a draught time here in hawaii and i had to reseed. by far the biggest uh oh moment and best lesson i have had in the last several years doing this work

[WillyMac]

Thanks for being open about mistakes and letting us learn from it too

[padroooo]

I leveled the lot I bought next door to where I lived and had 9 tandem dump truck delivered and it was sandy loam I had delivered. Seeded it the end of September and spread grass seeded .
The lot was really rough after doing tree removal and stump grinding. I built a 4 foot leveling rake and made a 8 foot wide drag I pulled behind my tractor. It was beautiful this spring.

[paulbauer]

Extremely helpful to see actual results, especially mistakes, how you address problems, and honest evaluation of the results. Every part of this prepares all viewers much better than simply know-it-all beginning of project presentation and no actual results.

[tulsatom]

I saw this Quotation as a Scrambled Puzzle at a Coney-I-lander this week that is relative to your video . . .
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life doing nothing.”
George Bernard Shaw

[edenalicerosebelovedchildo]

Thank you! I love your honesty. This video is awesome. I love the way your kids get involved and the way they interact with you. It’s obvious they adore their daddy! I have been trying to do some easy and some more complex landscaping around my house with a huge yard area. I make lots of mistakes but now I feel better about them and I won’t be so hard on myself!

[wakingupfrom]

really useful video. I have a lot of spots that need leveling and have no idea where to start. helps a lot

[chadwickedralin]

I really enjoyed this video. Life is not perfect and neither are we. You had fun with the process and your kids at the same time. This in my opinion was a real relatable video. Thanks for putting it out and me teaching what not to do later this fall. I definitely would have done some of those no no’s.

[seankelly]

Great video! Cute family. You are so obviously blessed. It's live and learn with the landscaping. I'll make sure to do dry sand (mostly) when it's time to level or reshape. Appreciate the honesty and your place looks awesome!!!

[ccikara]

So great that you came back to the video and showed us your mistakes and how to fix / avoid them.

[montyhinton]

About a third through and every mistake is personal. Your comment section was also helpful. I've only had a lawn for the second season and the adventure continues.

[trdiopn]

Thanks for this video. My lawn is struggling this year after doing well the last few years. Well stated lawn care is a marathon and not a sprint.

[Mellosuccss]

Oh god!! I’m not done watching and I’m already grateful….thanks for posting this….YouTube is very seductive with these improvements and few show the failures… I’m still recovering from the last level…. Yea it’s only been a month or so but it matters…tell the truth

[tlokzz]

I've found watering leveling material (topsoil only, sand mix, etc.) to be very beneficial, but as you said, it takes continual agitation to let the grass grow through. I appreciate the insight into your experience, as I've had a ton of setbacks! Mainly, I'm trying to level ground that has high spots that are TOO high! Everything looks great, but I will rototill half of my lawn next year to bring it back down. Anyway, glad you posted the video. Subscribed!

[yoko]

Great video Brian and beautiful family. Lawn leveling is not as easy as it seems. There are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. I just went through it. I put 3 yards of “screened topsoil” on my lawn that was full of crabgrass seeds and sticks and rocks. I was able to screen some of it myself. I went into it with the expectation that I will have to do it a couple of more times. To me it looks the same as before I did the leveling and now I have a bunch of bare spots because I don’t have any seed leftover. I should also mention that my lawn got covered with hundreds of maple seedlings after I put the seed down. Learned some good lessons.