cement in my grass!!

[Sweatpalm]

We have been fighting with these spots in our yard for almost 7 years now. We've tried everything from Chem-lawn services to Scotts do it your self stuff and I finally decided to just dig out the bad spots this year and replace them with sod. Then I found that there's CEMENT about 5 inches under the grass! Just in these random places all over the yard! Some of the spots are 5 or 6 feet in diameter so heaven only knows how deep this stuff is and I have NO idea why it's even there. I guess I'm hoping maybe there's a shallow growing grass or a simpler way to solve this than digging up the entire front yard and breaking up the cement. Grass was growing over it but very sparsely and it had lots of bare sports in it. If anyone can give me any ideas I would really apperciate it! Thank you!!!

[opabinia51]

Yes, you can place topsoil right over the cement though the common practice is to try and build up healthier soil than just plain topsoil.

What most people do when they overplant cement is:

1) lay down black and white newspaper over the cement
2) lay down a layer of some sort of green, probably manure
3) lay down a layer of mulched leaves
4) Now lay down a layer of top soil.

Then, plant grass, or other plants.

You can buy shallow rooted grasses, ask at your local nurseries.

[Cynthia Blue]

Interesting! We have bricks spaced at intervals in our back yard under our grass. Where we've dug up and created a garden, we have found many bricks. Right out of the patio grass won't grow for me, either. So we decided to expand the garden and create a path instead of trying for anymore grass there. Found more bricks under there when we dug for more garden area.

Frustrating! Our house is old, buit in 1943, so who knows what prior owners did.

[opabinia51]

I am guessing that when the house or other structures were built that all wastes were simply dumped on the property. But, the easiest thing that you can do is simply grow things over what is there.

[Sweatpalm]

Thank You! I will certainly try doing those things before I try to dig up the whole yard! I have heard they sometimes dump the extra waste right on site but heck... Why not the BACK yard?!?!? Oh well! Thank you!!

[opabinia51]

You are most welcome, good luck with landscaping in your antiquities layden yard. Could have an entire archealogical dig back there!