kanelb
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 4:10 pm
Location: Rockland, MA

Grass growing tips over a filled in swimming pool

Hello - brand new homeowner here and lawn care virgin!

The previous owners of my home removed a swimming pool and filled it in with crappy dirt and rocks. You can see a line across my yard where grass just stops growing and dirt begins.

I don't even know where to start to fix this. I've been scouring the internet and am overwhelmed by options - soil, compost, sodding, tilling, aerating. I've even called landscapers, but I can't seem to get any of them to call me back, so I'm at a loss now!

A little background - I'm in south eastern Massachusetts, the yard has some sun coverage, but the area in need of some TLC is in the center and not close to the outer edges where trees are. The area is also a little lower than the rest of the yard, and with the large amount of rain we've gotten over the last few weeks, the area pools with water quickly, but has dried out.

Can anyone offer some recommendations for a beginner like me? What other info do you need?

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Lindsaylew82
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Posts: 2115
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 9:26 pm
Location: Upstate, SC

Hi! Welcome to the forum!

Do you know what kind of pool it was? Concrete? Dirt with a liner? Was the liner removed completely?

The water pooling would indicate that there are drainage issues. I would expect that here if our pool were filled in. The dirt is red clay, and it is packed hard as concrete. They line it with other "stuff" before they put the liner in as well. If they didn't dismantle the pool appropriately, it'll never drain appropriately.

Is there anyway you can find out anything more about the manner in which your ex-pool was dismantled?

You could always make a gym area for kids on that part of your lawn. A Roark garden would look very pretty, paired with a fire thingy and and some seating, you could really make it look very upscale! All would be cheaper options that either having the cavity dug up, appropriately aerated, and refilled, or having the pool restored.... :|

J4bs4209333
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Posts: 1
Joined: Sat May 27, 2017 10:02 am

I live about 40 minutes away from Rockland and when I bought my house it looked like a wild jungle invaded the yard. Now, after a lot of DIY work, it's pretty. Here's what I would do.....
First it depends on whether or not the land gradually slopes down to the pool area. If it's a gradual slope then leveling it out is probably too much to deal with. In that case I would remove as much of the crappy dirt and rocks as I could and top it off with some screened loam or top soil. If you otherwise have a flat level yard and large pool size low area then you should start by adding screened loam to level the entire yard. I do not recommend sod unless you have irrigation or you are ready to get out there with a hose 2-3 times a day for the first couple weeks. If your existing yard is Kentucky Bluegrass then sodding and watering is the best way to go (even with a healthy lawn I could never get bluegrass seeds to grow). Otherwise I would highly recommend Pennington Sun and Shade seed (or any fescue). In my experience that stuff will grow anywhere. Make sure you use starter fertilizer and water frequently until you see it filling in nicely. I don't think the fact that there was a pool there will make any difference. The fact that they filled it in with rocky soil will probably help with drainage issues, especially in a lower lying area.



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