Sod is a common term in gardening language. The word causes headaches for beginners. The expression raises worry lines on the foreheads of advanced hobby gardeners. This guide puts an end to all uncertainty. Read a well-founded explanation of terms here. Common procedures with a sod are no longer hidden from you here.
How do I remove a sod?
To remove a sod, use a spade or sod cutter to remove the grass area. Alternatively, you can work the turf with a scarifier to remove moss and weeds and repair the lawn.
What is a sod? – Definition
Sward is the name for the closed growth of grass, moss and herbs on the ground, the coherent growth of which forms a complete plant cover.
A few centimeters below a sward, the soil life pulsates. The plant cover serves as valuable protection for earthworms, beetles and other organisms against adverse weather conditions or predators. Furthermore, a turf acts as a natural bulwark against erosion and rock weathering.
Removing or repairing sod – 5 methods
Regardless of its diverse tasks in nature, a sod is not always desirable or gives cause for complaint. The following table lists 5 common methods of dealing with a grass cover:
| Method | Material requirements |
|---|---|
| remove, remove | Spade, shovel, wheelbarrow |
| peel off | Sod cutter, mini excavator or shovel |
| milling and digging | Garden tiller, spade, sieve |
| digging | Spade, sieve |
| repair | Scarifiers, rakes, lawn mowers |
The following instructions explain in a practical and comprehensible manner how and with which tools you can correctly implement the processing methods.
Removing sod – step-by-step instructions
The best way to remove a sod manually is with a spade
It can make sense to remove a sod for many reasons. Common occasions include laying a lawn or bed, building a garden house, pond or sauna. The most cost-effective method does not require mechanical support and only requires a spade (€29.00 on Amazon), elbow grease and time. The following instructions explain step by step how to properly remove sod:
- best time is in late autumn
- Mark and cut off area
- Prick the green area with a spade 10-15 cm deep in a checkerboard pattern
- Each time you cut the spade, lift the earth slightly (tilt the spade handle backwards)
- Lift the pieces with a shovel and place them in the wheelbarrow
You can also separate well-loosened turf segments from the subsoil with your hands and place them in the wheelbarrow. In practice, cuts measuring 30 x 30 centimeters have proven to work well.
Excursus
Compost sod separately
Worn sod is too thick to be disposed of in regular compost. However, you can compost peeled grass and reuse it in the garden as valuable soil. To do this, stack the sod with the grass facing down in a separate pile. Sprinkle some seaweed lime or rock dust on each layer. Earthing takes a few months. Before using in the bed, sift the soil to remove stones, root weeds and other contaminants.
Peel off the sod – this is how it works
Don't you feel like sweaty digging work? Then use a special device to remove the sod. A lawn peeler or sod cutter pulls the green plant cover from the ground using machine power. You can rent the device inexpensively from hardware stores, garden centers or construction equipment rental companies. This is how you peel off an old sod in an exemplary manner:
- Mow the area very short
- Align the sod cutter straight, parallel to the outer edge of the green area
- Put on safety glasses, adjust the cutting depth, start and lift the device
- Lower the device into the turf with rotating blades
- Peeling machine lead straight over the turf in tracks
- important: cut edges are close to each other
- Switch off the device and put it aside
- Put on gloves
- roll up cut lengths of grass
Depending on the cutting depth and length of the strip, disposing of the grass rolls requires a helping hand or a mini excavator.
video: Youtube
Milling, sieving and digging the sod
Peeling off a sod always raises the question: What to do with the grass rolls? You can avoid this problem by milling and digging up the green area. A garden tiller acts as a machine-powered tiller. The turf is shredded and can be incorporated into the soil. In conjunction with digging, it is advisable to clean the soil of root weeds and stones using a sieve. How to do it professionally:
- best time is in autumn or early spring
- Mow or scythe green areas as short as possible
- Put on safety glasses, sturdy shoes and start the garden tiller
- Milling the turf lengthwise and crosswise
- Dig the soil 2 spades deep and 20 cm wide across the bed area
- Throw the excavated material through a close-meshed, adjustable sieve
- fill the cleaned excavation from the second furrow into the first trench
- Use sifted soil from the first furrow for the last trench
In order to clear a small area of turf, prior milling is not absolutely necessary. Break up the sod with the spade and dig the soil into furrows. With the sieve you can clean the soil from all kinds of impurities.
Repairing mossy turf
You can remove moss from the lawn with a scarifier
Removing a sod means a deep, destructive impact on the soil life underneath. Hobby gardeners who are close to nature strive to repair the offending green space. The plan has the best chance of success if it is a mossy lawn. For this purpose, moss and weeds are combed out with a scarifier. The motorized device works with rotating rollers that score a turf. This is how it works:
- Rent scarifier at hardware store
- Mow the lawn 2 cm deep
- scarify lengthwise and crosswise
- Sweeping away moss and weeds with a rake
- mow again
You can edit small lawns manually. This can be done with a hand scarifier, which you pull forcefully through the mossy turf.
Afterwards, subject the scarified turf to a revitalization program. First, the green area should regenerate for around 14 days. During drought, regular irrigation promotes the recovery process. Then fertilize the area with a slow-release fertilizer for lawns or finely sifted compost. Larger gaps in the green can be closed quickly by spreading a thin layer of humus with lawn seeds and watering repeatedly.
Reuse old turf – this is how it works
Nothing is wasted in the natural garden. This also applies to a sod that you remove to create a vegetable patch, for example. The most important prerequisite for successful recycling is a good to satisfactory condition. Reusing a sod goes like this:
- Prepare new green space with permeable subsoil and fine crumbly soil
- Enrich the upper soil layer with a mixture of sifted compost and sand
- mow old turf to 3-4 cm blade height
- deep cutting in transportable grass tiles
- lay out close together on the prepared surface, roll and blast thoroughly
Please fill the seams with a mix of humus, soil, sand and lawn seeds. In order for the turf to grow in the new location, it is important to water regularly in the following weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Where should old sod go? How and where can I dispose of the peeled sod?
Disposal can be done with elbow grease and at no cost by turning the sod over, breaking it up with a spade and letting it rot in a separate heap. New humus is created that you can use in the garden. In rural regions, upon request, farmers sometimes allow peeled turf to be distributed to fallow fields. The regional recycling center accepts removed sod at a price starting at 10 euros per ton. If you don't mind the costs, hire a waste disposal company to drop off a container on your property and pick it up again.
The sod from the lawn is coming off. What to do?
If the turf loosens, the lawn suffers from pest infestation. Voracious beetle larvae nibble on the roots and cause the typical damage. In the early stages you can save the lawn by fighting the grubs with nematodes. The nematodes are applied with water from the watering can and parasitize the larvae. In advanced stages, only a radical measure often helps: peeling off the turf and laying a new lawn.
I removed the sod for my new raised bed. Can I use removed sod for filling?
If a raised bed is built on lawn, the turf should be removed. Of course, the organic material is far too valuable to be disposed of. First lay out a sturdy vole grid on the ground. As the bottom layer, layer thick branches and twigs up to a height of 30 to 40 centimeters, covered with some garden soil. Now is a good opportunity to incorporate peeled turf into the raised bed filling. Mix the sod with shredded material, grass clippings and similar garden waste until a 20 centimeter thick layer is created. This is followed by further layers of stable manure, rotted leaves, coarse compost and fine compost.
We would like to have a specialist company remove a piece of grass and prepare the ground for replanting. What costs should you expect?
For a 100 square meter area, costs of 500 to 700 euros are incurred for the removal of the turf and expert ground preparation in order to create a lawn or flower bed. In addition, there are disposal costs for removed sod, soil, roots and stones. This calculation applies to normal garden soil. Difficult ground conditions or a steep slope drive up the costs.
Tip
Disposing of removed turf in a container involves a high cost risk. Old turf must be separated from soil and stones. The separated earth goes into a container for excavation. Stones are disposed of as building rubble and have no place in the earth container. Dispose of the pure grass sod in the green waste container. Disposing of sod, soil and stones together in one container is considered mixed waste with correspondingly high costs.
