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What To Do With Rocky Backyard?
Posted on 8/4/24 at 8:11 pm
Posted on 8/4/24 at 8:11 pm
When they were cutting in my home site we discovered that the rear of my house/backyard was on a slate shelf. The front yard is good soil but the shelf began where my backyard starts. They've pulled up chunks as large as a beach ball. It's brittle and breaks easily but it's literally a slate pit. Grass will will never grow here and I'm certain sod would never establish.
How much topsoil is needed for grass to grow? Sod? I'm considering digging the slate deeper and then filling around the house with topsoil. Would this work? Any other ideas? Seems like a lot of work but I have to have a back yard.
5
Posted on 8/4/24 at 8:29 pm to GAFF
From now on I'm going to stop saying my yard is rocky. You win.
Posted on 8/4/24 at 8:44 pm to GAFF
I don’t know what to do, but when I chop up tree stumps, I need to get at least 6” below ground. At 4-5” the Bermuda above the stump will occasionally completely go brown then recover in a couple weeks.
Posted on 8/4/24 at 8:59 pm to Dallaswho
I posted a similar question on here a while back but wanted to post pictures to show the scope of rock I’m dealing with. Someone said Palisades Zoysia would grow on slate. Can anyone confirm? How much dirt for it?
Posted on 8/5/24 at 6:15 am to Hobie101
I’d be cool with it but my wife wants our 2 and 4 year old to have somewhere to play.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 8:19 am to GAFF
Depends on how much you want to spend. The more good soil you have the better for the grass. The Palisades will grow on a few inches of top soil, but you will have issues with drought and watering.
The best way would be to dig it down about a foot, fill dirt, then about 4-5 inches of top soil, then sod.
The best way would be to dig it down about a foot, fill dirt, then about 4-5 inches of top soil, then sod.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 10:03 am to GAFF
quote:
I’d be cool with it but my wife wants our 2 and 4 year old to have somewhere to play.
I hear that. Good luck with it! Looks like a fun project with some potentially cool landscaping!
Posted on 8/5/24 at 10:09 am to GAFF
quote:
What To Do With Rocky Backyard?
Add Bullwinkle
Posted on 8/5/24 at 11:44 am to GAFF
is this in Alabama?
I’m not sure what your options are it may be crazy expensive to excavate all that. I would get a test bore done before you do anything though and see how thick that shelf is. And make sure you don’t inadvertently destabilize the hillside (if that’s what that is)
I’m not sure what your options are it may be crazy expensive to excavate all that. I would get a test bore done before you do anything though and see how thick that shelf is. And make sure you don’t inadvertently destabilize the hillside (if that’s what that is)
Posted on 8/5/24 at 12:38 pm to cgrand
quote:
is this in Alabama?
North Georgia
quote:
make sure you don’t inadvertently destabilize the hillside
The hill stops where the skid steer is sitting so only about 5' high. Picture doesn't show but it's a gradual incline and not that steep
quote:
may be crazy expensive to excavate all that
My graders are still on site. Says it wouldn't cost that much since I have all the fill and top soil on my property that I'd need. He's supposed to be getting me a price. He seems to think I'd only need to cut down an additional 3-4" but everyone in here is saying different.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 4:47 pm to GAFF
quote:
cut down an additional 3-4"
It depends on what is 3-4" down. If you need to excavate 3 more inches to get to decent dirt then sure. If you're just cutting it down 3 inches and it's still rock you have the same issue.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 5:12 pm to BoogaBear
quote:
If you need to excavate 3 more inches to get to decent dirt then sure
His thoughts were to cut down an additional 3-4" then backfill with top soil then sod.
Posted on 8/5/24 at 6:40 pm to GAFF
that sounds like something a home builder would say 
water is going to perk to the shale bed… if it can’t drain, it’s going to sit there like in a pan under a potted plant. Make sure you have good positive drainage or you are going to wind up with a bog
water is going to perk to the shale bed… if it can’t drain, it’s going to sit there like in a pan under a potted plant. Make sure you have good positive drainage or you are going to wind up with a bog
Posted on 8/5/24 at 8:38 pm to cgrand
quote:
water is going to perk to the shale bed… if it can’t drain, it’s going to sit there like in a pan under a potted plant
This is actually something I've been watching and still haven't figured out. We had 15 straight days of rain here recently. Pretty heavy rain at times. There was never any puddling on the slate. They continued grading on the first day without rain because it was so dry. I rode up cause I was sure they were making a mess but even where they were digging was dryish. It's like the rain water drained between the rocks or something? I'm sure some drained away but the area is pretty flat and it should have held a good bit between the low points. I have no idea where it drained.
Posted on 8/6/24 at 5:32 am to GAFF
Do you have neighbors? What are they doing? Pictures aren’t the best so it’s hard to tell, maybe worth contacting a landscape architect.
I don’t think you’ll need a lot of dirt the issue would be drainage as said but with a tractor on site that’s fairly easy to work on now also. I would do a little more than 3’’ to be safe. Maybe talk to a local garden center to see who they recommend in the area?
I don’t think you’ll need a lot of dirt the issue would be drainage as said but with a tractor on site that’s fairly easy to work on now also. I would do a little more than 3’’ to be safe. Maybe talk to a local garden center to see who they recommend in the area?
Posted on 8/6/24 at 9:51 am to GAFF
How much land are we talking back there?
I've learned that if you're sodding, you'll absolutely want irrigation and you'll need at least a foot of trench to bury the lines and that rock might pose a bit of a problem with that.
I've learned that if you're sodding, you'll absolutely want irrigation and you'll need at least a foot of trench to bury the lines and that rock might pose a bit of a problem with that.
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