Removing soil from your lawn, particularly the top layer including the grass (turf), typically involves physically cutting and lifting sections.
One effective manual method requires using a spade to cut and remove the turf layer, which includes the grass roots and some underlying soil.
Manual Turf and Soil Removal
To manually remove sections of your lawn's soil along with the grass, you will need a spade or a turf cutter. This process is useful when you need to remove a specific area of lawn, such as preparing a new garden bed or leveling a section.
Here’s how to do it manually using a spade, based on the method described:
- Cut Incisions: Use your spade to cut straight lines into the grass surface. Plan these lines in a grid pattern (like squares or rectangles) across the area you want to remove. These cuts help define the pieces you will lift.
- Cut Underneath: After making the surface cuts, position your spade nearly parallel to the ground. Cut underneath the grass layer, aiming to sever the roots while keeping them largely intact with the soil layer.
- Maintain Depth: It's crucial to cut underneath the turf at a consistent depth. The reference suggests approximately a 50mm depth of soil. This depth helps ensure you remove enough soil to lift the turf cleanly while preserving the roots and the soil structure within that layer.
- Lift and Remove: Once the section is cut free from the soil beneath, lift the piece of turf. You can then roll it up or carry it away for disposal or relocation (if you plan to transplant it elsewhere).
- Repeat: Continue this process across the entire area you intend to clear.
This method effectively removes the top layer of soil that is intertwined with the grass roots. The amount of soil removed is limited to the specified depth of the cut.
Using a spade is a labor-intensive but precise way to remove sections of lawn and the soil attached to its root system. For larger areas, a specialized turf cutter tool can make this process much faster and less physically demanding.
Removing soil from the lawn surface (like excess dirt or mud) would involve different methods, such as sweeping or raking. However, if you are removing the turf layer itself, the manual cutting method described above is a common approach.
