I’ve removed sod a few different times: through suffocation (laying plastic on a plot until the turf dies); through roto-tilling; through manual removal. By far, I think the easiest and most satisfying is through manual removal. The suffocation method takes too long and is messy; roto-tilling is hard, trying to get the machine to chew through tough turf, and then there’s the back-breaking work of picking and raking the plot to remove sod clumps (and I never seem to get them all). Manual sod removal is quick, it’s easy, and you see instant results. After you remove the first 3-5 inches of sod, you can roto-till the soil.
The best time to “bust” sod, as I call it, is a day or two after rainfall. The soil is slightly moist and the sod will tear apart easily. However, if your soil is waterlogged, the task may be very messy and muddy. Don’t plan any summer garden wedding programs anytime soon!
Get a flat-end spade. Cut a long strip of any length, and about 1 foot wide. Then, chop the strip into 1 to 2 foot sections, for easy handling.
Work up one side of the strip with the spade. Your goal is to tear the root system out of the subsoil below. It’s important to get the roots out, or else the turf will grow back. My yard varies: in some places I need only dig 2 inches down to get past the roots; in other areas, it’s 4 inches.
Use the spade to hack horizontally into and under each square section.
Pull up the section. Dump it upside down, and chop off any loose subsoil and clumps. Loosen the dirt from the roots with your hands if you need to.
This is what the section looks like after we removed a few sections.
Hacking into the sod is probably the hardest part, but I love it because it is incredible exercise. It’s a little difficult to explain with text, so we made a quick video showing how to do this.
9. April 2010 at 9:22 am
Rebecca, No matter which method you use, this is BIG job. Unfortunately, we need to do some resodding also.
I went to your post about your Seccret Garden as I decided I needed something a little less depressing than thinking about resodding a yard. And there I found your real secret to the sodding job – teenagers! Well…….maybe (:-) That is a lovely little garden and I know you must enjoy it.
The sodding post is informative, and I got some useful ideas.
Thanks!
9. April 2010 at 9:29 am
How cool – you made an osprey-approved video! But did Livvy give it her paw of approval too?
9. April 2010 at 9:39 am
Pat- ah, yes, I forgot about my secret weapon: teenagers.
However, I’ve been busting sod for many years on my own, and I’m still faster than the kids. They are pretty good at hauling the pieces away, though, muahahhahah.
Sparkle- Livvy has not seen the video. I don’t want to give her any ideas! She rode in the van last week and has now got it into her head that she can drive!
9. April 2010 at 10:04 pm
he hee..I must trie sometimes. Thx for sharing, nice post
10. April 2010 at 12:01 am
Oh my goodness, a MILLION thanks for posting this! As you know my DH and I have a whole garden of sod to remove, and this was SO HELPFUL! And a video too – awesome!!!! My DH read your post and watched the video too, so between the two of us, we’ll see if we manage as well as ONE of your expertly trained teenagers.
10. April 2010 at 12:17 am
Hi Dyeve, thanks for the comment!
Carole– I’m glad this is timely.
After doing a little sod busting that day, I started to get the “gardening bug” again! I think we’ll expand more of the flower beds this year… hmmm