There are lots of different methods you can use to get rid of the grass from your lawn. For example, you can go about it by mowing the lawn super low, using a weed eater, chemicals, tarps, and even a good old shovel. But none of these ways are particularly quick, and they can take a lot of effort.
So, how to dig up a lawn quickly? Well, there are a couple of tools you can use that are going to make the job much faster and will do a much better job. Let’s dive in and see what they are.
Your Main Options When You Want to Dig Up Your Lawn
Without a doubt, the best tool to dig up grass is a sod cutter. Sod cutters are available in both manual and gas-powered versions in a variety of sizes. Sod cutter cutters cut the grass, including the root, starting at around a foot wide and an inch and a half deep into the soil. Once you are done, you can roll up the old grass like a carpet.
Why You Might Need to Dig Up Your Lawn
So, why would you even want to dig up your lawn? Well, there are several landscaping projects you might like to do yourself that are located in a part of your lawn. Here are some of the projects where I would want to use a sod cutter.
- Replacing a dead section of the lawn
- Changing the grass variety of your lawn
- Extending a section of the patio
- Making room for a timber deck
- Adding some flower beds to your yard
- Installing a vegetable garden
What Is a Sod Cutter?
A sod cutter is a machine that has a horizontal blade about a foot wide that cuts below the grass. The horizontal blade sits at around 1 ½ inches below the top of the soil so that it can cut through the root.
So, you make long passes over the lawn, and the sod cutter removes the top section of the lawn. What you end up with is a long strip of sod that you can cut into sections and then roll up. If you have seen the sod pieces down at Home Depot and Lowes, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
So, what’s the difference between a manual sod cutter and a gas-powered sod cutter? Let’s take a look.
Gas Powered Sod Cutter
A gas-powered sod cutter is basically a sod cutter with an engine. The engine powers the back-and-forth action of the cutting blade, and it powers the drive wheels/tracks. So, you strike up the engine, engage the drive, and the sod cutter takes over. All you need to do is guide the machine over the grass.
Now, these machines can be expensive to buy, so I always go down the hiring route. If you take a trip to the Home Depot, head into the tools rental department. You’ll usually find this down at the pro counter. They will rent you a sod cutter for a day/24hs for about $50 plus a deposit of around $100. Just remember you’ll need either a pickup or a big SUV.
Manual Sod Cutters
A manual sod cutter achieves the same results as a gas-powered sod cutter, but instead of an engine, you’ll have to use your own strength to drive the blade. These are perfect for small jobs like cutting out new flower beds. I wouldn’t want to use a manual sod cutter for an entire lawn, especially if you want to dig up a lawn quickly.
To use it, you place the manual cutter on the grass you want to remove, put your foot on the machine and use a kicking/pushing motion to cut and drive. It’s an effective tool but definitely harder work.
How to Dig Up a Lawn Quickly (My Favorite Method)
So, the sod cutter is my favorite tool for digging up the grass. But let me also share with you how to dig up a lawn quickly using both manual and gas-powered sod cutters.
Setting Up and Using a Gas-Powered Sod Cutter
The gas-powered sod cutter is a fairly simple machine, but it is big, heavy, and can be pretty intimidating once you get them fired up. So, you’ll need to make sure you know the ins and outs of how they operate and what you want to achieve.
Let me go over the steps you’ll need to follow if you are using a gas-powered sod cutter. Now, gas-powered sod cutters come in several different designs, so these steps are just a basic guide. You’ll have to familiarize yourself with your specific cutter operator’s manual. Let’s dive in.
Steps to Operate a Gas-Powered Sod Cutter
- Position the Sod Cutter on the Lawn
- Set the Blade Depth
- Lock the Blade at the Required Depth
- Disengage the Drive Clutch
- Disengage the Drive
- Disengage the Cutting Blade
- Start the Engine
- Engage the Cutting Blade
- Lift/Lower the Machine
- Engage the Drive Clutch
- Engage the Drive
- Begin Cutting and Driving
- Complete a Full Strip
- Disengage the Drive
- Disengage the Cutting Blade
- Disengage the Drive Clutch
- Disengage the Cutter
- Make a Turn
- Position the Sod Cutter
- Repeat the Process to Cut and Drive
Setting Up and Using a Manual Sod Cutter
The only thing you have to do to set up a manual sod cutter is to set the depth of the blade. You do this by loosening off the blade mounting bracket and then adjusting the blade to the required depth. Finally, tighten the blade mounting bracket bolts, and you’re ready to start sod cutting.
So, here are the steps to using a manual sod cutter.
Steps to Operate a Manual Sod Cutter
- Set the Blade Depth
- Position the Sod Cutter Where You Want to Begin Cutting
- Lower the Blade onto the Grass
- Hold the Sod Cutter Handles in Each Hand
- Place Your Foot on the Bar
- Make a Forward Kicking Motion
- Remove Your Foot from the Sod Cutter
- Take a Step Forward
- Place Your Foot Back on the Foot Bar
- Repeat the Cutting Process
Other Options You Have for Digging Up Your Lawn (Not As Good)
Let’s say you can’t get hold of either a gas-powered or manual sod cutter, or you don’t think a machine like this is necessary, then you’ll want to know how to dig up a lawn quickly some other way. Well, there are other methods, but unfortunately, they are not as quick, and they definitely don’t do as good of a job as a sod cutter.
Mowing & Weed Whacking
The first thing you can try is to set your lawn mower to the lowest setting and mow off the grass. This will get the grass down to a very low level, and there isn’t going to be much left.
Depending on the grass, this process could completely kill anything that is remaining, but it could also grow back. This is the same if you use a weed whacker. Both methods are going to leave the root in place.
Spraying Herbicides & Tarps
If you want to kill the root of the grass without removing them, then you could start the process by using a spray herbicide first. This will allow the plant to carry the herbicide to the root and kill them off. Once you start to see the grass die, you can cover the area with a tarp. This will block out both the sunlight and any rain from getting to the grass.
This definitely speeds up the process of killing the lawn. If you have ever left something on the lawn for a few days, you’ll know all too well how effective blocking sun and water from the grass is at killing it. Once the grass is completely dead, you can grab your lawn mower and weed eater and remove the top of the dead grass.
Hand Tools
Hand tools are a traditional method to remove grass and were used before the introduction of dedicated sod cutters. So, you can use an edging spade and a flat shovel and mimic what a sod cutter would do.
First, you use the edging spade to cut the width of the strip, then the flat spade to cut under the sod to replicate the action of the blade. If I’m ever extending the flower beds by a small amount, then this is the method I usually go for.
But for large areas, like an entire lawn, then this method definitely isn’t quick.
A Few Pointers for Success
No matter which method you use, you will be able to remove the grass you want. However, there are a few things to keep in mind so that you have a better chance of success. Here are a few tips that might help you along the way.
Sod Cutting
When you begin sod cutting, I suggest you pick a section of grass away from the edges and away from any obstacles. This will give you a chance to get used to the machine and figure out how it handles. If you make a mistake, it’s not going to matter.
The last thing you want to do is go off course, cut the wrong area, and have the sod cutter plow through the fence and into the neighbor’s yard. Also, if you have irrigation heads around the yard, then be sure to mark where they are.
A pack of landscape flags from Home Depot can save you from a day of replacing broken irrigation heads.
Mowing & Weed Whacking
If I planned to use a mower and a weed whacker to get rid of grass, I would use the weed whacker as an edger and mark out the area. This will make sure I cut through all the grass runners. Then I’d use the mower on the inside areas.
Also, I would mow over the grass several times, lowering the height adjustment level each time. If you start on the lowest height setting, you’ll end up putting the mower under a lot of stress.
Spraying Herbicides & Tarps
Before you take out the spray, I suggest you use an edging spade or flat shovel to cut the edges around the area. This is because some grass types have runners that spread through the lawn.
If you don’t cut these runners at the edge of the area you want to be removed, the herbicide will end up killing the entire runner. So, you’ll end up killing a much larger area of grass than you wanted to.
I suggest you wait a day or two after spraying the herbicide to lay down the tarp. This will give the herbicide enough time to take effect with the added help of the sun. Also, you want to avoid walking on the grass right after spraying the herbicide.
The last thing you want is to accidentally track it on the bottom of your shoes over areas you didn’t mean to get rid of. Dead foot across the lawn isn’t a great look.
Using Hand Tools
If you decide to go the hand tool route, then you need to be careful how low you try to remove the root. If you dig too deep, you’ll end up removing a lot of soil from the yard. So try to get the shovel as level to the ground as you can and keep an eye on how deep you are cutting.
Also, this will reduce how bumpy you make the lawn. Again, this is why I use a sod cutter. It gives you a nice, level finish.
So, if you want to know what is the best way to dig up grass and how to dig up a lawn quickly, I would definitely say a sod cutter for big areas and maybe one of my other methods for those small spots.
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