My backyard is ready 50 feet by 25 feet. I wished to rip up the entire grass and weeds…mostly weeds, level out the dirt because my backyard will not be nearly flat, and plant some very attractive flowers and new grass, but I am wondering whether I should shovel out the entire dirt by hand or buy/rent some kind of machine that may do this. Could anyone recommend a selected machine to aid me remove the entire grass/weeds in my backyard because doing it by hand is going to take numerous time. Thanks.
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First kill off the weeds and grass with Roundup. That way if the weeds are a perennial, they won't come back even after all the dirt rearragment. There's a weed called bindweed with roots that can go 80 feet out/down. Chopping the root just makes more plants. Give Roundup at least 2 weeks to work after application before you start the project.
The bobcat must have access to the yard……you can always remove a fence section if necessary.
Rototilling with a strong rear tine machine wouldn't take that long but the leveling would. You might want to rototill and then use a bobcat with a level bar on the back to speed that process up.
Be careful with drainage, as mentioned above. No drainage towards your house! and not towards your neighbor's house or even his yard, if possible. Move roof drainage away from the house quickly and if necessary, use swales (opposite of hill) to move the water to a safe location or from the back yard to the front.
When it comes time to design, sketch out some ideas on paper (to scale would be great!) and then use the garden hose(s) to show you on the ground the grass area and other areas. Easy to move the hose to get just the right look. Be creative, but not silly.
Chances are unless you are sitting on river bottom land, you'll need to revitalize the soil with compost and preplanting fertlizer.
Sounds like a nice size……just enough but not overwhelming.
You want to rent a sod cutter, or have a landscape guy bring one and do it for you and yu do the rest. That's the best way.