Question
So, the previous owner to our house did a really (REALLY) lousy job at the
landscape. His anwer to it all was lay down crushed granite rocks (about an
inch in diameter) everywhere around the border of the yard. He didn't do any
type of edging, so the rocks have dispersed and are all over the yard
(underneath the grass). There is a small walkway between our deck and patio
that was all rock mixed with dirt that I recently dug up all the rock, and am
going to lay nice stepping stones and new grass, and it was hard work!! Now,
there are other, larger areas of the yard bordering a fence that is this same
dirt/rock mix (it is about 3-4 inches deep). My question is, can I just break
this up a bit so that it is not so solid, but leave all the rocks and dirt there,
and plant grass seed right on top? We live in Denver, so we don't get much
rain, but our yard is watered daily by sprinkler. My husband thinks the easy
answer is just to lay a new layer of rock (river rock) on top of the pre-existing
rock, but I want to have a backyard filled with grass, not rock everywhere!
Any advice would be great....we've had great success growing grass in bare
patches in our yard!

Answer
Hi Kathleen;
Daily watering with a sprinkler is just teasing the grass, and not a good watering program.
If there is enough soil to nourish the grass, and the roots can work their way around the gravel, it should be ok, if the gravel is deep enough to not get in the mower blades and dull them, or break th block on your mower.
If there is room for the roots to shoot down among the rocks, and it is not solid gravel itt should grow nicely, specially if you can lay another couple inches of good soil on top. That might help protect the mower.
Charlotte