Question
QUESTION: I have a neighbor who has taken their front lawn out, and are preparing to re-seed or sod.  I reminded them to amend the soil and promised to research what else they should do.  None of the books I've consulted mention amendments.  One said use 4 inches of topsoil, work it in.  Another mention aerating the site before planting.  I'm in zone 5 (northeast Illinois, not Chicago).  

I think the answer is to topsoil, work it in, aerate and then seed.  Topsoil would be the amendment, right?

ANSWER: Hi Merry;
Not necessarily.
What the soil needs as an emendment depends on what kind of soil it is.
Hard clay needs a lot more than just a little top soil or something else mixed in, it needs a lot of bark mulch tilled in so there is loose soil to at least a depth of 8 inches.
If the soil is too sandy, it needs also some bark mulch as well as some good soil to tighten it up a little.
The soil might be in good enough condition that all it needs is some grass sodded on or seeded in.
Before I can make a recommendation, I would need to know what kind of soil they have.
If you are on an organic progra, you have all kinds of beneficial things working through the soil. Microbes enriching and improving it, earthworms and some other beneficial insects tunneling through, so you don't ever have to aerate.
Weeds won't thrive in rich soil. They like poor soil.
An organic program solves all the lawn care problems, chemicals create them.
If they would like a copy of my organic program, and wouild like to know what they need to do before putting in the new lawn, write me and tell me what kind of soil they have.
If they put a shovel in it and it goes in fairly easy, there is probably nothing that needs to be done, except to rake or till it a little to loosen up the top inch or two so the sod/seeds will take hold.
If they have not put chemicals on the lawn in the last two months, it should be poison free enough to support micro-organisms that will do all the work, the chemical lwan people tell you have to be done.
My program will start the lawn of with a boost, and keep it gorgeous with surprisingly little work or money.
Charlotte

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you Charlotte.  I will pass the information on to them.  We live in Illinois, and the ground is very rich, but it is hard and clay.  I  don't know how much organic gardening they do.

I have a compost pile and was turning it yesterday.  Usually I see big honkin worms in it, wriggling like crazy when I turn the pile.  Yesterday, the worms were there, and so were a lot of big fat grubs!  I pulled them out as I found them and put them into a dish with tall sides.  I counted 25 of them.  The birds took them off one by one.  I've never seen this.  Have I done something wrong with my composting?  MY husband thinks they might have been cicada larvae, but I think they were just big.  Can you give me a hint or two?  Thanks
Mary

Answer
Do you use chemicals on your lawn?
If you do, he worms you get in your compost die as soon as you put them in soil that has been treated with chemicals.
It isn't just the insecticides.
Chemical fertilizers kill possibly more than the insecticides do.
I don't know what a cicada larvae looks like, but glad the birds had a hearty lunch.LOL
With an organic program, you have a healthy enviornment for toads, lizards and grass snakes, and they eat all the harmful insects that are attracted to your lawn.
My little lizards keep ALL the aphids off my roses.
And toads love slugs. That makes them my best friends.LOL

For hard clay, they need to till in some bark mulch to loosen it up, whether or not they are going to use an organic program.
That clay won't let water or anything else get to the roots of plants, and it won't let tender grass roots grow through it.
They need to put about 4 to 6 inches of bark mulch down, and till it in to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. That makes a 50/50 mixture of bark mulch and existing soil. The bark mulch will keep it loosened up enough for water and nutrients to get to the grass roots, and let the roots grow through it.
Cedar bark mulch is best, because of it's insect repelling properties, and it takes 2 years to compost as opposed to 1 year foir other hardwood mulches.  Pine bark mulch is worthless.
.
If you would like a copy of the organic program I use, just let me know. I will be happy to give you one.
Charlotte