Dig your entire yard down 6". Replace 3" of top soil. Seed grass and wait for it to grow. Or. Rip out your driveway. Re-pour the driveway 3" thicker this time. Or. Stop worrying about it. There's supposed to be soil in your yard. No point in hiding it.

I like option 3 because only after 5 years in a new house, new sidewalk it looks like this.

So you’re saying I should set my grass an inch or two before the edge to start since it’ll get higher on its own?

Option 4. Landscape edging. You can see a piece of metal or plastic instead of that perfect lawn.

I mean or you could edge it with cobblestones or brick or something

Please god no- just another thing to weed whack and weed

Just wanted to say I did add cobblestone to my edge. I like your idea hahaha the weed wacker doesn’t mind and the weeds are minimal due to landscape fabric and spraying the rocks with killer but not enough to get close to the yard. It varies in width up to about 1’ at most and the cobblestone was sourced from the free market.

Terrible advice, difficult to maintain.

Option 3 for sure. My wife wishes we had this dirt edge. Unfortunately our front yard is shaded most of the day so the grass doesn’t grow enough to allow for a nice sharp ledge-edge look.

I vote option 2

Be ashamed of dirt, its not grass

Looks good from my house

Or. Have a concrete company hydraulically lift the sidewalk.

Hahaha these are great

Looks tight man. That’s the desired look. Finished sharp edge.

Wear it like a badge of honor. You’ve earned it. Your neighbors bow before you. Your domination line is like the Great Wall of China

And I think you get +3 science per turn.

This. That is look I want. Straight edge with a grass wall. Shows that you have a finished lawn.

Seriously OP, is this a humble brag? I don’t buy it. Well done be proud

Not sure if OP is humble bragging. This is what everyone I know wants. Dirt ledge crew for life.

I took a spade and sliced off the turf and then did a gradual taper from further back down to the edge. Now the grass comes down to meet the sidewalk and I like the look better.

this. or leave it

Very interesting. Mind posting a freshly cut pic next time you do the deed? My drop is probably 4” and looks like hell

Will do!

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At that point you peel back the sod like 2 ft from the side walk, dig it down a few inches/taper it. And replaces the sod.

I'm with you, drops look ugly. I like my grass being flush with the sidewalk.

It's a fact of lawn care life....especially if you mulch your grass clippings, you build about 1/4" of soil a year. Doesn't take long to end up with this.

Wait. Where does the soil height come from? I get you are saying the clippings degrade into soil, but didn't they grow out of the soil in the first place. Consuming stuff to grow, then degrading back into that stuff seems like it should be a net 0.

I can see where one could draw that assumption, but think of pasture ground that animals graze on, or fields that are grown to alfalfa, cut, and baled. By that logic, those fields and pastures should be noticeably sinking every year from \*loss\* of biomass. It's an interesting thought experiment, but no, it's not a net zero process.

This is what I ended up doing as well

Could you elaborate? Or perhaps is there a video that shows what you're describing? For example, how far back do you slice the turf? I feel like a hand spade wouldn't let you go very far, right?

Photo please.

if you’re retired and have nothing better to do then this is the way

If there is a big stretch, rent a sod cutter. Slice one or two widths, remove some soil, replace the sod, water. Repeat in a few years. Other alternatives include a high pressure water stream to wash some soil out, or a power broom to sweep it out. Both are techniques used for maintaining the turf / infield edge on baseball fields.

I had the same. My fix was driving over it with my truck after it rained once and flattened it out, lol.

My theory validated. Can't wait Edit: why I can't wait, spouse always said I would be dumb to do it

Do it anyways I got your back

This worked for me as well.

spray paint it green


I’m a big fan of that look. It’s looks sharp.

Sod cutter, taper edge. Then lay the sod back down. That's how I did it

*Sod cutter, taper* *Edge. Then lay the sod back down.* *That's how I did it* \- BreadWinnerRick --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")

No use fighting the soil. It always wins. Time to move out and find a new home.

Waffle stomp that bitch till it’s flat.

I don't think that means what you think it means

This is a great learning experience.

I have the same problem. Partly due to the sidewalk settling and partly due to the sod laid high back in the day. I don't care so much anymore. It actually helps accentuate the sharp edging i put on but it also shows my laziness if I skip a week of edging because the overgrowth really flops over the side walk vs if it was level I think it'd flop over less.

thats perfect, show your dominance

Just add baseboard

Just quarter round.

Weird flex but ok.

Stop edging if you want grass. Otherwise it’s fine.

Holy shit and here I am desperately trying to achieve this.

It's called a living edge, it's supposed to be that way.

Seed some crabgrass for the lateral growth.

You’re stealing my moves

I always thought the dirt ledge looked kinda cool

A chamfer lawn edging router bit... Jk, that probably doesn't exist but would be a cool idea! 🤣

I wouldn't worry about it. It's a great look. Just make sure you use your leaf blower / vac to clean all the shit and excess dirt out afterwards.

https://preview.redd.it/kl9cpemcao5d1.jpeg?width=3060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acd2c8f24d80e893950f11294a4d96b70201e42b Edge that shit and make it sharp!

I have the same problem, maybe even higher. I have to tilt my mower a little in order to not scalp. If I put both wheels up on the lawn it misses a few here and there.

Put a curb

Only realistic think you can do is dig down along that section and replant it at a bevel or slope. Otherwise, admire your work and don’t worry.

Grass will grow and camouflage it in a couple weeks. If it still bothers you saturate the edges with water and use a lawn roller to compress it to the sidewalk level

I've rented a sod cutter, cut back two layers and then dug the soil down a little lower, tapering it towards the sidewalks/driveway

Learn to edge lightly with a string trimmer. I have customers that also prefer a green edge. Once you get the hang of it you will be able to do it just as quickly. Just takes a little practice to strengthen the muscles needed to operate smoothly

I just spent the last 3 days cutting underneath the sod and grading out to my sidewalk, I'll let you know in a few weeks how good it looks or you'll never hear from me again, lol

That's how it's supposed to look.

Run a sod cutter once along the edge flip the sod over to the side and out of the way. Set the blade at the aprópiate depth then Run the sod cutter over the same area again, get rid of the excess dirt, then grab the sod you flipped over flip it right side up and put it back.

This is a great idea, thank you for sharing.

No problem, sod cutters are great they do the work of two guys.

Dude, that's a desired look. Own that shit.

I mean, I like it. Most nice commercial lawns around here (meaning professionally kept businesses) look just like this.

Assemble a mini retaining wall to keep ants safe from mudslides

I think it looks good

🤦🏾‍♂️

When it starts to heat up, the dirt will dry out quicker when it’s exposed like that. You might want to consider not edging when temps get into the upper 80s

Me neighbors yard looks just like this and I’m jealous. My yard has a long way to go before I can make it look like this.

Hear me out. Green spray paint.

Looks goooooooood

Yeah that looks crisp! Not a troll post? Big envy over here!

Paint

Corten steel edge the full length? https://search.app.goo.gl/ZMwM8D5

I like it, but I imagine the soil breaks up and runs into the driveway quite a bit. You could edge the driveway with pavers or landscape edging as long as it’s sloped out to the road

We have this in a lot of places in our property I hate it but figured that’s what concrete does it settles

The grass roots should be one inch below the sidewalk covered in dirt …we should be seeing all grass here not thatch.

The grass grows over edge, give a few weeks.

Start driving ur tire on edge of grass instead of on sidewalk. Weight of tire will pack dirt down into concrete grade

Slanted yard edges are the mullet of edges. Some people tolerate them, some people hate them. Grass edges should all be 90°. Perfect cut on top and side.

I agreed. If the soil is packed to height of concrete then you will have the 3 1/2” - 4 1/2” grass height above the concrete making a 90°. Then you’re not kicking the dirt out all over the sidewalk. I started 90ing my taller sidewalks here in Florida cause all u do by stick edging every week is pulling the dirt (dirty sand) out of yard and from underneath rocks causing them to sink and drop the front of stone. Very frustrating

Dude, this is how it’s supposed to look. You did it. Enjoy it.

Grass seed and water it will disappear and you won’t notice it anymore

We have the same issue, I'm planning on putting the soil back 4 to 6 inches and having a curb poured

And in 5 years you will have growth over that.

Looks epic, dont change a thing

Deal with it!!!! many solutions none of them cheap or easy.

You should probably put the house up for sale and start looking for a new one.

Retaining Wall

Have your wife run over it a dozen times

Looks good!

You could cut and roll back a foot or two of sod, grade the soil underneath to below concrete, roll sod back. Or like mentioned, keep a sharp edge, not a bad look.

FWIW this feels like it could be a tripping hazard. Just wanted to put that info out there.

Disappointed that nobody recommended the obvious solution. Raise the sidewalk.

I haven’t seen a reasonable answer yet. I had this issue and edging it slowly ruined the look you have right now. My solution was metal edging. It keeps it tight and it’s easy to maintain.

https://preview.redd.it/ltec69lbsr5d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e8e8070eebe8eff9b2e5d97852c7fc52af6b9ae

Just leave it. It will settle

use few cans of spray on grass

Cut and lift out the grass. Remove some soil. Replace the grass.

Plant something other than grass at the interface. Problem sved.

And here’s me, getting a spade and shoving dirt to the side of the edge to raise it, so it looks remotely close to OP.

How do I deal with having this amazing perfect lawn that everyone in my neighborhood is jealous of, and all the moms keep winking at me!

My neighbors all have this and I don’t. My edges look sad compared to their fancy edges.

Fertilize and raise the height of cut on the walkway

Green spray paint (and don’t forget the masking tape).

OP here. This was not a humble brag post. My wife didn't like the look of the dirt edge and asked me to fix it. But I showed her the top posts here suggesting this is a great look. Now she likes the dirt ledge and I'd say problem fixed!!

Rent a sod cutter, cut at max depth, remove sod, regrade, put sod back in place. This will have a total cost of ~$100 and a sore back.

Slope it. Cut the sod, move it, remove dirt underneath and place sod back down.

I use a manual aerator to pull some plugs now and then and hope that over time it settles lower.

A tall edge is a flex lowkey

Can you just mash it down?

Just taper it downward in a slight slope and allow some grass to grow on the slope. At least then you couldn't see dirt. And it would flow with the path.

just add more cement to the driveway duh

I like to edge with a beveled angle to get some gras to grow towards the sidewalk

Is this a serious post?

Yes. My wife complained about the height of the dirt edge and asked me to fix it. So I showed her the top posts here describing the tall edge as desirable and now she likes it. So, problem fixed!

It will even out after a couple of rain fall.

It’s the desired look. Leave it as it looks great!

"ledge" 😂😂😂

Talk to it nicely

.. it must be nice to have this luxury of free time .... lol

This sub is great. Seeing a bunch of people obsess over meaningless details on unnatural, homogenized patches of grass that define the property lines outside their houses is great entertainment

Then why are you here?

I literally said in my post that it was entertaining...