How do I strip my grass?

Hiya folks, thought this may be a fit of a better place to post this.
I need to get my grass back to soil so I can landscape the space I have... I would try and repair it but the amount of weeds and moss means with my plans it's going to be easier to start again.
The plot is approx 10x10metre so there's a lot of grass to shift, what is the best way for me to get the grass back to a workable state? I need to move a lot of earth about to level the garden...

 

Yeah I was thinking weed killer, Iv got some roundup that I was going to use on the whole area then wait until it dies off and then turn it all over...

 

I personally would not use roundup. I'm lead to believe traces of it stay in the ground for a while afterwards.

One method that I have used in the past is to scarify the heck out of the area, remove the dead growth with a rake, then use a big rotary cultivator. That also has the advantage of breaking up the soil, making it easier to move.

 

Roundup does stay active for a short time on soil, this is recorded on the documents supplied with the herbicide I use including planting times after use.
It is however a very short span and not something to worry about if used to kill of the grass as it will take longer to kill the grass than the herbicide staying active on the soil.

 

Just had a look on the local language instructions. As JWK says, they state that it becomes inactive...then further on they recommend a wait of 7-10 days before replanting. That to me seems as if not the whole truth is being told. Best to be on the safe side and not use it.

 

It's been a very mild but wet winter generally (at least around here) and the grass is active and growing despite the recent cold snaps. Weedkiller should work providing the grass is dry and there's a long enough window before rain after spraying (often 6 hours for a lot of weedkillers but Roundup I have read has a short rainfast time).

The problem is you'll be left with a load of dead grass that will stick around for quite some time, so digging it over so it's not visible may be useful if you don't fancy removing it all.

I find a major problem is the disposal of soil as a lot of community tips restrict the amount you can take per day to a pitiful amount and it will take forever. Unless you hire a skip, should you decide to skim off the top layer.

 

Id hire one of these ;



Then take the turf and flip them upside down, placed onto a mound, and plant a palm or other plant that likes free draining .