Barrier to root growth

[Willy]

I have a series of terraced walls (interlocking blocks) being built on a steep hillside in which shrubs and perennials will be planted. The builders are using the scalped off turf as fill. I'm worried this will create a barrier to roots when the added topsoil goes on top. Doesn't it need to be mixed together, at least? I'm in Missouri - show (tell) me!

[Tricky Grama]

What type of turf? If it's bermuda, you're in trouble b/c it will come up & you'll never get rid of it. Being in MO, maybe it's more of a blue grass? I would compost it first, at the very least.
Patty

[Nadine]

To bury anything green is not a good thing at all. Oxygen must be present in order for things to decompose. Since the grass will be in an anaerobic situation, it will create a mucky mess and will prevent proper drainage. Believe me. I know first hand after having an additional sewer line run through my backyard a couple years ago. I wish I would have taken a sod cutter to clear the way. Hindsight is 20/20!

A couple months after the surrounding dirt and grass had been filled back in, I dug a hole to plant something and oh, :o the stench! It was an awful mess. It still causes problems to this day in some areas.

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

If the roots get to where the sod is, I wouldn't worry about it. There's probably enough of everything to decompose them. Keep the microbes well fed from the surface to encourage the best situation under the surface.