- 3-In-1 Function: Test soil moisture, pH value and sunlight level of a plant. Top dressing should be done for two main reasons. If it’s sandy, use a loam mix. I’d also love to see any before and after or progress pictures. Topdressing's benefits are so numerous, it's hard to understand why it is not the foundation for every lawn care program. As a soil amendment, topdressing can improve soil biology by adding organic matter and the beneficial microorganisms found in compost. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Areas of a lawn can become uneven over time, due to settling, drainage issues, and various natural and unnatural causes. The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. But lawn dressing is often done with sand and that’s where the problem is. Top dressing in conjunction with other lawn care maintenance procedures is not only highly beneficial but can often save time. For ornamental lawns, top dressing should be part of your lawn care program. My Top Choices. Fling the compost with a smooth, sweeping motion aimed at spreading the material as evenly as possible to a depth of 1/4 to 1/2 inch. However, if you love your lawn and you’re in the pursuit of perfection, read on. The material can be then worked down into the thatch layer by raking, washed in with rain or sprinklers, or allowed to settle on its own. Kathleen Miller is a Master Gardener and Horticulturist with over 30 years experience in gardening and sustainable farming. Top dressing is an application of a thin layer of soil over a turf grass area and is used to smooth and level the surface or to modify the soil condition, usually no more than ¼ to ½ inch. Manual topdressing is hard work, requiring shoveling, moving, and spreading piles of compost or other topdressing materials. The results make the hard work well worthwhile, however. It has many benefits to the health of the lawn and the reasons for top dressing include: Maintaining a true and level lawn … Both in terms of soil profile and pH. This practice has been observed since golf was first invented in … Up until recently, the instant gratification and convenience for homeowners, and the profits enjoyed by lawn care companies, meant that modern chemical practices triumphed over the old art of manually spreading compost on the lawn. If you only add 5mm of topsoil at a time you should be able to top dress twice in the spring and once in the autumn. To work out how much topsoil you need, simply multiply your lawns square meterage by the weight in soil per square meter. Now you’ve got little piles of soil everywhere, take your landscaping rake and turn it over so you’re using the back of it instead of the tines. Topdressing reduces lawn stresses, helps keep thatch under control, and acts as a long-term natural fertilizer. Adding organic matter to a lawn by topdressing with compost is arguably the most beneficial cultural practice that the science of lawn care has to offer. Soil structure and drainage can be modified by topdressing with sand or other corrective materials. Top dressing is best done after raking/scarification and aeration but before overseeding and fertilising. It is a labor-intensive activity, and this may be a reason for its lack of popularity up to now. Take your bags of topsoil or put it in a bucket or wheelbarrow and make several piles of it all over your lawn. Understand that the material you add to the surface of the lawn will eventually become part of the root zone. Topdressing a lawn is accomplished by spreading a thin layer of material such as compost or sand over the grass. Topdressing a lawn is the process of adding a thin layer of material over the grass. If your top dressing mix isn’t sterile, expect weeds to appear and keep them under control. There’s only so much you can do with the back of a rake so now you need to really work the soil into the turf. The ones who won’t accept anything less than perfection. Any low spots will naturally get more but it’s really important that you don’t smother the grass. Helps Seed Germinate- If overseeding your lawn, top dressing allows … A hose and sprinkler system is best, preferably one with a fine spray setting. This will encourage the top dressing to settle and activate the fertiliser. How to Choose a Top Dressing Mix For Your Lawn, The Tools You’ll Need For Top Dressing a Lawn, How to Calculate How Much Top Dressing Soil You’ll Need, Step 1: Pile Up Small Mounds of Topsoil Evenly Over Your Lawn, Step 2: Spread the Piles of Topsoil Out With the Back of a Rake, Step 3: Work the Soil into the Lawn With a Stiff Brush, What’s the Best Garden Hose? This will help work the new soil evenly into your lawn. The first reason to top dress a Buffalo lawn is to add organic … There are several reasons to do this. Whether topdressing a lawn, applying infield mixes, top soil, calcite clay, crumble rubber, or treating walks and drives with icemelt and rock salt, Ecolawn’s … This is called ‘trickle dressing’ and works into the lawn better, improves the decomposition of lawn thatch and is much less noticeable on fine lawns. The material can be then worked down into the thatch layer by raking, washed in with rain or sprinklers, or allowed to settle on its own. We are reader-supported: © 2020 GardenSeeker.com. They know that soil can make the difference between a good playing surface and a sublime one. When you top dress a lawn with good a high-quality mix, you introduce micro-organisms back into the soil. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful (and bountiful) garden ever. If your lawn is well fertilised, healthy and … Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series. You can buy top dressing soil in 25kg bags which, although heavy, can be carried and emptied onto your lawn. This will create a thicker, lusher and healthier lawn. Sand is used because people think it will improve air … Additionally, GardenSeeker participates in other affiliate programs, Google Adsense, and other advertiser networks and earns commissions through purchases and clicks through our website. GardenSeeker.com is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. Many are learning how to do it themselves. This will help to add nutrients back into the soil, improve drainage and reduce the chances of fungal infections like Lichens Red Thread, Pink Patch, Fusarium Patch and Snow Mould. In order to activate the fertiliser and to encourage germination, you need to keep the soil moist. Watering immediately will help settle the material and keep it in place. Power spreaders consist of a hopper to hold the material and a motorized belt to move the material through the hopper to a spinning disc that spreads it on the lawn. The new soil will create the perfect environment for new grass seed to germinate and grow. Motorized topdressing spreader machines are also available to make this work easier. Remember, if you’ve got heavy clay soil, choose a sandy loam mix. The application of top dressing ensures the new grass seed has plenty of contact with fertile soil in which it can germinate and grow quickly. So that’s all there is to know about lawn top dressing. Many … In which case, use a bucket, or even better, a wheelbarrow. Kelly Burke is a freelance writer and professional turf manager. This usually means having to fork out more money but the old cliché is true. 6 Products Tested and Reviewed, What is the Best Grass Seed? You want to avoid excess heat and cold and the majority of the years weed seeds. Levels Lawn- If you have areas of your lawn that are bumpy top dressing is a great way to smooth out these areas. Give your lawn a boost with topdressing!Sprinkle a thin layer of fresh, rich soil on the entire lawn.. Topdress will help a lawn recover from soil … If your lawnmower bumps and bangs through low spots while cutting the grass you should remove the turf, add additional material (or remove it) to the soil and then re-lay the sod. Topdressing. There are many different types of grass seed available so…, Read: What is the Best Grass Seed? Topdressing is the process of adding a very thin layer of topsoil mix to the surface of an existing lawn. This means the soil has passed through a sieve with ¼” holes in it, twice. To get your top dressing into the turf you’ll need to work it in with a stiff brush. There’s only so much you can do with the back of a rake. I want your garden to look like it’s maintained by a professional. This in turn helps to break down nutrients and aid grass growth. In other words, always buy your compost for topdressing from a reputable source. Read: What’s the Best Garden Hose? Especially if your lawn is like a bowling green. Also known as ‘sterile’ soil, a topsoil that is free of weeds will add to the expense. So test your soil with a soil testing kit first. So dry soil is imperative. Do you have any questions? Normally you’d overseed and fertilise your lawn after these kinds of treatments to help it recover as quickly as possible. Topdressing is a sand or prepared soil mix applied to the surface of the lawn. Once you’ve spread your top dressing, get some grass seed down. Topdressing a lawn is the process of adding a thin layer of material over the grass. Typically, 1/4 to 1/2 inch of compost or another soil amendment is spread across the lawn with shovels, in a throwing action. This makes spring and autumn the best times of year for top dressing. Aerate. Treatments like scarification and aeration are invasive so you should always spread new grass seed after to help the lawn recover. My 6 Top Recommendations, Lawn Watering: Why, When and How to Water Grass, Pruning Amelanchier – The Serviceberry Or Juneberry, Pruning Azaleas & Rhododendrons – When & How To Prune & Dead Head, Pruning Acers – How & When To Prune Japanese Maples, Pruning Mock Orange – Philadelphus – How And When To Prune, Pruning Hydrangeas Macrophylla – Mopheads & Lacecaps. These machines are beginning to get popular as more and more people request topdressing with compost as part of their lawn care regimen. Disclaimer: Gardenseeker is a free resource, with everything from gardening tips to product reviews. Topdressing materials are evenly applied in a thin … There’s nothing worse than working with wet, clumpy soil. Read: Lawn Watering: Why, When and How to Water Grass. Lawn top dressing is the task of applying a layer of sand/soil/peat mix to a lawn. Spread the soil out as evenly as you can. That said, it can take a bit of time. Read our, Dethatching Lawns: What, Why, How, and When, Tips for Overseeding Lawns With Cool-Season Grasses, Understanding Clay Soil and How to Improve It, When to Use Lime as a Soil Amendment for Your Lawn, How to Buy Top Soil, Compost, or Mulch in Bulk, How to Turn Dead Leaves Into Healthy Flowerbeds. These help in the decomposition of organic material like dead grass roots, old clippings and other matter that causes lawn thatch to build up. Do you have experience of doing it? Disking is another method to stimulate regrowth and reduce competition … As such, it’s important to choose a top dressing mix that will blend in with your soil over time (we’ll get into choosing a mix later on). Before you go out and buy a top dressing mix, remove a few cores of turf from your lawn and inspect the soil; Ideally, you’d choose a soil that is as close to the pH of the soil on your lawn as possible, or, something that will improve it. Topdressing materials are evenly … If not, make sure the grass is short first. Leave a comment and I’ll jump in a reply. I'm a professional gardener with degrees in Horticulture & Landscape Gardening. In most cases top dressing is done to correct poor preparation and lack of soil underneath or to fill in low spots and correct uneven areas in the lawn. Especially after hollow-tine aeration. Sports Field Management Website at Cornell University. Lawn care companies sometimes offer a topdressing service, but sometimes reluctantly, since it is viewed as a labor-intensive inconvenience that does not have a large profit margin. 5mm in topsoil equates to 4-5kg per square meter of lawn. 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