With summer in full swing, many people are looking for ways to improve their yard. Taking care of the lawn and planting new flowers bring much needed color and life to the exterior of your house. Sometimes reviving your lawn after a rough winter is easier said than done. Struggling to get the lush, green lawn of your dreams? Topdressing might provide the answer your grass longs for.
What is Topdressing?
To put it simply, topdressing is the process of applying a light sand or prepared soil mixture to the lawn. Professionals typically apply it about ¼” deep or less. The process enriches the soil and provides extra nutrients to the grass and plants. You also have the option to use topdressing in conjunction with seeding. The combination prevents desiccation while the new seeds take hold. It can even be used to modify the soil nutrient profile over time. This typically means several applications of topdressing over the course of several years.
When to Try Topdressing
If you find yourself needing more and more fertilizer each year to keep your lawn looking good, you should look into topdressing. Topdressing adds additional nutrients to the topsoil. Those nutrients improve the soil quality and feeds the grass growing in the soil. It builds up soil microbes and reduces thatch.
Thatch is a layer of old stems, leaves, and roots that intermingle and accumulate under the soil. It happens just beneath the currently growing grass.
Topdressing also helps smooth out any unevenness in the ground. Finally, it aids the soil with water retention.
Other Things to Consider
Topdressing is very beneficial for improving soil quality and smoothing out the surface of your yard, but it can raise the grade of your yard. For this reason it is recommended not to put too many applications to the entire yard in the same season. Consider repeated applications on bare spots as needed and topdressing the entire yard once every few years. A very light application of top dressing can be applied more often if the layer is thin enough to sink into aeration holes.
What to Use
Soil that is similar to the existing soil structure may be used to smooth out the yard surface, but it will not do much to aid in the health of the lawn. Instead it is more often recommended to use a compost material to add the essential nutrients for a healthier, more robust lawn. Topdressing materials can be purchased at most lawn and garden centers. However, if finding the right nutrient balance and applying the topdressing seem like too much work, most lawn companies can provide this service to their customers. It is a service that is becoming more popular as people learn more about it.
