Terraced back garden with lawn, steps and patio in England, UK
Home - Garden
The Smart Topdressing Lawn Tip To Keep Your Grass In Tip-Top Shape
By ALEXANDRA RODRIGUEZ
Topdressing is when you add a layer of soil, such as topsoil, sand, or compost to your grass to replenish nutrients and improve the soil's quality, resulting in healthier grass.
You should topdress your lawn when you notice the weeds growing faster than usual, yellow or bald spots, or your grass is squishy after being watered.
The key to topdressing is only covering areas that desperately need it instead of blanketing the entire surface or removing your entire lawn and starting over.
Topdressing also addresses thatch build-up — dead roots, stems, and grass slightly below the surface of the lawn — by cutting through the thatch and nourishing the grass’ roots.
This method also works for balancing out phosphorus, nitrogen and carbon levels, addressing an uneven lawn, and speeding up seed germination to help your grass grow faster.
You can complete this task in less than a day with a power rake or aerator, topdressing material, wheelbarrow, lawn mower, grass seed, regular rake, garden fork, or shovel.
Just break up the thatch build-up, mow the grass short, and sprinkle grass seed over the lawn. Then, add a ¼-inch layer of top dressing, rake, water, and let it set for 10 days.