While you can have a thick, lush lawn without top dressing there are many benefits to top dressing a lawn. We'll go through some of these benefits so you can make an informed decision on whether it is worth your time and money for your existing lawn. We're going to keep this sweet and simple...
Applying a lawn topdressing can make the difference between an average looking garden and one that you see all over social media and that your neighbours envy. This process involves spreading some type of organic matter over your lawn's surface in order to give multiple benefits which will level up your lawn. You will most likely use a compost, topsoil or sandy mix on your lawn.
What are some of the benefits of using a top dressing?
Lawn Levelling The great thing about using a top dressing mix is that you can deal with any unevenness on your lawn. By applying a fair amount to the lawn if needed, you can then use a levelling lute to spread evenly and compact. You may need to apply more of the top dressing to the areas which needs raising, compact and repeat until the desired look is achieved. This is great to do before carrying out a renovation and seeding and will create a smooth surface.
Lawn Composition A lawn top dressing can be great to improve the overall soil composition of your lawn. Particularly if you are dealing with certain soil types that you'd like to break down such as clay soil or sandy soil. Repeated application over the year as part of your lawn maintenance will slowly break these soils down and improve the soil structure. Alongside this you'll be adding additional nutrients to the lawn.
Drainage If you are suffering from drainage issues where rain collects on your lawn, more likely on clay soils, you'll be able to break down the soil as above and reduce waterlogging from rain.
Increased Germination Now, we always recommend a top dressing when applying seed to your lawns because of the benefits to the germination rate. The top dressing will increase the seed to soil contact, protect the seed from birds, provide vital nutrients and retain moisture vital for germination and you'll likely see an increase in the speed of grass growth and more guarantee the seed germinates.It's also a good idea to apply some if you have carried our scarification or aeration to help the recovery of your lawns.
Selecting the right top dressing mix
We're not going to complicate this, you can follow this a general rule of thumb.
Clay Soil - Choose a sandy mix
Sandy Soil - Choose a loam based soil mix
Unsure or in the middle - A mixture of sandy and loam mix will give you the benefits of both
However, if you're looking for a nice, easy and cheap way to do this then there is absolutely no problem with picking a decent 25L bag of topsoil from your local garden store (ensure to remove any sticks and stones before applying). A topsoil will always be beneficial for any type of soil.
Looking to buy online? Baileys of Norfolk comes well reviewed.
When should I apply a lawn dressing?
So this depends on what your lawn care regime currently looks like, let me explain...
I'm completing a lawn renovation - You can apply a top dressing at any time within the renovation period (April-October) when you are planning on applying new grass seed.
My lawn looks great I'm maintaining - If you are maintaining your lawns as is, we'd recommend an application no more than twice a year. A thin coverage will suffice, ideally in spring and autumn.
Starting from scratch
What will I need to apply?
Before applying a top dressing it is important to mow your lawn, it will make application and spreading easier. You'll need your choice of lawn top dressing, ready to apply and we'd recommend the following:
A bucket/wheelbarrow
Garden rake
Stiff brush/levelling lute
How much top dressing will I need?
We'd follow the following guides roughly as it can depend on the consistency of your top dressing:
Light coverage (for seeding or general maintenance) - 2kg per square metre
Medium coverage (for seeding and/or levelling) - 4kg per square metre
Heavy coverage (for drainage issues and/or levelling) - 6kg per square metre
How/when to apply a top dressing when using The Lawn Pack or The Lawn Pack Plus?
We have a full step-by-step guide which is provided with our packs to ensure the best from your pack during the growing season. You'll want to deal with any existing issues on your lawn such as weeds, moss etc prior to anything else. Once you have done this you can then top dress the lawn, applying the required amount you need as mentioned above to the lawn surface. Then you can apply our pack which includes grass seed and lightly compact the seed into the top soil, as mentioned before use a lute for an even spread. You can use our packs to deal with bare patches. Our complete guide will be sent with the pack and can be found online too.
Questions? We've kept it as succinct as we can, as we don't think it's worth overcomplicating things as you'll already have a lot to think about when renovating or maintaining your lawn, such as drainage, thatch, moss. Most lawns will benefit from some type of top dressing so we'd recommend to top dress lawn and turf. Here's to grass that thrives!
Any questions? Hit us up.
A quick video on how to apply our pack