You can add topsoil to an existing lawn -- and insome cases, you should. Adding a layer of topsoil to yourlawn is called "topdressing," and it's a technique youcan use to improve the look of your grass.It's important you prepare correctly and choose the righttype of soil for a great-looking lawn.
Always check your lawn's thatch layer beforedethatching. Take a garden trowel or spade and dig upa small wedge of your lawn grass and soil. You'll beable to see and measure its thatch layer. If your thatch is1–2 inches or more, you've probably already seen signsof poor grass color and weak, thin growth.
What to Do After Aerating Your Lawn
- Leave the soil plugs on the lawn to decompose and filter backinto the holes left by the aeration machine.
- Apply fertilizer immediately after aerating your lawn to putnutrients into your grass roots.
- Reseed your lawn, especially in areas of the lawn where thegrass is thin.
Spread the soil using something flat, likethe back side of a heavy garden rake, working it into aerationholes and covering low spots. Make sure thetop-dressing is no more than 1” deep(preferably ½” or less) over the existinggrass. Keep working the mixture until your grasspeeks through and the depth is even.
Topdressing a Lawn
For small areas, use a garden shovel and the back sideof a heavy garden rake to spread a thin layer oftopdressing. Once the soil is spread evenly, turn the rakeover and use the tines to lightly comb through thegrass.The best time to aerate and top-dress is early tomid-summer when your warm-season lawn (such as Bermudagrass) is actively growing. You should also applycompost top-dressing (without aeration) after overseedingyour summer lawn with a cool-season grass (such asryegrass) in the fall.
However, top dressing lawns is better performedusing compost. The goal is to build better soil structureand a better environment for macro and microorganisms. Not allsoils are compatible. The rule for sand or sandy/loam soil is: whentop dressing lawns, do not spread finer textured sandover a coarse textured soil.
Mix four parts soil with one partcompost. You may also top dress perennial flower gardenswith no greater than 1/4 to 1/2 inch of compost. A soilmix for this use should be around 10 percent. To obtain a 10percent mixture, you should mix 9 parts soil to 1part compost.
Topsoil is the layer of humus (partiallydecomposed organic matter) between the surface and thesubsoil. Compost is not topsoil. It can be used tomake topsoil or improve topsoil, but is thewrong product for many applications that call for topsoil.Don't use compost as fill dirt, for example.
Before planting seeds or seedlings, spread 2 inches ofcompost over the garden area, then till the compostinto the soil at a depth of 6 to 8 inches. For largegardens, conserve limited amounts of compost by adding onetrowel's worth of finished compost into each plantinghole.
The simplest way to distinguish between compost andfertilizer is to remember this: Compost feeds the soiland fertilizer feeds the plants. Compost and organicfertilizers can work together. The organic matter incompost sponges up the fertilizer nutrients untilthey are needed by plants.
Clamp down on weeds, improve aeration and elevate moisturelevels naturally with a thin layer of compost.
- Plan to spread compost on your lawn in fall before the firstfrost.
- Mow the lawn's grass to 1 inch tall.
- Plan to use 3/4 cubic yard of compost for every 1,000 squarefeet of lawn.
depth, a rough result is good enough. Incidentally, 1cubic metre = 1,000 litres so if you were buyingcompost in litres you'd need 1.44 x 1,000 =1,440 litres which is about 20 standard 70 litre bagsof bought-in multi-purpose compost.
You Can have Too Much Compost
Compost is a good source ofnutrients, and it builds soil structure – both are good forplants. But too much compost can be a problem.Because you harvest from a vegetable gardenand remove nutrients in the form of food, youcan use up to three inches there.(Manure or dairy based compost and more agedcompost will have higher bulk density.) Therefore two cubicyards are about one ton. At $30 dollars per cubic yard or$50 per ton, the range in cost per acre can be from$50 to $500 for 1 to 10 ton/acre.
It can certainly burn your lawn orplants if it is over applied. It can also actually do harmyour soil if too much is used. As far as a great naturalfertilizer, Compost and composted cow manure aregreat.
Within 48 hours after you aerate youshould over seed, fertilize, and water your lawn. Theseed, fertilizer, and water will have the best chance to getdown into the holes made by the aerator if applied soonafter aeration. If the fertilizer contains weed control,your grass seed won't germinate properly.
Topdressing the lawn with topsoil,however, is a good way to smooth bumpy areas and level low spotsthat collect water. In most cases, a lawn can withstand theaddition of a soil layer that is only 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Thetopsoil must be dry enough to spread in small chunks or itwill not spread uniformly.
Although 4 to 6 inches will kill much of thegrass and weeds under it, don't count on it killing it all.It depends on the variety of grass or weeds that you have inyour yard. If you put a 6 inch layer of soil down with alayer of sod on top, there will be VERY little chance ofanything growing through.
- Set the lawn mower to a low or short setting, so the cut grasswill be extremely short.
- Rake the lawn with a garden rake to remove thatch, a layer ofliving and dead plant matter directly on top of the soil.
- Apply scoops of fresh topsoil to low areas of the lawn using ashovel.
Aeration: one of the best yard drainagesolutions on the market is core aeration. Aeratingpunches holes in the lawn and adds air pockets. This will helpimprove air and water circulation. Just a few inches ofhardpan subsoil can improve yarddrainage.
If you are aerating after prolongedrainfall, it is important to wait (at least a full day)until the soil has dried somewhat so that soil cores do not stickin the aerator's hollow tines.
Why Aerating Helps Lawns
A layer of compacted soil just 1/4 to 1/2 inchesthick can make a significant difference in the healthand beauty of your lawn.1 Aeration creates holes downinto the soil to alleviate compaction so air, water andnutrients can reach grass roots.These are the basic steps:
- Mow the lawn at the lowest setting possible;
- De-thatch the lawn with a garden rake or de-thatcher;
- In a wheelbarrow, mix up a batch of leveling mix.
- Apply scoops of soil mix to low areas of the lawn using ashovel;
- Rake the topdressing to spread it out evenly.
Ideally you want to roll your lawn earlyin the spring when there's still lots of water in it. Ifyou wait until the lawn is too dry, youcompact the lawn by squishing the air pockets out ofthe lawn and this can damage roots of the grass.The wheels of the lawn mower roll so muchbetter. Aerating is useful as well.
