Lawn Top Dressing
Top dressing is the application of a soil and compost mixture to the surface of a lawn to improve soil conditions and lawn health. This is accomplished by running a top dressing machine over the lawn to apply the needed thin layer of this material to the lawn.
Types of Top Dressings:
- Compost 100% – applied to lawns with nutrient deficiencies
- Compost/Sand Mix – applied to help both nutrients and drainage
- Sand – applied to improve drainage and texture of lawn, and prevent moss and unwanted plants
Benefits of Top Dressings:
- Increasing Microbial Activity: Microorganisms exist in good soils and help with nutrient uptake, making nutrients more available to the grass plants.
- Improving Lawn Color: Due to organic matter in the top dressing mixture, lawns green-up following top dressing as these materials add nitrogen to the lawn. With sand top dressing, we fertilize to supplement nutrients.
- Enhancing Seed Germination: When top dressing follows core aeration and over-seeding, germination rate is greatly enhanced.