Topdressing has been a go-to maintenance practice for golf courses since the sport was invented (in 1457!), but only recently has topdressing been adopted as a popular lawn care practice for homeowners, particularly when leveling an uneven lawn.
The benefits of topdressing
Topdressing is the process adding vital organic matter to your lawn from the top down. A good topdressing blend will be a more fertile mix for the seeds, promoting new grass growth, and will hold water better than using only sand. Topdressing your lawn offers many benefits and is a great alternative to using traditional chemical treatments. In the long run, topdressing your lawn during its growing season will reduce lawn stress, keep thatch under control, and act as a natural fertilizer, most notably because of the organic matter that contains beneficial microorganisms your soil needs to grow strong, healthy roots.
What to use for topdressing
Sand works great for when you just need to level your lawn, but it contains very little nutrients that your soil needs, which is why we recommend using a pure organic matter for topdressing such as:
- Compost soils
- Turkey compost
- Soil amendments or soil conditioners
- Top soil (although not the most nutrient-dense option!)
- Lawn soil
Sunday Tip:
Make your own organic compost mix at home.
Preparing your lawn for topdressing
Before you topdress your lawn, you’ll want to get it ready.
- Dethatch your lawn if your yard has more than ½ inch of thatch.
- Mow the lawn shorter than normal, as if you were about to overseed it.
- Remove all grass clippings and loose thatch if you haven’t already.
Sunday Tip:
If you have poor soil, like heavy clay, or find that areas of your lawn are compacted, consider aerating your lawn before topdressing it.
How to topdress your lawn
Follow the following steps to ensure you get the best results.
- Using a shovel, distribute topdressing blend over your lawn in ¼" to ½" layers. You can apply up to 1" of topdressing at one time if carefully spread, ensuring the grass is not smothered.
- Use the backside of a garden rake to lightly brush across the grass to spread the topdressing across the soil as much as possible.
- Keep working the mixture across your lawn until grass peeks through the topdressing and the depth of application is even.
- Overseeding too? Do it now after the topdressing is down. You’ll want to follow overseeding best practices to ensure the seeds germinate.
- Water the lawn or check your local forecast for rainfall, so the compost mix is encouraged to mix with the existing soil and reach the root system.
Sunday Tip:
It’s a great lawn care practice to topdress along with aerating, dethatching and overseeding to get maximum results.
When to topdress your lawn
The answer depends on where you live, just like with overseeding. Cool-season grasses can be topdressed in the fall before they go dormant for winter, whereas it’s best to apply topdressing to warm-season grass in the springtime after they’ve gotten a chance to green up, likely around May or June if you live in the Deep South (hi, Texas!).
Sunday Tip:
Don’t topdress during the hot summer months as that’ll stress your grass out and it may not recover before the fall. Be sure to check out our other lawn care basics to keep your lawn healthy, strong and beautiful.
