Top Dressing
Garden Clippings for April 2, 2022
You have heard it before and you will hear it again: the best defense against lawn weeds is a healthy lawn.
Easier said than done.
How do I transform an unhealthy lawn into a lush, green, thick carpet? Should I fertilize? Should I remove the lousy grass and put down new sod?
Lifting and replacing grass is not the answer to all lawn woes. Doing so is an expensive proposition, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find someone to do the job for you.
If you have the time and energy, top dressing is a wise first step in rejuvenating a tired lawn. Top dressing adds nutrients, builds the soil and provides a good seed bed for new turf.
Start by removing debris, sticks and fallen leaves. Next, cut the lawn short to make the job of raking easier. If your lawn has dead patches or excess thatch, rake it using a stiff garden rake.
Next, apply root stimulating fertilizer to help your lawn achieve maximum growth. Your fertilizer formulation should have little nitrogen and more phosphorous. A blend such as 5-15-5 will do the trick nicely.
Spreading topsoil is the big job. Your objective is to apply between ¼ and ½ inch of soil over the entire lawn. Use less in areas where the lawn is healthy, but use more where your grass is low and needs to be leveled. Figure on using about 1 cubic yard of soil spread over 1,000 sq feet.
Choose your topsoil with care. Your best bet is a blend of nutrient rich soil or compost that has been screened to remove sticks, stones and lumps of clay. If your area is not large, consider using bagged soil or potting medium. Start by dumping small heaps of soil spread evenly throughout the yard.
Once your soil is in place, use a rake to spread the soil evenly over the lawn. If you apply ½ inch of soil, you will still see the existing grass rise above the thin layer of new soil.
Next, sow grass seed over the new soil. Use a seed mix that suits your lawn with consideration given to shade, traffic, hardiness and speed of germination. Apply grass seed at the rate of 1 pound over 300 sq feet of area. Grass seed is not expensive so don’t be afraid to apply more. When buying grass seed, read the ingredients to ensure the contents is 100 percent seed. Don’t be fooled by seed marketers who coat their seed or add mulch to the bag in order to increase its perceived value.
Once your seed has been sown, rake it lightly one more time. If you have access to a lawn roller, go over it once to help the seed adhere to the topsoil.
If temperatures are warm and if moisture needs are met, seed will begin to sprout in 7 to 10 days. In warm weather, a light sprinkle of water several times a day will encourage seed to sprout within days. if all goes well, you will be tempted to cut the grass four weeks after seeding. Try to postpone the first cutting for another two weeks. Once the lawn has been cut two or three times, it is safe to put down lawn fertilizer.
Be careful not to overwater your grass. My brother Jack, recently retired from the lawn care business, has always told his clients that the healthiest lawns get water no more than once a week.
Follow up on your lawn rejuvenating efforts with aerating, a process that removes plugs of soil, about the size of half a hot dog, depositing them on the lawn surface. Aerating creates openings in grass, allowing air, water and nutrients to enter the root zone.
