Top Dressing Lawn With Sandy Loam

This would normally be a loam or a loam and sand mix depending on the condition of your current soil.

Top dressing lawn with sandy loam.

A nice thick lawn requires healthy soil as its base but this can be difficult to do once grass is established. Top dressing is a formulation of fine sand and loam or organic material which is worked into the surface of the lawn during the renovation process usually when scarification or aeration has taken place during the autumn and over seeding or a particularly even surface is required. However top dressing year after year with only sand may cause the lawn to lose its fertility. Once again mow the lawn the day prior to applying the top dressing.

The very fine sand can fill the air pockets in the soil ruining the structure. The process of adding a thin layer of soil on top of your lawn is a great way to improve it without disturbing existing grass. Most problems occur for those with sandy loam soils when a much finer sand is mixed over a more coarse sandy loam lawn. Top dressing benefits the lawn as it builds up the quality of the soil over a period of time sandy soils will be able to retain moisture better and so the lawn will be more resistant to drought clay soils will drain better thus improving root development.

The rule for sand or sandy loam soil is. By far the best option for your average home greenskeeper is a top dressing soil blend. So what you want and need is a sandy loam or a loam top soil. Learn this technique in five easy steps.

About top dressing with sand. When top dressing lawns do not spread finer textured sand over a coarse textured soil. Top dressing to fix holes and uneven lawn. Top dressing is the process of spreading additional soil over the surface of your lawn.

This means it has all the components of a good soil with the sandy loam having a higher sand content. The longer the grass the more sandy loam or clean river sand required to cover the area and a deeper layer of soil will make it harder for the grass to grow through it. Top dressing soils are usually blends of finely screen top soil or loam composts such as cow manure and coarse sand. Hose the lawn thoroughly so that the dressing is barely visible.

Experts agree that sand should only be used on a lawn to level low areas cover exposed tree roots and to fix heavy thatch build up.