es. Top Dressing Your Lawn This Winter
Winter brings all sorts of trouble for our garden lawns, with the lack of sunlight only the beginning of it. The frost and fierce winds, soil saturated from rain and the occasional snowfall all suppress growth and limit the amount of drainage that naturally occurs. These common wintery elements can cause rot to set in, with even the most cultivated lawn turf beginning to look patchy and worn. So, while a full gardening schedule is not necessary, we certainly shouldn’t abandon our lawns during the winter months. Top Dressing your lawn with topsoil and other material is one of the best ways to equip your lawn turf and grass plants with everything they need to survive the winter and be ready to thrive again when the warmer weather arrives.
What is Topdressing?
Topdressing is the simple application of a soil improver, usually a dressing of topsoil or a mix of topsoil and compost or sand on the surface of lawn turf and grass plants. Once applied, the topdressing soil improver should be gently worked into the sward, or upper layer of soil.
The process of topdressing is important to a lawn’s health during the winter as it dilutes the layer of dead and dying grass plant roots and all the leaf material that escaped the clutches of your leaf rake. Diluting this layer of thatch improves the drainage capabilities of the soil while keeping the surface drier and firmer.
With deft use of a shovel and leaf rake, you can also use the topdressing process to smooth out any irregular peaks and troughs while adding an additional layer of protection against general wear and tear.
How to Apply Topsoil Topdressing
Topdressing should be first applied with a shovel by scooping it up and scattering it evenly about, with the bevelled back edge of a wooden hay or leaf rake used for the working-in process. Do make sure the topsoil topdressing is applied evenly before working it in with the leaf rake, as this makes the whole process much easier.
A commonly recommended amount to use is about two kilos per square metres. Especially if you are applying the topdressing in autumn in anticipation of a cold winter. By applying the topdressing before it gets really cold out, it has a chance to settle in and dry out before the weather gets too harsh. If you mix sand in with your topsoil, make sure it is a good quality sand. Avoid basic builders sand, and make sure all of the sand has been worked into the sward. Achieve this by simply working it in multiple different directions until it is no longer visible on the surface.
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