Top Dressing for Nutrients

If your lawn is looking tired and in need of a boost prior to the growing season, then you may like to consider top dressing for nutrients in place of or in combination with fertilising. This type of top dressing should not be used to fix holes or indentations in your lawn. See our previous blog for help with that issue. Soil top dressing should also not be undertaken every year, despite popular belief. Applying a soil top dressing each and every year will encourage the build-up of thatch, particularly with Buffalo lawns.

Top dressing for nutrients involves putting down a thin layer of highly organic soil mixture over your lawn. This will add natural, organic nutrients and minerals. This process will stimulate the lawn plants to produce new shoots and therefore will result in a denser lawn which in turn will hinder weed and moss infestation; and will be more comfortable for the kids to play on too. Top dressing mixtures are readily available in bags from lawn care professionals and nurseries. The bags will provide helpful information of the area that each bag will cover. As a quide; 1.5 – 2 kgs will cover 1 square metre. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

This type of top dressing is easily undertaken yourself. Check to see if your lawn in compacted. If it is then we recommend aerating the lawn prior to top dressing. Before apply a top dressing mow your lawn to ensure effective penetration is possible and rake up any debris from the lawn. While raking, loosen any bare patches too. Shovel the top dressing mixture in even amounts onto different areas of your lawn. All you need to do is to apply a thin layer of the top dressing mixture to your lawn and rake into the lawn until it appears as though the lawn has just been lightly dusted; the tops of the lawn plants should be visible. Use a figure 8 motion to spread the mixture evenly. After being raked in, water your lawn thoroughly. The top dressing mixture should almost disappear into the lawn.

While top dressing to fix holes and indentations should be applied during peak growth season from early Spring to early Summer, top dressing for nutrients can be applied at any time of the year.

For more tips on getting your lawn Summer-ready please see our blogs. Have a lawn care question? Drop the Daleys Turf a line and they’ll help you out.