Top dressing your lawn is the act of applying a fine layer of soil or compost to the top of your lawn. The layer is usually fine enough that you can hardly tell that it was put down and minimal clumping should occur. Top dressing has many varying benefits and is a common practice that is used for a variety of reasons. Most of all, it’s an important part of proper Winnipeg lawn care.
Replenish Nutrients
Over time, lawns use and lose the nutrients that are stored in the soil and these must be replaced for optimal lawn health. This can be done through the addition of fertilizer, as well as through top dressing. When you top dress with organic, weed free soil, you are in effect adding fresh nutrients and micro organisms to the lawn that will help to maintain the health of the lawn.
Smooth Surface
Top dressing also is a great way of helping to smooth over your lawns surface. If your mower is constantly bouncing around while you mow the lawn, you know the struggle of having a bumpy lawn. Top dressing helps to naturally reduce the bumps and divots within the lawn by adding extra organic material to level it out. If your lawn is especially bumpy, it will take more than one application but the results are definitely worth the effort.
Top dressing a lawn properly can be a tiring effort, as it does take a lot of work to do it evenly. Without using a gas-powered soil spreader, the best way to top dress the lawn is using a good old fashioned wheel barrow and shovel. Wheel your soil into your designated area, one wheel barrow load at a time, and use your shovel to throw the soil, spreading it as your throw it. After you have spread all of the soil or compost, go over the lawn with a leaf rake and incorporate the organic material even further into the lawn.
If you want to even further improve the effects of top dressing, lead into it with an aeration as it can help to improve the depth at which the nutrients reach the roots of the lawn.
Overall, top dressing the lawn has many benefits and can be a great addition to a lawn maintenance program when you are looking to have a lawn that stands out in the neighborhood! If you are interested in top dressing or a lawn aeration, call us today at (204) 960-0246 to request an estimate!
