Why should you top dress your lawn in North Carolina with sand?
Many of our clients ask us about top dressing; what it is, and why you do it. Basically, topdressing a lawn refers to the process of applying a mixture of different materials over the lawn’s surface. There are a lot of methods and materials to do this and we wanted to break down some of the common strategies of top dressing to make your lawn look great!
Top dressing usually consists of a mixture of materials such as soil, sand, and loam (we primarily use sand) which should be mixed in a way to resemble the already existing soil in terms of composition. Since topdressing will eventually become a part of the root zone, it’s important that it blends well with the already established soil. The application of the topdressing is as important as the materials you use! The last thing you want to do is over apply in some areas and leave other areas untouched!
- Top dressing helps keep the lawn’s surface level. This is done by filling all of the smaller hollows and undulations with the top dressing mix, thus leveling the lawn’s surface.
- Top dressing your lawn regularly helps prevent the buildup of thatch. Top dress can dilute the thatch layer and is also known to naturally break it down.
- Using sand based topdressing can improve your soil’s drainage and firm up the surface. This works particularly well after aeration as the topdressing can be worked into the soil through the holes left behind.
- Some top dressing mixtures contain nutrients so applying them can improve your lawn's fertility.
- Top dressing helps stimulate grass growth in lawns and betters the soil structure of the already existing root zone.
- Improves the lawn’s resilience.
