If you have a lawn in your house, then you will know the importance of performing top-dressing of your lawn regularly at least once a year. Top dressing is not a new concept and people who have been maintaining golf courses are very well aware of it.
Now most of the homeowners have also started keeping top soil spreader on their own and get top-dressing done all by them. If you have hired any lawn acre company to maintain your lawn then they too will do top-dressing regularly.
Why top dressing is needed?
Following are few reasons, why it is important to do top-dressing of your lawn once a year.
- Improves soil biology
With top-dressing done in proper manner at right time of the season, you can improve the soil biology of your lawn.
- Soil structure and also drainage can be improved
Both soil structure as well as drainage can always be modified by proper topdressing done with sand or any other corrective material.
- Smooths out bumps
If topdressing is done in a regular manner then it can smooth out all the bumps caused due to worm castings and will encourage a dense and lush lawn.
- Reduces lawn stresses
Topdressing can reduce various lawn stresses, and helps in keeping thatch under control. Also, acts as long-term natural fertilizer.
- Modifies soil profile
Topdressing can also be used for modifying the profile of the soil, though this may take multiple applications done over few years.
Having said all the above, you must also be aware about few problems that can also occur if your process of applying all topdressing material is not done in a proper manner and as a result, you may end up with uneven material depths all across the lawn.
Due to this, it can always impede water and the accessibility of nutrient and thus creating dry and wet areas that can impact turfgrass growth as well as the total appearance of your lawn.
Also, applications of extra amount of topdressing material, or too frequent applications over your existing thatch layer will always bury the layer of the thatch.
If the top-dressing is done without proper aeration for rectifying this, then turfgrass roots will grow into and also within your thatch layer instead of extending into your soil profile. This will make the turfgrass little more susceptible to heat, drought and other stresses.
