What should I top dress my lawn with?

Posted on September 25, 2020September 27, 2024 by Kim Tranter

When looking to top dress your lawn you first have to ask yourself what it is you are trying to achieve. In most cases top dressing is undertaken to correct poor soil preparation, improve deteriorated soil quality or permeability, or to fill in low spots and correct uneven areas in the lawn. If your lawn is well fertilised, healthy and even, then it’s likely you don’t need to worry about top dressing.

Top dressing brings many benefits to a lawn that is looking a little lacklustre, including helping to reduce the accumulation of dead grass clippings and stems, known as ‘thatch’. It helps to increase nutrient retention, improves drainage and increases disease and pest resistance.

Top dressing should only be completed during the growing season (this is when you need to mow your lawn weekly) and the earlier in the season the better. Generally late spring to early summer is best.

Topdressing to Improve Levels

For a top-dressing material for level improvement, we always like to use washed plasterers’ sand. It doesn’t compact quite as hard as brickies sand. It is generally easier to screed and level due to the lower clay and silt content and reduces the likelihood of the surface crusting and become hydrophobic.

If you are wanting a really flat lawn surface and intend to mow your turf variety quite short, then a straight sand is the go. Just be sure that within your broader lawn maintenance schedule that you include the addition of fertilisers and nutrients that your lawn needs. Lawns that are cut shorter will generally require additional inputs to help them perform at an optimum level.

Topdressing to Improve Soil Profile

Your lawn needs a firm base that allows water movement downwards and allows for water retention, so the turf roots system can develop and establish. The aim is to promote a healthy root system that will protect the turf from weather conditions such as droughts and winter frost.

A good soil base for most turf varieties should consist of the following:

Washed river sand, medium to course particles – some % of clay is present which helps to compact and form a base.
Some heavier soil is generally added which helps to hold moisture and mixed with the sand creates a free-flowing profile for water movement.
A composted material is then added – again generally this can be green waste, chicken or animal manure and some natural nutrients to help balance your pH levels.

This is where topsoil or sandy loam topdressing soils are necessary. If your lawn is lacklustre, compacted and lacking in nutrient, then you are best looking at applying a sandy loam. This is recommended for most lawn situations. These top-dressing soils are much the same as the soil or turf underlay that is spread prior to laying turf. These usually consist of a blend of 80% washed sand, combined with 20% black soil or organic material. If you have a sandy soil, a higher proportion of organic material is a good idea.

It is also recommended to aerate your lawn prior to spreading topsoil, specifically core aeration. Removing cores from your lawn will create a space for the new topsoil material to fall into, helping it get deeper into the soil base where it is needed.

How to Top Dress

Topdressing should only be applied at no more than 5-10mm in thickness at a time. The sand or sandy loam should be rubbed in evenly using a lawn level bar, working the sand down into the turf thatch layer.

For more information on top dressing click here.

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Should I core aerate my lawn? Or are solid tines ok?

Posted on September 25, 2020June 23, 2022 by Kim Tranter

Your aerating questions answered

What is aeration?

Perforation of the soil to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots.

Why do I need to aerate my lawn?

Aeration helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn. The main reason for aerating is to alleviate soil compaction. Soil compaction limits the amount of nutrients and water to penetrate the roots of your lawn.

What is solid tine aeration?

Solid tine aeration involves the punching of holes into the lawn with solid metal spikes.

A smaller area of lawn can be aerated manually with aerating sandals (sandals with spikes that aerate the lawn as you walk) or a sturdy garden fork. Simply insert the fork into the lawn and wriggle it back and forth to fracture the soil profile. Aim for a spacing between the holes of around 8 – 10cm. In order to achieve adequate aeration, you may need to go over the area twice in a different direction each time.

You can hire specialised aerators if you have a large lawn. A spiked roller is also useful for lawn aeration for incorporating lime, gypsum, or coarse sand into the profile to improve drainage or pH.

Solid tine aeration does not involve the removal of soil, so if the ground is particularly hard and compacted, we recommend you look at core aeration.

What is core aeration?

Unlike regular aeration, where solid tines simply punch holes in the ground, core aeration removes a plug of soil from your lawn at the same time. Plug or core aerators do this by using hollow tines that puncture the surface and then pull the plugs from the ground on their way back out. The process of coring helps create more space in the soil for your lawn to breathe, absorb nutrient and increases soil permeability.

Core aeration can be done with manual hand tools but is much easier to undertake with a specialised coring machine. The primary reason we need to undertake aeration, core aeration in particular, is to alleviate issues related to compaction.

For core aeration, we recommend using the Reel Solutions 3 Tyne Aerator.

When should I remove cores from my lawn, rather than solid tine?

When there is a lot of compaction or soil improvements are required. If an area suffers from heavy wear and is consistently showing signs of stress, this is where core aeration can be ideal. This is why golf courses and sporting fields undertake core aeration sometimes a couple of times a year. With the high amounts of foot traffic and wear, coring allows groundskeepers to keep their turf surfaces much healthier by creating more room for roots to grow. This combined with topdressing, helps to achieve a nice smooth putting or playing surface.

If you are looking for that perfect finish for your home lawn, then core aeration is certainly something you should also consider as part of your lawn maintenance program during spring. After coring your lawn is a great time to top dress with washed river sand. The sand will fill the holes and enable air and water to penetrate due to its free draining, open structure.

What if the ground is too hard?

A good deep watering a few hours or a day prior to aerating can help soften the soil making it easier for the tines to penetrate. It can also be a perfect time to aerate after you have experienced rain.

Think before you aerate!

Always remember when using either a solid or hollow tine to make sure that you are not doing so in an area where you are likely to hit any underground piping or irrigation. If you have an Automower with guide wire for the parameter, these too need to be avoided.

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Does my lawn need Nitrogen?

Posted on September 25, 2020September 25, 2020 by Kim Tranter

Nitrogen (N)

When should I add Nitrogen to my lawn?

A key thing to remember when looking at adding Nitrogen to your lawn, is to make sure it coincides with the growth rate of the grass. When the grass is actively growing quicker is when it is going to be absorbing more nutrient.

This means that spring and summer are the primary seasons where your lawn is going to be searching for a bit more Nitrogen. The lengthening daylight hours and warmer soils are perfect growing conditions for grass. Make sure in spring that you don’t apply Nitrogen to your lawn too early. It’s not until soil temperatures are back up above 14 degrees for warm season turf varieties that they will begin growing strongly again.

In Autumn, your lawn will need a little bit less Nitrogen. As the temperatures decline, there will become an increased need for macronutrients that help overall plant health and root strength.

In winter, your lawn will have slowed in growth and will not require much Nitrogen at all, so it is important to limit application during this time. Over applying Nitrogen to a lawn in winter can lead to disease issues and burning of the leaf. Knowing your soil type and temperature has a big impact on the form of Nitrogen you should choose to maximise results.

When it comes to green grass, Nitrogen is the MVP.

It is the most talked about nutrient for lawns and is usually the highest percentage of your NPK ratio (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium). While Nitrogen is largely responsible for leaf growth, it also plays a role in all areas of turfgrass growth including stolons (aboveground runners), rhizomes (underground runners) and roots.

Nitrogen usually comes in the following forms: Ammonium, Controlled Release (synthetic), Nitrate and Urea. Nitrogen helps with the formation of proteins that the cells within the grass needs to grow. Without sufficient Nitrogen, your lawn can suffer stunted growth and yellowing.

Lawns love Nitrogen, but it is important to strike a balance between strong leaf growth and strong roots capable of supporting it as well. If there is too little nitrogen, not enough chlorophyll will be produced. Too much though, and you end up with thin cell walls and poor root development. This is why other macronutrients including phosphorus and potassium are also very important. To read more about these other macronutrients click here.

How do I know when my lawn is deficient?

Nitrogen deficiency usually presents itself as a yellowing of the grass leaf. This is known as chlorosis and occurs when the roots are unable to find usable Nitrogen within the soil. This prevents optimal chlorophyll production which is what makes the grass green. Learn more about the science of how grass grows here.

How do I add Nitrogen to my lawn?

The best way to apply Nitrogen to your lawn is by applying a well-balanced lawn fertiliser. As said above, too much of one nutrient without considering all of the grass’s needs will lead to deficiencies, which can lead to a host of other lawn problems.

Lawn fertilisers are formulated to consider these requirements and will have an appropriate mix of your NPK ingredients (macronutrients), micronutrients and trace elements. There are a host of products on the market, all with different attributes and nutrient combinations. Some turf varieties will need more of some nutrients than others so this can form part of the consideration process. If you are unsure what you need, reach out to your local Lawn Solutions Australia turf supplier who can provide some specific advice for your variety and climate.

Does your grass appear to get greener after it has rained? There’s a reason for that!

While the Earth’s atmosphere is approximately 78% nitrogen, grass is unable to absorb the nitrogen in the air. But when it rains, the rain forces the nitrogen to the ground. Microorganisms then take over, converting the nitrogen in the soil into ammonia or nitrates that are absorbed by the grass.

Not sure whether a liquid or granular lawn fertiliser is needed? We have some more information here.

Lawn Solutions Australia Premium Fertiliser is a slow release granular NPK fertiliser, containing a balanced amount of Nitrogen. This Nitrogen is slowly released to your lawn over a few months and is ideal for all lawn varieties.