Topdressing a lawn means applying different materials over the surface of the lawn to improve its resilience and stimulate grass growth, among many other key benefits which help to produce a healthy, beautiful lawn. It usually consists of a mixture of materials which may include soil, loam, peat and sand, but you can’t just use a random mix of these materials and hope it will work out. You should use a mixture that resembles the composition of the existing soil but combats its existing issues so that it will blend well and become integrated with the root zone over time. Having said this, then, what is the best soil for lawn top dressing?
The Best Soil for Lawn Top Dressing
Choosing the best soil for lawn top dressing depends on the structure of your soil’s existing structure. So, before you start, make sure you know what type of soil you have in order to optimise the lawn top dressing process. Your lawn may be sand-based, clay-based or loam-based. You find this out by just using your hands and squeezing the soil together. If the grains do not stick together and feel gritty, this is sand-based. If it feels velvety or flour-like when dry, this is likely to be loamy soil. Clay feels sticky but becomes smooth when rubbed. We will run down the ideal type of top dressing for you to choose the right turf for your home.
Sand Based Lawn
Sand-based lawns are prone to drought during the hotter weather here in Australia, so are less common, but you can still come across them. Because of their composition, they are very free-draining and lose water fast, so opt for a top dressing that is mostly made out of peat or loam instead of sand. An ideal composition is four parts loam, three parts peat and one part sand.
Clay-Based Lawn
Clay-based lawns, on the other hand, suffer from the opposite problem of drainage issues and waterlogging, especially during the wet season. A top-dressing mixture that contains a lot of sand can improve drainage and firm the surface to prevent this from repeatedly happening. A combination of two parts loam, one part peat and four parts sand can help combat this.
Loam Based Lawn
This type of soil is like a middle ground between the two previous types mentioned and does not tend to suffer from drought or drainage problems. The ideal soil for lawn top dressing this type is a mixture that contains three parts loam, one part peat and three parts sand.
A lawn grass with small loam puddle
At Wide Bay Turf, we can offer lawn care tips from our team of experts. We can make personal, tailored recommendations to suit your lawn, so get in touch today on 07 4121 2099 to find out more about how our services can help you.
