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Top
Dressing : Adding material to the surface of
your turf to increase its superiority and outward show.
Top
dressing is one of the best ways to rejuvenate turf or dying
grass. Grass is a very versatile plant, and it lives for a
somewhat respectable amount of time, but it dies like all other
vegetation, mainly due to lack of nutrients in the soil. Top
dressing can help you avoid an unsightly lawn – grass can’t be
simply ripped up and replaced, it has to regrow. Top dressing
also helps to remove low spots.
Top
dressing can counter the effects of soil setting. When gas,
water or electric lines are installed underground, they can form
places where the surrounding soil is prone to settling as it
becomes inundated with water, leaving a dent in the ground. A
lawn top dressing is made by adding a thin layer of sand or
compost to the low spots to bring it level with the rest of the
ground, and placing turf in the bare patch. You can also take a
pile of sand and spread it gently around the yard. This will
re-enrich the surrounding soil, giving the grass more nutrients.
Top
dressing is helpful in making the yard level – it makes it
easier to maintain. Mowing an uneven lawn is both draining on
you and the mower.
One of
the best ways to create a lawn top dressing is to measure out a
quarter inch of sand and spread it across the grass. You can go
up to a full inch, but no more than that. The top dressing would
do no good if the layer were too thick, because the top layer of
soil would smother the grass beneath. The decaying grass would
create methane fumes, killing whatever other grass you tried to
grow.
The best
kind of soil to use in a Top dressing is lightweight sand, with
as much organic matter as possible. You can use peat, mulch, or
potted flower soil. If you’re making your lawn top dressing to
prepare for winter, the best time to do it is in late August or
early September. This gives your grass enough time to have the
blades protruding above the lawn top dressing so they have a
fresh supply of nutrients to last through the winter, making
your lawn top dressing the most effective
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