Top Dressing a lawn - Ask Extension
My front lawn is uneven and has some dead spots caused by dog urine, so I would like to top-dress it and over-seed. What material do you recommend f...
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Top Dressing a lawn #405585
Asked June 08, 2017, 12:03 PM EDT
My front lawn is uneven and has some dead spots caused by dog urine, so I would like to top-dress it and over-seed. What material do you recommend for top-dressing (I am assuming .25 to .50 inch of top-dressing material) and should I spread the seed prior to the top-dressing? Finally, once the new seed is growing, how to I keep from getting mower wheel ruts in the newly dressed lawn?
Thank you!
Thank you!
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
Hello,
It's best to first discuss the cause of why the lawn is uneven and bumpy. Is it bumpy from poor grading when the lawn was first installed? Or could it be due to nightcrawlers? If you have a high nightcrawler population, it may not be worth going to all the effort to fix things, when they could just make it bumpy/uneven again.
We generally don't recommend topdressing because it's difficult to put on an even layer. If you do, then no more than a half inch of material should be put down. The bigger problem with topdressing is that you are adding an unlike soil texture to your current soil texture and water will not move though these two different textures.
What I might recommend instead is consider rolling the lawn...you can rent rollers (you fill them with water) and then trying to "squish out" some of the bumps.
To overseed, the best thing to do would be to heavily aerate the area. Here are the steps to overseeding....
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If you really want to add topdressing materials, do this FIRST and then aerate and seed. Again, try to get the seed in the aeration holes. But I would try to avoid adding another soil to the lawn.
It's best to first discuss the cause of why the lawn is uneven and bumpy. Is it bumpy from poor grading when the lawn was first installed? Or could it be due to nightcrawlers? If you have a high nightcrawler population, it may not be worth going to all the effort to fix things, when they could just make it bumpy/uneven again.
We generally don't recommend topdressing because it's difficult to put on an even layer. If you do, then no more than a half inch of material should be put down. The bigger problem with topdressing is that you are adding an unlike soil texture to your current soil texture and water will not move though these two different textures.
What I might recommend instead is consider rolling the lawn...you can rent rollers (you fill them with water) and then trying to "squish out" some of the bumps.
To overseed, the best thing to do would be to heavily aerate the area. Here are the steps to overseeding....
Note: Reseeding should not be done if you applied a crabgrass preventer this spring. If you applied a crabgrass preventer, you will need to wait until mid-August to seed. You can sod at any time; cut out the brown areas and then lay pieces of sod from inconspicuous areas the landscape or use purchased sod (knowing the colors may not match perfectly).
If you have Kentucky bluegrass, you'll want to use 5-7 pounds of seed/1000 square feet.
- Mark or flag your sprinkler heads. With an aerator (one that pulls plugs), make lots and lots and lots of holes throughout the lawn—in both the front and back yard. The goal is to “Swiss cheese” the lawn and have the holes on 2” centers. If you want to save the expense from renting an aerator, you could try to use a pitchfork or other tool to poke holes in to the ground. Again, lots and lots of holes. Make the holes wide enough for seed to fall into.
- Buy high quality seed—some garden centers and the co-op sell bulk seed. Be sure to check the label of the seed to know that you’re only buying a specific species. Check local garden centers or co-ops to buy seed. You can also buy seed from the seed dealers in Greeley (Pawnee Buttes or Sharp Brothers), but they may only sell 50 pound bags.
- Apply the seed either using a fertilizer spreader, open just wide enough to let seed fall. Apply the seed in two directions, then gently rake the seed and try to get it into the aeration holes. Don’t put down too much seed…only one or two seeds need to fall into the holes.
- Water to keep the seed coat moist, perhaps once or twice a day, depending on the temperature. It’s important to not let the seed coat dry out.
- The best time to seed is in the fall, because soil temperatures are warm, but you can seed now (in spring)…just be patient. Seed may take 14-21 days to germinate (or longer). DO NOT SEED if a crabgrass preventer was applied in spring. If crabgrass preventer is applied, then seeding must wait until mid-August.
- You can mow the lawn as normal and walk on it, even over the seeded areas. Mowing will help push seed into the aeration holes and ensure better soil-seed contact.
- Be sure to mow new seedlings as they grow—mowing will encourage “tillering” which helps the turf fill in more quickly.
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If you really want to add topdressing materials, do this FIRST and then aerate and seed. Again, try to get the seed in the aeration holes. But I would try to avoid adding another soil to the lawn.
