3. In the least extreme cases, you can solve the problem by topdressing with a thin layer of leveling mix (soil, compost, and sand). rejunvenate your lawn. So let’s say your lawn is 50 square meters. Lightly brush the grass with the backside of a rake. Advertisement. Reseeding a bare area. Get the most out of your overseeding through thoroughness not just in spreading of the seed, but also in the prep and after-care of your lawn. Reply. Spread top dressing over lawn to a depth of ¼ to ½ inch. Areas of a lawn can become uneven over time, due to settling, drainage issues, and various natural and unnatural causes. To work out how much topsoil you need, simply multiply your lawns square meterage by the weight in soil per square meter. The average price to reseed a lawn is about $0.05/sf. After a mow and some raking to open up the soil for seeding, your lawn should be ready for you to overseed without needing to get your hands too dirty. New seed requires a lot of water to help it grow in the initial months. Consider adding a sprinkler system 2 at a … Now you are ready for the next stage: seeding your lawn. In areas where we put down less than 2 inches, the old grass will grow through and blend with the sod (under 2 to 3 inches). Once established, these water-conserving grasses require up to 30 percent less water than ordinary grasses. Ornamental Lawns . Top-dressing is especially helpful in arid climates or during dry or breezy spells, where the soil and seeds easily dry out within hours. Unfortunately, for most of us the expense of tearing up the existing lawn, amending the soil and reseeding is out of the question. repair bare patches. The Tools You’ll Need For Overseeding a Lawn. The more practical alternative is to add top dressing to the existing lawn a bit at a time for several years until your lawn has enough good topsoil to take off and crowd out weeds by its vigorous growth. Add some compost, or specialized lawn soil, potentially with a bit of river sand added, if you're working with acidic soil. Turn the broom rake upside down and drag it side-to-side over the furrows until only 10 to 15 percent of the seed remains uncovered. Seeding your lawn. The goal of overseeding a lawn is to get the grass seed in contact with the soil. Mow the lawn. I know every yard isn’t the same, but this is my primary yard additive, and my grass is also looking much better than when I bought the house. strengthen and increase the health of your lawn. The ideal time to reseed is in the early fall/autumn. If you have an existing lawn, you may find that repairing or renovating it is much less expensive than completely reseeding the entire lawn. Test Your Soil . Apply granular fertiliser at 140g/m2, and fork into the soil prior to sowing lawn seed.‘ Lawn Care Our lawn care range is designed to make Lawn UK a one stop shop for all your lawn care needs. Reseeding is a great way to help the grass recover and get thicker. Topsoil is most often sold by the metric tonne (1000kg), but the easiest way to calculate the quantity of topsoil required is by volume (cubic metres or litres). Be sure to check the seed package for the rate of seeding and apply as directed. Calculate topsoil below to find the ideal quantity for your needs. 3. The only costs are materials. Note: Learn how to use a spreader to fertilizer and reseed your lawn… 50 (square meterage of your lawn) x 5 (kilos per square meter) = 250kg. Overseed in Autumn . To learn more about adding topsoil to your lawn, read my Guide to Top Dressing a Lawn. A single application (1-2 bags) will have no negative impact on the yard and I don’t rake–it just drops between the grass. Here’s how to reseed your lawn in 10 easy to follow steps. This may include a mixture of fertilizing and amending the soil as well as adding seed to help recover the grass that is already there. Sod was used in places where 2 inches or more of soil needed to be added. If you're using grass seed to overseed your lawn instead of an overseeding product like Scotts® Turf Builder® Thick’R Lawn™ Sun & Shade, it's a good idea to rake in a thin layer of enriched soil over your lawn to help the seed settle in.Don't put so much down that you kill your existing grass; less than a quarter of an inch is plenty. A newly seeded lawn develops stronger roots than older grasses and a lawn that's been oversown will also be less prone to weeds as denser lawns have less area for weeds to take hold. Seed can also be used to help with the blend. Thankfully there's no need to worry because we can help you select the right seed mix for your needs and make successful repairs to your lawn. Only 1/2” of material can be applied at a time so that you don’t smother the grass; With a push-broom (or leveling rake), work the soil mixture into the grass as thoroughly as possible. Lime-enhanced, pure-bred Pennington Smart Seed, backed by years of breeding and research, adds beauty and sustainability. You can apply grass seed to your lawn either before or after you top dress it. If you are doing your whole yard, probably better to reseed, depending on the age of your lawn you may be getting a more modern water-wise variety anyway. Here’s a list of everything you’ll need for overseeding; Lawnmower. You can also try covering your lawn with 7 to 10 layers of overlapping newspaper, wetting it down, then covering that … Read my Guide to Lawn Fertiliser. Prep Your Lawn. Multiply the square footage of the lawn by the depth of topsoil to arrive at the amount of topsoil in square feet. For ornamental lawns, top dressing should be part of your lawn care program. By having the correct soil in place to sow onto, superb results can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of laying new turf. It also helps rejuvenate bare or brown spots. Reseeding a lawn is a much more straightforward and less messy process than laying new turf. When to reseed over dead sod . Besides this, you need good seed-to-soil contact so that the seed can germinate quickly. Whether you are planting a completely new lawn or reseeding to cover up patchy areas, using some topsoil greatly improves growing conditions for new grass seeds, providing a consistent source of … Here’s how to do it. Cost of reseeding your lawn If you have more dead grass, dirt patches and weeds than healthy grass, reseeding is better than overseeding, Harbert says. All seed was not created equal. I recommend this if you have the patience. 5. One of the first things you need to be sure of before overseeding lawns is that the soil temperature is around 52 degrees Fahrenheit. 1. You’ll need to rip out the old lawn with a sod cutter, kill any remaining weeds and fertilize the soil, he says. Lawn Seeding Topsoil is a very fine topsoil and sand blend, which is easy to work with and easy to spread. You'll need to aerate it, using a mattock or pick-axe spike, a claw tool or a garden fork. So, if you are planning to aerate or scarify your lawn do so prior to top dressing. Before laying the topsoil, till the top 2 to 3 inches of the subsoil to loosen it, and grade the lawn surface. Once you find out what is causing the patchy grass, you can see here how to reseed lawn if you need new grass in patches. Since it’ comprised of organic material it also adds nutrients to your lawn’s soil. We would recommend that you seed your lawn after you apply your top dressing. Water the lawn. How to Overseed a Lawn STEP 1: Mow and rake the lawn. Available in formulas for sun & shade or tall fescue lawns, Lawn Booster combines three essentials: seed, fertilizer and soil enhancer. It is okay to fill in holes, especially if you have poor soil. At the very least you should make sure the soil has all the nutrients it needs. Amend the soil. Overseeding does not require a total restart. On the other hand, if you DIY, seeding a lawn will be less. Reseeding often requires you to dig up the grass and soil in problem areas (or the whole lawn) and replace it with new turf, effectively starting over when grass can’t be salvaged. Laying topsoil directly on top of the subsoil creates a drainage problem. In which case, you should apply a fertiliser. Aerate the soil using a broadfork, being careful not to break the underlying structure of the soil too much. Seeding Cost Factors. Step 5: Make sure the seed is covered . If there’s no grass at all, then you’re in a good position to dig over the earth and introduce some good quality top soil and fertiliser. This picture shows the new sod, old lawn, and the soil over top of the old lawn. Cover the seed with a light sprinkling of top soil or compost to hide it from the birds. If the soil is not too bad, leave the cores on the grass to break down naturally. The heat and moisture will destroy existing grass and weeds in about 6 to 8 weeks, leaving the soil ready for reseeding. Soil & Lawn Top Dressing; Top Dressing Procedure. Apply 1/4″-1/2″ of soil mixture on top of the low areas. Top soil; Hose; Lawn rake; Plenty of lawns suffer from bald patches each year, often due to children and pets enjoying the garden in sunny months. If you have a large area to aerate, consider renting a gas-powered aerator. Make Sure the Seeds get Enough Sun . Preparing the ground is key when establishing a lawn from seed. Rake and smooth any uneven areas. On a seeded lawn: After sowing lawn grass seeds, apply a thin layer — about 1/4-inch — of compost as top-dressing to help maintain consistent soil moisture while seeds germinate and tender grass seedlings get established. Apply scoops of soil mix to low areas of the lawn using a shovel; Rake the topdressing to spread it out evenly. 5mm in topsoil equates to 4-5kg per square meter of lawn. To get good seed-to-soil contact, compact the soil with a rented sod roller filled halfway with water. Cover over any hole and flatten out the soil. 4. You can then sow your preferred grass seed or lay a new lawn using turf to quickly cover the area with a healthy and attractive lawn. Not much, for small holes you can roll your existing sod back and fill in the hole, then replant your sod, if it is in good shape. reduce the risk of overtaking weeds. Top dressing in conjunction with other lawn care maintenance procedures is not only highly beneficial but can often save time. Given that labor takes up a substantial amount of the total lawn seeding price, you could save hundreds of dollars in the process. Step 4: Apply seed. When the temperatures start to cool off and your lawn looks like it could use a boost, overseeding, otherwise known as reseeding your lawn, can lend a big hand in helping revive your lawn. You’ll also want to deal with any weed issues, if you have them, before reseeding a lawn. How to Use our Topsoil Calculator. Apply the topsoil, spreading evenly a few feet at a time. Blending lawn requires patience. Sprinkle some crumbly top soil or compost over the base of the removed square. The object is to get as much top dressing touching the soil as possible. To ensure a greater chance of success in replacing the dead grass in your lawn with healthy new grass, choosing the right time of year to perform the task is crucial. To do that, the first step is to mow the lawn. The first step is to figure out what’s causing your lawn to look sluggish. To prep soil, you can also put down a pre-fertilizer, or a light layer of soil or peat moss, to promote germination. This is a good solution for widespread unevenness that does not run too deep. Consider removing the cores from the lawn surface. Here are some recommended topsoil depths for general garden projects: Lawns . As always timing is critical so only do this when growth conditions are good. Part 2 of 3: Prepping the Soil. Some people recommend using straw to cover the seed, however straw is unsightly, doesn’t decompose quickly, or retain as much moisture, and is known to introduce weeds. The top soil is hand applied like brown sugar over an apple tart. How to choose the best seed . Don’t want to use all that plastic? This is a beginners guide to understanding top dressing, using sand, soil and other materials and how to apply it safely to your lawn and grass. It’s available in many different sized packs. Scatter the grass seed over the base at a rate of 15-25g per sq m (½ – ¾ oz per sq yard) if no sowing rate is given on the packet or by the supplier. 1. 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