Top dressing is the process of applying compost, soil, or sand over the surface of your lawn. It has been performed on golf courses since the sport was invented in Scotland, but has only recently become popular on home lawns.

Top dressing is a way of restoring balance and microbes to home lawns, building good soil structure and increasing soil flora. I like to use straight compost, especially if you have poor or sandy soil, or a blend with sand if you have clay soil.

Throw the topdressing onto the lawn 1/4″ thick. You can rake it in if you like, but let the microbes do the work of getting it into the soil. Don’t waste your money on power raking. You don’t need to aerate first if you have good soil. Once the topsoil is laid and your soil restored you’ll never need to aerate again.

Seeding or overseeding is great to do yearly or when topdressing since the grass seeds are constantly mowed off.
If you overseed, remember to keep the soil moist, but not too wet, until seeds have germinated.

For more on lawn management see: City of Kelowna Outdoor Water Management