Dethach and Top Dressing

[RxPain-]

New to working on lawn here. Should I dethach before I top dress and top dressing I've read use sand, garden soil, and compost but can't find what mixture. Is it equal parts?

 

[oneeye]

It all depends, can you post a photo so the members can see what you are talking about? What I did over many years, was just topped dressed all my top paying jobs and landscapes with composted manure that was aged well. I top dressed about 2 inches every 4 or 5 years. No sand! No topsoil! Of course I fertilized 2 times a year too. It worked super well and got a lot complements. I never dethatched any of my lawns, because I maintained them well.

 

[Rene61]

I just dethatched a yard full of dead Bermuda grass, after firing the lawn care service that was supposed to take care of it. My lot sets in a clay saucer without drainage (best way to describe it). The excessive rain we had the past two years without any way for it to drain off left me with fungus on everything. I top dressed with top soil and reseeded the yard with Fescue.

 

[RxPain-]

It all depends, can you post a photo so the members can see what you are talking about? What I did over many years, was just topped dressed all my top paying jobs and landscapes with composted manure that was aged well. I top dressed about 2 inches every 4 or 5 years. No sand! No topsoil! Of course I fertilized 2 times a year too. It worked super well and got a lot complements. I never dethatched any of my lawns, because I maintained them well.

We built our house and one section died after digging we found concrete about an inch under the sod so I broke most of it and placed over. Yard is very lumpy and want to flatten

 

[oneeye]

You can top dress the lawn every year and get super results by adding compost or composted manures. I get compost by the truck load or dump truck load and spread it early in the Spring. After the lawn gets healthy you can skip every other year. In about 5 years you should have nice lawn.
The composts and composted manures are loaded with Billions and Billions of soil microbes! You have a over a million microbes just in a teaspoon if soil. All nutrients have to be broken down by microbes first, before the plants and use the nutrients. Without microbes the plants couldn't live. The composts don't have that many nutrients, but the "microbes" are the main reason to use composts. Then, when you broadcast your lawn fertilizer(21-0-0) the microbes break down the nitrogen fast so the lawn can turn thick, green and healthy. The microbes breakdown the thatch in the lawn and never needs dethatching.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I just dethatched a yard full of dead Bermuda grass, after firing the lawn care service that was supposed to take care of it. My lot sets in a clay saucer without drainage (best way to describe it). The excessive rain we had the past two years without any way for it to drain off left me with fungus on everything. I top dressed with top soil and reseeded the yard with Fescue.

Do you aerate? If not try it. Even one of those dinky pull behind rigs works wonders. My clay drains better now

 

[RxPain-]

Do you aerate? If not try it. Even one of those dinky pull behind rigs works wonders. My clay drains better now

I haven’t. I just put compost on this weekend. Should I wait or aerate whenever?

 

[DirtMechanic]

I haven’t. I just put compost on this weekend. Should I wait or aerate whenever?

When the grass is growing after a good 2-3 mowings. The grass roots will expand into the holes and appreciate the breathing room in this smothering clay. The compost would go deeper too. I mulch mow so that chop goes in the holes as well. Its a great time to overseed with a small bag, here and there if needed.