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Do you have a lawn that is a bit older and battered? Then put your trust in topsoil. The mineral and nutrient-rich soil can help old lawns regain their fullness and ideally you only have to remove them from your own property. In doing so, you take advantage of the properties of topsoil, which has proven to be an excellent rejuvenator for stressed and old lawns.
Spreading topsoil on old lawns
An old lawn is no longer an ideal surface. It doesn't matter if the grass isn't as strong as it used to be due to lack of care or years of use and needs to be refreshed. Fortunately, the green can be brought back to life using a variety of different methods. One of them is the use of nutrient-rich topsoil, which is applied as a layer and then covered with new seeds. However, with this idea, many people ask the following questions:
- Does waterlogging form?
- How about weeds?
Waterlogging is usually not a problem with this variant. Since you are not applying four or eight inches of topsoil, the old lawn can still breathe and the moisture is excellently distributed throughout the soil. The same is true of weeds. This rots together with the remaining grasses and thus provides a layer of humus, which also releases nutrients into the topsoil. How you apply the soil is important to achieve these effects, as you cannot just cover the lawn and leave it alone.
notice: In the same way, uneven spots in the lawn can be filled in if you don't want to remove them completely. Since topsoil contains a lot of nutrients, the repaired areas will sprout again within a short time and close the area.
time
One of the most important aspects of this method is timing. If you want to refresh old lawns with topsoil, you need to cover them at the right time to have the greatest effect. There are only two possible time frames, as these favor the germination of the lawn seed:
- April to May
- August to September
A constant temperature of 10 °C is important, because the seeds will not germinate below this. With two time periods available to you, you can choose when to distribute Mother Earth. Note, however, that you will then have to wait at least a whole year for a dense patch of grass to form. Since you are laying out the green from scratch, the waiting time is correspondingly long. Also, you are allowed to use the area for the entire period only rarely entered, as too much pressure could affect germination and growth. Choose a dry or overcast day. When it rains, the topsoil becomes too heavy to transport and when the sun is intense, the soil can suffer.
notice: If you no longer want to use the covered green area as an ornamental or useful lawn, but instead want to grow vegetables, for example, you don't have to wait that long. However, since the topsoil is still very soft immediately after spreading, you should be very careful not to remove everything again immediately.
materials and tools
At first glance it sounds quite easy to spread topsoil on the old green and make it usable again. However, the effort is significantly more extensive, because you have to give Mother Earth a good basis offer to establish themselves. And for this purpose you need appropriate tools and materials that will help you in this project. The following list gives you an overview of these:
- wheelbarrow
- mowing machine
- shovel
- scarifier
- rake
- Tape measure or folding rule
- level
- line
- wooden sticks
- rake
- Long-term fertilizer (lime, iron sulphate)
- optional: lawn seed
scarify the lawn
Most important, of course, is Mother Earth. This is the first twenty to thirty centimeters of ground on which the sod is located. That means you can use this soil to get topsoil to cover the lawn with. You should not promote any further soil deeper, as this becomes increasingly poor in nutrients and also has hardly any microorganisms that would have a positive effect on the growth of grass and the formation of humus. So remove enough topsoil from one spot in your garden to cover the entire area. Of course, how much you need depends on the area you want to cover. All you have to do is calculate the volume using the following formula:
Width in m x length in m x height in m = volume in m³
You can of course take the width and length of your lawn. For the height of the layer, around five centimeters are recommended, as these weeds and grasses rot and can be easily planted and loaded. With a lawn area of five by five meters, the calculation would look like this:
5m x 5m x 0.05m = 1.25m³
So you need 1.25 m³ of topsoil for such an area. In most cases, however, this direct information is not sufficient, as it may be the case that your lawn is uneven or even has holes. For this reason, as a precaution, you should always take 15 to 20 percent more, just to be on the safe side. At 1.25 m³ that would be 1.44 m³ to 1.5 m³ of soil. You should always use a little more, especially with inclines, as these are difficult to compensate for.
If you don't have a scarifier, you can rent one. Depending on the provider, you need to consider the following costs per day:
- Hardware store: around 30 euros
- Manufacturer: about 50 euros
- private: 10 to 35 euros
The devices themselves are not that expensive and can be obtained cheaply on the Internet. You can also use alternatives like a hand scarifier or special footwear, which will still make the job a little easier.
tip: If you don't have a way to use topsoil from your garden yourself, you can get it for cheap or sometimes even free through the local classifieds. Many people can no longer do anything with their topsoil and for this reason offer the earth, from which you will only benefit.
preparation
Before you can cover the lawn with topsoil, you need to do some preparation to end up with a level and clean ground. It is particularly important to stake out the height to enable a level surface. To do this, simply mark the area with pieces of wood and stretch the cord between them at a height of five centimetres. Align them with a spirit level to get the same height in all places. Even if the area is on a slope, it is worth using the altitude as a guide. Once the height has been marked out, you need to prepare the ground:
- First use the lawn mower and mow the area thoroughly. This makes it easier to spread the topsoil, since stalks that are too high would mess up the desired height. It is best to dispose of the grass residue on the compost so that it does not remain and form another layer that has to be decomposed.
- Now you have to use the scarifier for the entire area. This removes unwanted plants or organisms such as mosses that like to settle in the lawn. At the same time, the device provides loosening of the soil, which will have a positive effect on further development.
With these points, nothing stands in the way of the actual project. Below you will find detailed instructions that detail all the necessary steps.
Applying topsoil to old lawns: instructions
Double check that you have sufficient topsoil available. It is important to be very thorough with all steps, because only in this way the topsoil layer is well preserved and can no longer be removed so easily. Proceed as follows:
- The topsoil is not immediately used on the mowed and scarified surface. You must first mix this with sand if your garden has always had a problem with waterlogging. The sand regulates the permeability of the soil, which is ideal for this purpose.
- Take the fertilizer and spread it generously over the old lawn. Work this in a bit with the rake so that it is better distributed.
- Now the topsoil is finally being applied to the old soil. To do this, take the shovel and ensure that the entire area is covered with new soil. Once all the topsoil is distributed, check the height of the layer using the string. Feel free to use the spirit level if you have one available.
- Last but not least, you can sow seeds for a new lawn. The soil is moistened and monitored over the next few weeks. You just have to make sure that they don't dry out completely.