"HonkyNut" wrote in message
...
Hello

Can anyone define the real advantages of top dressing? I saw on Burkes
Backyard that top dressing is really only important if you want to level
out
your lawn as it gives no benefits to lawn quality... is this true? I have
had so many people tell me that my lawn needs top dressing... but others
saying it simply needs a good does of fertilizer.

I threw on some urea and within days I noticed greener, thicker growth...
is
this all I need to do... and if so, how often?

Thanks in advance...

Leanne


Burkes Backyard was pretty much correct, that top dressing is only really
necesary for keeping the area level.
We never topdress fairways at work, but do the tee tops when needed with a
mix of chook poo and sand.
We are currently in the process of doing the greens at the moment, but we
only do it with pure sand, spread lighly, then it is broomed off.
It doesn't help with a compacted area though. You must aerate before top
dressing if the area is compacted
I would only do it in a home situation to get a level lawn, or to repair a
damaged area, say an area that had been recently dug up for some reason, or
driven on while very wet causing wheel marks, etc.
As David mentioned, Urea will only make it greener and thicken it up, with
no benefits for the root system. We use Sulphate of Ammonia (I think that's
the one) on the fairways for a quick "green up" if things are looking a
little dry and there is an upcoming event/tournament. Some of that, and
little water makes it look real good. The benefits are that it uses less
water than if we put on chook poo, and gives the same look, but it's only
for temporary looks.
We use Chook poo once a year, and it really does wonders, probably the most
effective. Another one we use is Nitro Iron, that's a liquid feed.
If you do use Urea, make sure you also use a "complete" lawn fertiliser too.
So look for something that says that, or is high in Nitrogen and
Phosphorous. In a N:P:K rating, you would want the first two numbers to be
much higher than the third. Say 14:16:5 (example only).
I've been told it's good to "rotate" fertiliser use.

Good luck

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