"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Jul 2003 17:44:59 GMT, "PJZ"
wrote:

What method(s) would you recommend for top dressing a lawn with compost
(or
topsoil)?

We top dressed ours using a wheelbarrow, shovel, and bow rake. With a
full shovel move the shovel while shaking it, then rake out any lumps.
If you have a large lawn it is a workout (ours is half an acre of
lawn).

One thing you might also consider is to core aerate your lawn first. Also
mow a bit shorter. Then if you topdress with compost, it will fall into the
newly created holes, that is, the compost is getting in a little deeper then
just a straight topdress.

Even with the slinging shovel fulls method, you will inevitably get spots
where you need to rake it out gently so the compost/topsoil falls between
the blades of grass rather than smothering it. For large areas, there's a
technique calling "dragging". This is basically some push broom heads
screwed onto a sheet of plywood. A rope is attached to 2 corners of the
plywood and then dragged behind a lawn tractor or by hand. The bristles of
the broom work the topdress between the blades of grass.

-al sung
Rapid Realm Technology, Inc.
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 6a)