Has anyone used compost after aerating their lawn vs sand, top soil etc. I bought a Landzie compost spreader and was thinking of using bags of Black Kow to fill the holes. I was even thinking of mixing in some peat moss with the compost. If anyone has any thoughts I would appreciate it.
nwlawnguy
In our area, (Richmond VA), the "soil" is primarily clay. Builders just remove the clay from the house foudation / excavation work, then spread it around and grade it for sod. Many times the sod really does not take. Solution (long term) is to aerate like crazy in the fall and top dress / overseed / fertilize accordingly. So far I have had good results with the following sequence:
1. Spread gypsum / Lime over lawn.
2. Aerate aggressively in criss-cross pattern.
3. Overseed / fertilize
4. Diligent watering.
Some neighbors have then done top-dressing with high grade top soil, with excellent results, but it takes a lot of effort. I have seen some combine with aeration, others alternate aeration with top-dressing every other year.
In some smaller areas where I was more or less starting from scatch with seed, I would either aerator or used a garden rake, then top-dress with either Black Kow or peat moss, then seed, then more top-dress (lightly raked in), then dilgent watering.
As for removing cores. When I first moved here in '21 and saw how bad the clay was, I was real temped to rake them up and toss since it was all clay. Instead, I put down a ton of gypsum to help offset the clay. seemed to work for the most part. I have also gone back over freshly aerated / seeded lawn and spread / raked in peat moss / compost with good results.
1. Spread gypsum / Lime over lawn.
2. Aerate aggressively in criss-cross pattern.
3. Overseed / fertilize
4. Diligent watering.
Some neighbors have then done top-dressing with high grade top soil, with excellent results, but it takes a lot of effort. I have seen some combine with aeration, others alternate aeration with top-dressing every other year.
In some smaller areas where I was more or less starting from scatch with seed, I would either aerator or used a garden rake, then top-dress with either Black Kow or peat moss, then seed, then more top-dress (lightly raked in), then dilgent watering.
As for removing cores. When I first moved here in '21 and saw how bad the clay was, I was real temped to rake them up and toss since it was all clay. Instead, I put down a ton of gypsum to help offset the clay. seemed to work for the most part. I have also gone back over freshly aerated / seeded lawn and spread / raked in peat moss / compost with good results.
If composting is done correctly it should have no weed seeds. A compost pile should easily reach over 140°F which breaks down all organic matter.
I cannot speak to if the bagged variety is indeed weed free or not as I am sure it has some other additives.
I purchase bulk compost from a nearby supplier each spring which I utilize as mulch for my beds. It's much cheaper than mulch and improves the soil. However it is hot when its delivered and will kill plants and anything else you dump it on. The point being there are no weed seeds in the compost and my beds remain weed free for a couple months after spreading.
I would see no harm in topdressing with compost as long as you know its origins. The hard part I would see is that you would want to be sure it is cooled prior to topdressing as the heat would kill the grass. Another downside to topdressing with the compost is that they typically contain wood chippings (hence I use it for mulch), which obviously will take more time to decompose.
So would I do it every year? Probably not.
I cannot speak to if the bagged variety is indeed weed free or not as I am sure it has some other additives.
I purchase bulk compost from a nearby supplier each spring which I utilize as mulch for my beds. It's much cheaper than mulch and improves the soil. However it is hot when its delivered and will kill plants and anything else you dump it on. The point being there are no weed seeds in the compost and my beds remain weed free for a couple months after spreading.
I would see no harm in topdressing with compost as long as you know its origins. The hard part I would see is that you would want to be sure it is cooled prior to topdressing as the heat would kill the grass. Another downside to topdressing with the compost is that they typically contain wood chippings (hence I use it for mulch), which obviously will take more time to decompose.
So would I do it every year? Probably not.
Finished compost should not have weeds and should not be hot. If it is hot, it is still processing and needs more time.
I have topdressed the lawn plenty of times and never had a problem. I mulch my gardens with a 50/50 mix of compost and double shredded hardwood mulch. Buy from a reputable composter and you shouldn't have any problems.
Compost does bring in P and K. While the percentage is low, you are adding a lot of product and it can be a significant addition of nutrients. A quality composter will be able to provide P and K levels, or you can estimate from online ranges.
I have topdressed the lawn plenty of times and never had a problem. I mulch my gardens with a 50/50 mix of compost and double shredded hardwood mulch. Buy from a reputable composter and you shouldn't have any problems.
Compost does bring in P and K. While the percentage is low, you are adding a lot of product and it can be a significant addition of nutrients. A quality composter will be able to provide P and K levels, or you can estimate from online ranges.
It depends on what your goal and soil is like; a lot of variables. If you’re just trying to aerate and loosen the soil, either collecting the plugs or leaving them to decompose is the correct move. However, if you have clay soil, leaving those plugs on the top of the lawn would be a big mistake. Now, let’s say OP has sandy soil and his soil test says he’s low in organic material. Then top dressing with compost would be a great move.
If that’s the goal, I would use compost/sand mix over Kow/manure type product to minimize field seeds. Pre-emergent on top either way.
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