There are many reasons to consider slit seeding and top dressing: repairing thin lawns or lawns that have been attacked by insects or fungus, or when planting a new lawn (to name a few).
Slit seeding is accomplished with a machine that slices rows into your lawn and drops seed into the slits. The knives are designed to slice into the lawn rather than rip out thatch, leaving the lawn relatively undamaged. The major benefit in slit seeding over conventional seeding is that direct seed to soil contact increases seeding success, especially if followed by top dressing with compost pellets.
Top dressing is the process of applying compost, soil, or sand over the surface of your lawn. Topdressing with compost pellets delivers necessary nutrients to the soil and promotes growth for new grass seed and should be used as part of a complete fertility program
### Benefits of Top Dressing:
– Improves drought tolerance
– Improves grass seed germination and establishment
– Quick and easy to apply – no special equipment required
– Compost Pellets are derived from leaf and yard trimming
– Does not contain any manure or animal by-products
– Contains little water (10%) vs. regular compost (can contain up to 50%)
### Benefits of Compost:
– Increases soil water-holding capacity resulting in increased drought tolerance and increased irrigation efficiency
– Increase soil nutrient holding capacity, maximizing plant nutrient uptake
– Acts as a chelator of nutrients, holding them in the root zone when otherwise they would be leached from the soil
– Acts as a source of food for increased microbial activity
### When to Use Compost:
– To stimulate microbial activity where soil health has been compromised
– On sandy soils and low organic matter soil
– On heavy soils to improve tilth
– When seeding to improve germination and establishment
– As an added service to lawn maintenance programs
Compost should be applied twice yearly, spring and fall, and for best results should be applied after aeration.
*Next week: Horticultural Vinegar & Nematodes*
