How to Spread Topsoil and the Best Ways to do it

What are the Steps for Spreading Topsoil?

Eden has listed the steps below in detail for spreading topsoil correctly.

1. Finding the Right Topsoil for Your Lawn

The right topsoil includes the right composition of materials that will render a garden or lawn with better drainage. Today in the landscape industry, there are many topsoil brands, and finding the right one that will compliment your lawn is not that easy. And employing the wrong topsoil can clog your lawn’s soil while disrupting the landscape’s drainage. 

To find the right topsoil brand, you must be aware of the right combination, sand or clay, since the lack of airflow between these materials can either make or break your soil. Choosing a moist sand variation ideal for topsoil is a better option than just sand that renders fewer nutrients. Also, if you wish to avoid toxic pesticides or herbicides in their lawns, Eden suggests getting the topsoil from an organic farm or business.

2. Finding the Right Tools for Spreading Topsoil

Like the right brand and composition, choosing the right lawn tools for the job is also vital for your lawn’s health. While a rake can help you evenly spread the topsoil, you can use your hands for some tasks if you are working in a small garden. The right tools also vary from landscape to landscape, depending on the area you have to cover. 

For a small area like a home garden, you would require a hand tiller or fork, rake, planting hoe, and a shovel. In the case of the medium area or large yard, you will need a rolling aerator, a specific rake for a larger yard, a wheelbarrow, and a mini push spreader. For a large area, a golf course, for instance, you can get the job done using a pull-behind spreader, a special golf course machine and a landscape rock rake about 5 feet wide.

3. Spreading the Topsoil

The way of spreading the topsoil differs from small to large yards and can be easily executed by employing the above mentioned tools. 

For small lawns or gardens, you can scatter the topsoil evenly around your yard using your hands while raking it to spread or deepen its layers. Utilize a mini push spreader or a rolling aerator to spread the topsoil effectively. The steps would require you just to fill the soil in the push spreader and push it, allowing the topsoil to fall onto the ground. You must invest in equipment or machinery which will assist you in spreading the topsoil if you have a huge property, such as a golf course or a large yard. 

4. Adding Aeration to the Soil

Aeration in the soil is essential for your lawn breathing and leading to a healthy existence. If your yard lacks the required aeration, it can lead to compact ground and drainage issues. Therefore, evenly spreading the topsoil and getting it aerated is necessary so you don’t suffocate your landscape. 

You should be aware of three aspects: Your topsoil must have air pockets, the layers should be around 1-2-inches thick, and the topsoil must reach around 6-8-inches of depth into the soil. You can also check out Eden’s Aeration Guide or get in touch with the experts who know the critical instructions for adding aeration to the soil. 

5. Planting

Now that you have prepared the soil, it’s time to plant the trees or the specific flower, fruit, and vegetable you wish to grow on your lawn. It would help if you consider the different guidelines that must be followed for your plants or trees since each plant varies in various aspects of landscaping. At this stage, you should understand the plants you are planting and growing and the conditions that will help them flourish.

Best Ways to Spread Topsoil

1. Topdressing

Topdressing refers to spreading a thin layer of topsoil over the lawn’s surface. This layer of topsoil should not be more than ¼ inch deep which helps to amend the soil while allowing the existing grass to grow through the topsoil. This method is mainly used for filling the low spots. 

If you wish to break down the thatch layer in your lawn, add nutrients to your soil, level and smooth the surface of your yard, improve the soil condition or overseed your lawn for better germination. Then, topdressing your yard or garden is the ideal choice. However, the lack of appropriate topdressing knowledge can also kill your lawn. 

Therefore, Eden suggests the main steps one must follow to topdress their lawns effectively. 

Step 1 – Test your soil to understand the amount of nutrient deficiency in the soil so that you can fertilize it right before topdressing it. 

Step 2 – Consider removing the weeds a few days before you topdress your lawn using a suitable herbicide.

Step 3 – A day before top dressing, prepare the surface by mowing, raking, and removing the debris to help the nutrients penetrate the soil effectively. 

Step 4 – Apply the topsoil to the surface of your lawn and spread it evenly using the right tools, such as a shovel or push spreader.

The experts of Eden also mention that plenty of grass should be visible after you have raked the layers of topsoil.

2. Leveling

Leveling is the same as topdressing but is majorly used for larger depressions. It is worth noting that leveling of soil helps in preventing soil erosion. This method also helps in sowing the seeds uniformly that results in a consistent growth of plants along with proper irrigation, which in return renders even distribution of water throughout your lawn or yard. 

However, the lawn needs to be maintained properly, or this method of land leveling can disrupt the plant growth and alter the equilibrium, hampering the uniformity of irrigation. 

The basic steps to follow for leveling are as follows.

Step 1 – First, remove the sods from the depression. 

Step 2 – Fill the depression until the surrounding ground is leveled with it.

Step 3 – Cover the ground with sod. 

Step 4 – Irrigate the sod well.

Step 5 – Proper irrigation will establish of roots underneath the topsoil. 

3. Garden Beds

Garden beds are typically used as a land where you can cultivate vegetables, fruits, flowers, or herbs. Knowing that a garden bed allows the soil to drain better than an in-ground garden is critical. A garden bed also assists you in controlling burrowing pests.

But, the arrangement of garden beds can also cost you an upfront cost and handy skills and tools. Hence, Eden experts suggest getting a professional so you don’t end up spending a fortune without getting fruitful results.  

Also, this method will require more irrigation since the soil dries up faster during summer. Creating a garden bed can help you replenish sandy or rocky soil. This process requires you to follow a few steps. 

Step 1 – Consider determining the right place to set the garden bed. 

Step 2 – Prepare the frame and fill it with soil after placing newspaper on the bottom. 

Step 3 – You can plant any fruit or vegetable you wish to grow in your garden or yard.

What to Consider while Spreading Topsoil?

While there are certain things to consider before spreading topsoil, you must also be familiar with the common mistakes every novice gardener or landscaper makes. 

• Adding sand to clay has been a popular treatment that most homeowners believe can improve your soil’s fertility. However, sand or the combination of sand and clay can worsen your soil’s condition, making it compact and hard to plant.
• Adding fertilizer without knowing your soil’s condition can damage your lawn. Adding fertilizer is probably the first thing you will consider on discovering your stressed lawn. However, testing your soil’s condition to learn the nutrient and pH level of your lawn’s soil is vital to choose the right fertilizer, depending on the soil acidity or alkalinity.
• Rather than digging the surface of your lawn that may disrupt the structure of the ground, you can opt for top dressing your plants with compost for better and healthier plants.
• Fresh manure is regarded as a material that consists of nutrients and will be great for gardening. However, an Eden expert will tell you that fresh manure comes with ammonia and other chemicals that can burn your plants or soil, for that matter. It may also include weeds that can damage your lawn or turfgrass. Hence Eden recommends using composite or aged manure (at least six months old) to enhance the nutrient level of your soil. 

Also, consider taking a test to determine the pH level of your lawn so that you understand the level of nutrients your yard requires. The right time to add topsoil to your lawn is crucial to receive adequate sunlight and fewer weeds for better plant growth and soil fertility. 

What are the Benefits of Spreading Topsoil to Garden?

Eden mentions the benefits of topsoil through the following points.

• Topsoil helps prevent evaporation and locking in moisture so that your plants are still hydrated even during a drought. 
• Topsoil can render a well-drained surface for your lawn, ensuring your plants never run out of moisture while promoting root growth and expansion.
• Topsoil includes good bacteria and microbes that reduce the likelihood of bad bacteria getting in and flourishing.

To conclude, the five important steps you must consider to spread the topsoil correctly are ‒  

Find the right topsoil for your lawn, find the right tools for spreading, spreading the topsoil, adding aeration, and planting. Topdressing, leveling, and creating a garden bed are some of the most effective ways of spreading topsoil to a lawn or yard.

Contact Eden today for more information regarding topsoil or to hire professionals to spread topsoil for you.