Adding soil to a sandy area

Hi all

Could someone advise me on how to add soil to a sandy area at the top of my lawn. The area has grass growing well but when the summer comes it becomes patchy very quickly, the real issue is that it is the top 3rd of the lawn which was sown after the existing lawn which is on good soil. Would I be able to add soil to the sandy area without raising the level above the other section and if so how?

Thanks

 

well, i have to add sand to my lawn to help the drainage so i think the reverse would be ok


i scarify first to get rid of thatch and moss and this also rakes the surface up. then i spike holes in with a garden fork, lastly brush soil (sand in my case) across the lawn and try to get some down the holes.

my lawn looked awful for a very short time then, with a bit of rain and regrowth look the business!! the best for years.

somone more knowledgeable might put me right but this worked well for me


Loopy

 

Sounds simple and more importantly effective.

Thanks loopy lou :thmb:

 

The short answer is NO

It would be a bit like trying to put sultanas in a cake you've already baked!

Like most soil ammendments whether from clay to sandy or sandy to clay/loam/organic you need an awful lot to make a difference. The most labour and cost effective approach that works is to dig it up, blend in new soil and re-turf or seed.

These pages may help Preparing the Ground and Soil Ammendments

Last point - how do you know it is the soil that makes it go patchy in the summer? Maybe it's Dry Patch fungal disease!

Hope that helps

 

i bow to your knowledge lawnsmith

Loopy

 

Hi Loopy

That's very kind of you (I think!) and I can understand why you said 'it worked for you'. The chances are (and I'm a betting man) the scarifying and spiking did more for the lawn than the sand. In fact a lot more. Try it without sand next time and I'll bet you get the same result.

Regards

 

interesting that lawnsmith....id always thought the sand (or sandy topdressing) was applied after aeration and brushed down the holes in order to provide drainage channels...so as you say your not particularly changing the constitution of the soil, but your are adding drainage. if you didnt add the sandy mix over time your holes would be filled with the original heavy soil and there would be no imrpovement. I see the logic in the explanaation I have given...but thats not to say im convinced lawnsmith is not correct....many gardening practices are passed down ad carried on without enough thought as to wether they work. I think in the case of a damp lawn i will probably stick with scarify - aeration - topdress, as for your sandy lawn pip I think (not 100 percent) that applying a topdressing of heavier soil would only make the tiniest difference...if were lucky enough to get a hot spell I cant see a thin layer of heavy soil trapping much moisture....however it would stregthen the roots and this might help. Also autumn lawn feeds are designed to strengthen roots and protest against drought theres no reason why you couldnt put autumn feed on in sprong.

Sorry I wasnt very clear but gardening is nature and sometimes the answers arent black asnd white

 

another thought did you sow with drought resistant seed...you could try overseeding with this if you didnt

 

Definately nothing black and white Plantman. The logic of adding sand appears sound but..... sand as a top dressing (i.e. on top of clay soil) is only going to aid drainage through the sand into the clay soil when what you want is drainage through the clay soil and away!

As for getting sand into the holes after hollow tining raises two points: the sand sticks to the opening of the hole and rarely fills the hole unless both sand and lawn are bone dry. Has anyone ever inspected a hole?
And secondly if you did get this to work think how little you are adding when the holes are every 3" and perhaps only 2" deep!

Having said all that this practice is very common on bowling and golf greens. These are close mown and a sandy loam (not sand but a soil similar to the construction of the green) is rubbed into them after hollow tining. This incorporates well with the existing soil, improves the green but most importantly of all it stops a little ball jinking all over the place when a member, having paid his/her dues is about to sink a birdie!

So, forget the sand, aerate and scarify and ....thanks Plantman... adding grass seed would be a great idea. RTF or rhizomatous tall fescue is the one you want for drought tolerance.

All the best

 

thanks lawnsmith like I said I wasnt convinced either way ...your explanation of limits to the effectivness of topdressing on clay soils ..seems pretty sound to me ...next time im asked to do an autumn treatment I will definatly think twice about the topdressing

 

thanks for the tip, i was intending doing the same again this year but i found the sand difficult to heave around so i shall try it without the sand. i do respect your greater knowledge - i am a novice but keen to learn

Loopy

will keep you posted after the deed has been done lol