Fall Time is Topdressing Season
Compost Topdressing and Turf - Part 2 with Mike McGrath
On the Sept. 26th episode of WDIY 88.1’s You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath and our own Jake Chalfin had a lively discussion on using compost topdressing for turf. You know that fall is topdressing season, but do you know exactly WHY…?
During Fall, with its typically mild temperatures and ample moisture, is the best time to help cool-season turf recover from the abuse of Summer.
Primarily, heavy foot traffic from events causes compaction and surface wear. Additionally, intense summer heat and humidity create the perfect environment for fungus and diseases, declining the overall turf health.
Mike and Jake cover different turf maintenance approaches that can either contribute to the problem or help prevent or repair damage. The best solution is a “perfect trifecta of lawn care”: topdressing with compost in conjunction with aeration and overseeding.
Here’s why…
When planting in Spring, barely established turf is not prepared to face summer conditions. Recently germinated grass, while in its infancy, is weak. Its small roots can’t reach water, air, or nutrients, which causes stressed turf, which then becomes susceptible to disease pressure.
However, when you seed in the Fall, along with aeration and topdressing, all the conditions needed for healthy germination are present. Core aeration removes plugs from the soil, which improves soil porosity and alleviates compaction.
Better porosity provides optimum conditions in the soil matrix, allowing for a balance of water and oxygen in the rootzone.
The take-away is that Fall is most favorable for new seed germination and growth. So, when the cold weather hits and grasses go dormant. By Spring, when the grass wakes back up, it already has a healthy, established root system to build from and is more durable by the time the hot weather settles in again.
Click the link below to have a listen. Jake’s guest spot begins at 20:45.
