With the disappearance of lawn herbicides, it’s time to rediscover the traditional method for achieving a beautiful lawn: top dressing followed by overseeding. In fact, in England, a country renowned for the beauty of its lawns, the “herbicide/chemical fertilizer” method of lawn maintenance has never been adopted. People find that topdressing gives much better results: a dense, green lawn that is drought-resistant and has very few weeds.
The best time to renovate a lawn (or lay a new one) is in late summer and early fall: late August to early October. At this time of year, grasses establish themselves better than in spring, ensuring better recovery. Weeds are also less likely to germinate, so your lawn will have more grass and fewer broadleaf plants.
The Method
Start by weeding roughly. Few people have the patience to remove all weeds, but at least pull out the most obvious ones. There are still organic herbicides (based on soap or vinegar) that can be applied directly to unwanted plants, but be careful not to apply them to the remaining grasses, as they kill all plants indiscriminately.
If your soil is very compact, use a soil aerator (available from rental companies) on the surface. To check, try pushing a pencil into the soil. If it breaks, you need to aerate. If not…
Now spread 2 cm (3/4 inch) of good lawn soil or compost over the entire lawn with a rake. Put more in the depressions and less on the bumps: this will make your lawn more even. When purchasing, insist on soil or compost that is free of weed seeds. If you don’t specify this, unscrupulous sellers may sell you contaminated products.
Now sow a layer of low-maintenance lawn seed containing endophytes on top. You can also add white clover seeds to this mixture. Please note: large stores always stock these two products, but you should be able to find them easily in garden centers. In addition, many garden centers will lend you a spreader free of charge if you buy seeds from them. All you have to do is leave a deposit.
Now rake to push the seeds down a little so that the birds don’t eat too many. Finish by watering.
Follow-up Maintenance
Keep the soil moist for 2 to 3 weeks. You may need to water every 2 to 3 days if there is no rain. Avoid walking on the lawn. You will see that where the grass was strong, it will grow through the new layer of soil/compost and take root, and where it was weak, the newly sprouted grass will take its place. Your lawn will never have looked so good!
By repeating the topdressing/overtopping process annually, you will find that you no longer need to aerate or fertilize, weeds will disappear as if by magic, and this single annual treatment will ensure you have the lawn of your dreams for as long as you have it.