How much topdressing material to use

Many times people ask, how much compost or topdressing material do I use per 1000 square feet or per acre? I have used some simple charts put out by different groups. One is the North Carolina and South Carolina Compost Council. The simple way to use it is to use .25 inches of topdressing depth. At this application rate it would require .75 cubic yards of compost per 1000 square feet. If you want to put on .5 inches you double the amount and if you go to a 1/8" you would cut the amount in half. Most people tend to spread between 1/8 and 1/4" depth.
Another resource is the following site www.aggieturf.tamu.edu/aggieturf2/calculators/topdress-sheet.html . This is from Texas Aggies and it is a calculator that is much more sophisticated and gets into factoring in aeration hole depth and holes per square foot.
These are all tools that will help you do a better job. Have a great fall topdressing season.

Topdressing and Aeration for Fall

Fall is coming and it is time to start thinking about topdressing and aeration. A local university here in Pennsylvania tells us that if you are topdressing compost that is is best to topdress first and aerate next. I see the sense in this because by topdressing first you don't run over the core with the tractor tires smearing them over the aeration holes. The cores are now up on top of the topdressing where they can dry out quicker. The final step would be to drag the cores and compost back into the aeration holes. One could also seed prior to the dragging process. The whole idea is to improve the soil, make it more healthy so it will help grow better turf.

Organics for Turf Grass is Growing

The idea of using organic methods for turf grass management is growing. At the recent New England Grows Show, held in Boston, a larger number of people came to the Earth & Turf booth wanting to know what model topdresser model they should use for applying compost to lawns and sport turf grass. This was exciting because there was a real sense of people wanting to move away from using chemicals in favor of topdressing lawns with Compost. We certainly hope these contractors were sincere and want to use Organic methods to improve the soil rather than putting a band aid on the surface.