After getting crushed by webworms and several years of neglect (previous owner), I think I need to apply a compost top dressing on the st aug.

Is there an easy way to do this? Some sort of magical wheeled device? I think the chutes are too small on most spreaders.

Or is this just 50 bags and a rake?

Large sacks, or a truck bed and wheelbarrow, rake, and some ibuprofen for later.

I prefer to buy it by the yard and apply with a grain shovel.

I'm considering this as well. Do you need to dethatch before applying more soil as top dressing?

one MEEN Ag said:

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I'm considering this as well. Do you need to dethatch before applying more soil as top dressing?

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IMO - It's best to aerate first. That way the compost nutrients can get soaked into the soil thickness and have less of a chance of getting washed away with the rain.

I have a tractor supply pull behind plug aerator that works pretty with weight added to the deck.

one MEEN Ag said:

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I'm considering this as well. Do you need to dethatch before applying more soil as top dressing?

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Certainly wouldn't hurt to mow, then rake the whole yard. I raked my front yard (well most of it) Friday & Saturday morning and ended up with 3-30gallon trash bags of dead grass. Yard looks like hell, but there's green grass starting to come back.

I need to do this too.

I am pretty lawn-dumb....is there any specific compost that would be best?

Also, can i patch directly on-top or is that a whole other process?

I like to use the dairy manure compost versus the regular. It has less sticks leaves in the mix from my local place.

The dairy mix is also a smaller particle size.

planoaggie123 said:

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I need to do this too.

I am pretty lawn-dumb....is there any specific compost that would be best?

Also, can i patch directly on-top or is that a whole other process?

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The more organic/the more poop the better. At the yard you can tell if it is 'active' if it is giving off heat in the pile.

Perfect. Looking forward to letting my kids (5 and 7) assist with this and then explain to them later

Would mushroom dirt work?

I had my yard guy mow low and bag. Then I raked some of the thatch and applied azomite (I think that's supposed to help break down the thatch). Then I aerated our yard with a tool I got at Lowe's (not a spike too - one that pulls plugs) then applied Nature's Way leaf mold compost on top. The following week I applied Medina plus soil activator. The yard isn't picture-worthy yet because the compost hasn't broken down. Here's hoping this all pays off. (I'm in Spring/Klein)

Where did you find azomite? Almost nowhere I look has it, or just has little tiny bags of it.

Yeah, mine was a small bag. Plants for All Seasons on Louetta.