TL;DR
Topdressing is the spreading of a thin layer of compost, sand, or screened soil blend over an existing lawn, typically a quarter to half an inch, to feed the soil, smooth minor low spots, and dilute thatch. It is most effective right after core aeration, when the material can work down into the holes, and it pairs naturally with overseeding since the layer improves seed-to-soil contact.
What it means
Topdressing is the spreading of a thin layer of compost, sand, or screened soil blend over an existing lawn, typically a quarter to half an inch, to feed the soil, smooth minor low spots, and dilute thatch. It is most effective right after core aeration, when the material can work down into the holes, and it pairs naturally with overseeding since the layer improves seed-to-soil contact. Sports turf managers use sand-heavy mixes on a schedule; home lawns usually get compost-based blends once a season at most.
Where it sits in the glossary
Topdressing is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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