How to Over Seed your Lawn and Top Dress with COMPOST

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[@gsk492]

Great video. Very useful. Well done. Keep em coming

[@lotuselise140]

I only use Jack's black magic compost for Re-seeding. And I scarify first after cutting on lowest setting. Then I have an old way of doing it. By making 1 turf length up with canes, then put this down and scatter my grass seed in different directions up and down, then across. Then I use a Garden Sieve and use Jack's black magic compost to cover lightly. Then light water early morning late evening for about 3-4 weeks. Grass is brilliant. Never let me down doing this way.

[@gord8743]

Good to see the vloggs for us more novice gardeners on here. Have a mossy front lawn so have put some iron sulphate on to kill it off then will scarify….over seed and add some compost as seems to be the favoured way. Liked n subbed!!

[@NoviceGardener]

Cheers! I've been looking for something to kill moss as the patch of grass under our bench has pretty much been replaced with moss over the winter. Hoping to sort it in the next few weeks.

[@p-layfitness7546]

A great video, thankyou mate. Best wishes. 👍

[@ansonstiles]

I came to this process of my own intuition but was unsure how to proceed. I’m about to head out and do it. Thanks for the vid!

[@anthonykelham2451]

Allways find my lawn flute good for levelling

[@salduchi1785]

Great video! Thanks

[@davepearce2106]

Cheers pal 👍

[@therattyfire5468]

Nice video. I've just recently completed my front lawn (144 Square mtrs) and basically used the same method as yourself. Unfortunately the previous owner didn't really take an interest in the garden, so I inherited something that was like walking on a sponge, the amount of thatch I removed was unbelievable, 2 trailer loads and 20 bin bags 😩. After heavy scarification I reseeded then top dressed with the new Jack's. The new blend definitely works well, but there is a lot of wood and what appears to be small white pumis stones in it, I made a sieve that fit's over my wheelbarrow and took the most of the larger bit's out before dressing and after 13 days the lawn is looking fantastic, I hoping to do the first cut with the rotary in about another week, then with the cylinder mower a week or so later. It's videos like yours that give us newbies confidence to take on projects like this, so thanks for posting and best wishes from Northern Ireland 👍

[@NoviceGardener]

Thanks for the kind words, appreciate that 👍🏻 Sieving is a great shout, I may try this next time. I’ve just over seeded my back lawn and I wish I had read this comment before I did. Quite a few sticks in the bag I used today. But it’s great stuff, recent seed has germinated brilliantly.

[@darrellmann7468]

Great job mate super 😊

[@NoviceGardener]

Thanks 👍🏻

[@mrrob6547]

Nice one mate, my front lawn actually looks very similar to yours and I've never used compost before when topdressing so gonna give this a go at the weekend.

[@NoviceGardener]

Good luck with it 👍🏻 You will have to let me know how you get on in a few weeks.

[@mrrob6547]

@@NoviceGardener how's yours looking a week or so on?

[@rishikwatt483]

Your New York accent is charming.

[@brettjohnson925]

Great video mate, good for us newbies. A good idea would be to use a garden sieve on the jacks magic works a treat with getting the larger bits out.

[@NoviceGardener]

I may do this next time! I may need to pick out some of the odd bits this weekend that have been left behind.

[@davidbanner9001]

If I was to give some advice, It would be to scarify and then immediately over seed. I would also add more compost then yourself. It will probably be OK, depends on the birds getting to your seed and the current ground temps in your region? Thanks for the upload, it'll be interesting to see the results in a few weeks.

[@gel210]

Just subscribed to your channel well explained video .

[@NoviceGardener]

Thanks 👍🏻

[@lynnereed5948]

Great video. I'm also thinking of getting some Jack's Magic. Your lawn looks much better than mine. Well done 👍

[@spencerwasden4846]

Would have been nice to see the results a few weeks/months later (or a follow up video)

[@rugs108]

I use jacks magic every year when I renovate my lawn and get good results. Although the new 50L bags are a new mix . Going to try the new mix next week

[@MrLegend139]

I noticed that this year, seems a better mix than previously in my opinion, although I always siv mine using a 10mm siv on the lawn to get rid of any big bugs that don’t break down

[@lotuselise140]

Don't bother, they have changed Jacks magic compost Formula. To many white stones in it.

[@MrLegend139]

@@lotuselise140 I’d like to think that is perlite but could be wrong, there smaller than 4mm ish anyway won’t do your lawn any harm. Can help with drainage and break up then soil etc. you won’t see it when the grass grows back anyway and it’ll bed down Into the soil

[@carolynkimbrey1423]

Great video and clear guidance...😊

[@gandhimate]

any update on this? I've just used the exact same method on my new build front lawn (after 2 years of neglect) and I'm eagerly awaiting the results! Would be great to see how yours got on with the seeding and Jacks Magic. Cheers

[@NoviceGardener]

I've just uploaded an update video showing the progress so far, it's looking quite good at the moment. Cheers for the comment, gave me the idea for the update video 👍🏻

[@GW._.]

That drop spreader will be good for sand top dressing when your reel mowing at 6mm

[@NoviceGardener]

That’s a great shout. I’m hoping to get my hands on a reel mower at some point, once I’ve got the back lawn as level as I can!

[@acreslawncare]

👋 nice job 👍. How did you get on with jacks magic did you get some good results .

[@NoviceGardener]

Cheers! It worked out perfect using the Jacks Magic. Used it in the back too and it's worked great 👍🏻

[@deedowney3242]

I'm not clear what blend of grass seed you're using? I'm hoping to enhance a weak stand of Bermuda grass, also fill unlevel areas. Thanks

[@JaniceSadgrove]

When do start fertilizing? Before or after seeing?

[@raczyk]

So the compost will not burn the fresh terminated seed?

[@travellerseko]

Mate, I was wondering if raking messes up the distribution of seeds evenly after having used seed spreader.

[@NoviceGardener]

It can do, but it won't disturb it too much. Sounds mad, but sometimes I just brush the compost in with my hand to make sure that the spaces are not too disturbed, but that only works if you're doing it over a small space like this. It's what I did yesterday when I did some light over seeding.

[@rickwhitehill1801]

Used it once and never had so many weeds before

[@nuttyoncrypto9863]

Were now in middle of May so is that too late to over seed or not... thanks for the information

[@NoviceGardener]

Not too late, now is the best time. I’ve got a video coming out tomorrow morning about over seeding this same lawn. Germination after 6 days. Good luck with your over seeding 👍🏻

[@nuttyoncrypto9863]

@@NoviceGardener thanks for your quick response..

[@raczyk]

Can you use the drop spreader for top soil or compost? What's the best way to spread it?

[@NoviceGardener]

You can only use it from seed and granular products. The holes would be too small for any soil or compost. It would just dump it down onto your lawn, you should be able to use the back of a flat rake to spread it around.

[@vashon100]

A peat moss spreader works great. It's a rolling cage. Keeps back the big parts, sticks, rocks, you don't want on grass.

[@SamsungJ-wy4iq]

Did you have any issues keeping birds off eating the seed? Does top dressing help?

[@NoviceGardener]

Not too many issues with most of the grass blades providing some protection. Top dressing definitely helps as it just makes it less obvious that the seed is there. Just a think layer to top dress though.

[@matterpedematterpede]

I'm doing this tomorrow. I need to roll the ground afterwards, otherwise the rain will wash the seed down the hill. (my lawn is on a slope) However I am very worried that the soil will stick to the roller because it is wet. What can I do?

[@NoviceGardener]

You may need to wait until it is dry before you do unless it will stick. If it's dry, you'll have no issues with it sticking as long as what you put dow is dry too. As long as the rains are not too heavy over the next week or so, it should be ok. It will only be a heavy rainfall that will cause a lot of move.

[@OG-dp1kx]

Would've been good to see the end result

[@traceylomax2156]

Question: how long do I wait before I can mow the lawn? I get the lawn mowed every two weeks. I was thinking of doing this after the mow

[@NoviceGardener]

You can keep to your usual routine. Maybe give it a week or two and then you can be back to it. Seed will germinate quite fast at the moment with the temps.

[@traceylomax2156]

@@NoviceGardener thank you

[@lawnking6312]

Great vid. Just a side note, it's not advisable to add compost to your lawn on a regular basis. A well screened top soil is more beneficial long term. 👍

[@christopherthomson1978]

why

[@NoviceGardener]

Compost breaks down over time. It’s great to use when you over seed because it will hold moisture so that the seed doesn’t dry out and the nutrients will seed up the growth. It shouldn’t be used too heavily for things like levelling because it will just break down.

[@peterdallman4550]

@@christopherthomson1978. The only time you don’t want to topdress with compost is the extreme heat of the summer or winter when the grass is dormant. I topdress twice a year. Spring (April-May) and and in mid September.

[@atifmanzoor63]

What was the seed you used and how did it turn out

[@NoviceGardener]

I used the A1 Lawn Premiership Pro grass seed mix. It's turned out really well. I've just uploaded a video with an update on how it looks now. It's night and day compared to how it was back in March!

[@grantbell9521]

Can you advise what products you use for weed killer / fertiliser as part of the scarify process please?

[@NoviceGardener]

I’ve not put any weed killer on my lawn this year, but anything that says ‘kills weeds, not grass’ on the bottle will do the job. And with regard to fertiliser, A1 Lawns do a cracking spring/summer mix to go on lawns. I’ve just posted a video today applying it. You’ll see the results that I’ve had with it on the front lawn, it’s been superb!

[@grantbell9521]

@@NoviceGardener awesome, only found your page the other week and it’s great fella

[@grantbell9521]

@@NoviceGardener also only found you as I bought the same aldi scarifier this week haha

[@NoviceGardener]

Ah, nice one! Hope it’s doing a good job 👍🏻

[@grantbell9521]

@@NoviceGardener still in the box debating if it’s too late into the summer but seen some stuff about watering a lot to salvage it

[@deedowney3242]

What is scarifying?

[@mountain958]

How many bag's of jack's magic for a. 40 x 40 foot lawn

[@NoviceGardener]

Depends on how heavily you want to top dress. But 5-7 bags should be plenty.

[@fuzexi]

It would have nice to see how much seed the seed spreader dumped on the lawn. I’m sowing by hand and don’t know how much seed to put down. I’m seeding from scratch and using peat-free compost, which I put on top of the seed so the birds don’t eat them. They ate the lot last time!

[@NoviceGardener]

I usually just eyeball how much is needed. As long as the needs are not on top of each other or blocking out all of the soil below, you're good! I've just uploaded a video of over seeding by hand, may be useful.

[@KatyNik]

Why peat free? @fuzexi doesn’t the peat keep the moisture in?

[@fuzexi]

@@KatyNik peat-free because using peat is really bad for the climate.

[@KatyNik]

@@fuzexi copy, right! Maybe coconut coir then?

[@fuzexi]

@@KatyNik actually I did sprinkle some of that down, but it was just because I had some dried coconut coir, and everything I grew in it died, so I mixed it into the compost/soil mix to bulk it out a bit. My strategy for keeping the ground moist is to water it once in the morning and once in the evening. The grass seems to be coming up fine now, apart from where the pigeons have been, so I just got some bamboo canes and attached long bits of polythene to them which flap around in the wind, and that seems to work. I also mixed in some wildflower seeds: yellow rattle (had to put that in the freezer for two weeks) birdsfoot trefoil ( had to soak that) and clover, daisies, buttercups, scarlet and blue pimpernel and a few others. Dandelions will come by themselves! I can see things are coming up but I don’t know what they are.

[@gavinhartley5454]

How much for the 50 litre bags of Jack's Magic?

[@NoviceGardener]

£6 per 50l bag because they were on offer, 2 for £12

[@forrestbear]

It looks like your lawn grades down toward your house instead of away. Might want to consider raising it up against your house so the rain washes away from your foundation.

[@NoviceGardener]

I thought about this when we moved in but there is a drainage pipe below which takes any excess water away.

[@rishikwatt483]

You mow like a girl vacuuming the living room.

[@mikeswain1945]

Would have liked to watch this but the camera was waving about so much that it hurt my eyes so I gave up. Sorry.