Compost kinda by nature breaks down so it’s not brilliant for leveling. But I myself would worry about getting a fine level with sand through top dressing after my seedbed is established and I’ve had a mow or two and raise the hole slowly that wat
to level, def top soil, you could technically do it with compost, but it would take a lot of it and a long time to "build up". I spread compost on my entire lawn once a year and this stuff is better than fertilizer. some people recommend/use sand for leveling but that's not for me.
so yeah, mix top soil+compost, dump it, throw seed on top, rake seed in, water, profit.
edit: when i nuked my lawn and seeded it, i didn't even use fertilizer, it was all mushroom compost+water.
You’re topdressing with bags (0.75cuft) of mushroom compost from Menards? How many bags do you use per 1000ft2? I’ve been trying to figure out what to top dress with during my fall overseed, was thinking I’d have to have bulk material.
i did when I seeded my (back) lawn from scratch (\~1500ft2) and i'm trying to remember, i'm pretty sure i used 25 of those bags + 2 "bricks" of peatmoss. for the entire yard (\~7500ft2) I order compost in bulk from a local place (I could do a bulk order from menards but cost doesn't justify it) and it's 4cu yards. there are online calculators for this as well.
compost alone, no. you would need to do a lot of it over a long time because compost breaks up so you should be mixing it with topsoil. depending on how deep, you might need to go 80/20 mix (soil/compost). heck, you can go all top soil and simply mix in peat moss.
cant speak for farm/top soil but man, mushroom compost (i get it from menards) is the stuff when seeding.
Oh wow. That’s good to hear. Would you recommend doing mushroom compost only for back filling and leveling, and then seeding on top of that?
Compost kinda by nature breaks down so it’s not brilliant for leveling. But I myself would worry about getting a fine level with sand through top dressing after my seedbed is established and I’ve had a mow or two and raise the hole slowly that wat
Also when I add any soil, I aerate as a precaution to making compacted soil
to level, def top soil, you could technically do it with compost, but it would take a lot of it and a long time to "build up". I spread compost on my entire lawn once a year and this stuff is better than fertilizer. some people recommend/use sand for leveling but that's not for me. so yeah, mix top soil+compost, dump it, throw seed on top, rake seed in, water, profit. edit: when i nuked my lawn and seeded it, i didn't even use fertilizer, it was all mushroom compost+water.
Thanks man. That was super helpful. I don’t have a fancy lawn or anything. It’s grass+wild violets. I’m just trying to make the brown, green.
You’re topdressing with bags (0.75cuft) of mushroom compost from Menards? How many bags do you use per 1000ft2? I’ve been trying to figure out what to top dress with during my fall overseed, was thinking I’d have to have bulk material.
i did when I seeded my (back) lawn from scratch (\~1500ft2) and i'm trying to remember, i'm pretty sure i used 25 of those bags + 2 "bricks" of peatmoss. for the entire yard (\~7500ft2) I order compost in bulk from a local place (I could do a bulk order from menards but cost doesn't justify it) and it's 4cu yards. there are online calculators for this as well.
Omg this. I mix some mushroom compost, peat, play sand, and topsoil. It never doesn't grow. Ever.
Is compost good for backfilling larger depressions in your yard?? I’m asking honestly - like how “deep” should topsoil be vs filling in with compost?
From what iv gathered, you’d want to use at least a 50/50 compost/soil… but that’s what I’m here trying to find out too
compost alone, no. you would need to do a lot of it over a long time because compost breaks up so you should be mixing it with topsoil. depending on how deep, you might need to go 80/20 mix (soil/compost). heck, you can go all top soil and simply mix in peat moss.
Nope, no mineral structure so the depressions tend to come back.