Question of the Week – Number Two: November 5, 2020

“Is it a good plan to add topsoil to the lawn every year? We only have a foot of soil before we hit solid rock. Our neighbors add soil, and their lawn looks better than ours.”

I don’t think you should ever add topsoil over all of your lawn. It would be fine under some circumstances, to fill small holes that make it difficult to mow, but not as a general broadcast treatment over the entire lawn. That kind of filling should be done with the same type of topsoil you have in the rest of your lawn and landscape, and it should be done in late April or May when the grass is growing most actively.

Whatever the differences in the appearance of your lawn and those of your neighbors, it isn’t due to their adding topsoil. Examine things like fertilizer, mowing heights, watering regimes, pest control, etc.