Sanding a lawn – an insider tip for a lush green colour
Lawn sand helps to loosen compacted or loamy soil. We show you how and why to sand your lawn.
26.07.2024
Green, greener, greenest: why you should sand your lawn
The idea of scattering sand on your lawn may seem a little odd initially, but believe us: it is a specialist tip that will result in a perfect green lawn. Have you ever wondered why the grass on golf courses or in football stadiums looks so great? Of course, it takes more than just working in some lawn sand, but adding sand to the lawn is an effective addition to your lawn care.
Excessive moisture can cause rotting and promote the growth of moss and weeds. That’s why it’s advisable to sand your lawn regularly, especially if you have very dense or loamy soil. It can also be worthwhile for playing fields, whose soil becomes heavily compacted through intensive use. The grain size of the sand facilitates a loose soil structure and so protects against waterlogging of the soil.
Lawn sand is an effective means of preventing lawn disorders because it enables better water permeability and improved soil aeration; both of which are important to ensure that the lawn can source sufficient nutrients from the soil. Acidic soils also block the absorption of nutrients. A pH test will tell you whether your soil is excessively acidic – if it is, we recommend liming your soil.
H2 When should I sand my lawn?
You can tell from the condition of your lawn whether it needs to be sanded. Do you struggle with lawn thatch, weeds or moss despite fertilising your lawn sufficiently? This could be a sign of very loamy soil or a lawn that is subjected to intensive use. Brown or bare patches in your green grass also indicate dense soil and can be countered using lawn sand. Lawn sanding is also a proven means of addressing unevenness in the lawn – read more about how you can repair a damaged lawn in our handy guide.
But when is the best time to sand your lawn? You should avoid sanding your lawn in the summer months because you do not want to further stress your grass in the heat. Lawn care in summer brings its own challenges and demands. Conditions are ideal in spring, but you can also sand your lawn in autumn.
Sanding a lawn in spring
Spring is the best time to sand the lawn. Once it has weathered the frosty winter months, the grass begins to recover. Now it has already grown a few centimetres and is ready for the lawn care schedule to restart. While March is early, because temperatures may still drop again, April and May are ideal for sanding your lawn
Sanding a lawn in autumn
If necessary you can repeat the process in autumn, but it is generally sufficient to treat the lawn once a year. Spring is more suitable if you are sanding your lawn for the first time. Otherwise, there is no reason not to sand your lawn in autumn. However, you should be sure that there is no more hot weather to come.
Preparation: Fertilising, mowing, scarifying
Before you begin scattering sand on your lawn, there are a number of preparatory measures you need to take. First you should fertilise your lawn. Around two weeks after that, mow your lawn to a height of around 3 centimetres. You should then scarify your lawn.
Do I have to scarify my lawn before sanding it?
We recommend that you do not sand your lawn without scarifying it first. This process loosens the turf layer and lightly scratches the soil so that it is ready for treatment with lawn sand. Spring is the best time to complete this process, when you can awaken your lawn from its winter sleep and prepare it for the summer ahead. As scarifying your lawn is quite an intensive process, we recommend that you do not do it more than twice a year.
The perfect lawn with our helpers
Do I need to aerate my lawn?
While a scarifier vertically scratches and loosens through turf to the soil, aeration involves making small holes in the soil using a special device or garden fork. If your soil is very dense in places, and you have brown or wet patches in the lawn, it may be useful to additionally aerate these areas.
STIHL tip: If you wish to aerate particularly dense areas, you do not need to do so directly after scarifying. Instead, drive a garden fork into the soil after sanding and rock it back and forth a little. This will ensure that the sand makes its way into the holes more easily.
Applying lawn sand: instructions
Once you have fertilised, mown and scarified your lawn, you can work the sand into the grass. You do not need any special tools to do this; although you can use a spreader, it is not necessary.
You can simply tip the dry lawn sand into small piles on the lawn using a wheelbarrow or bucket, then distribute it with the back of a rake and use a stiff broom to gently work it in.
If necessary, now is the time to aerate any particularly dense areas by using a garden fork to make small holes in the ground. After sanding, you should water the lawn to help the sand sink into the soil.
The effect of sanding your lawn will not be visible immediately – especially if this is the first time you are doing it. However if you sand regularly alongside other lawn care activities, your lawn should look lusher in around three years.
What type of sand can be used to sand a lawn?
When it comes to lawn sand, the grain size is decisive. You will often read that a grain size of 0 to 2 millimetres is recommended. However, we recommend a grain size of at least 0.3 millimetres, such as that of the lawn sand available from specialised retailers. The sand should also be washed and should not contain any silt, pieces of clay or organic components. The ideal choice is lime-free silica sand, which is available washed and in the correct grain size from specialist retailers.
Although normal play sand can be used, you should ensure that it is washed and not too fine-grained: the reason for sanding your lawn is to loosen the soil, so coarser grains need to be worked into the compacted soil. Construction sand can also be used for lawn sanding if it meets the conditions specified above.
How much sand will I need for my lawn?
As a guideline, you will need between 4 and 10 kg per square metre depending on the soil type. If you buy special lawn sand from a specialised retailer, the number of square metres the sand will cover is generally indicated on the packaging. This type of sand is usually silica sand.
It is important to ensure that you do not entirely bury your grass under the sand, even if you have very loamy soil. Once you have mown your lawn to a height of around 3 centimetres, you should distribute sand on the lawn to a depth of no more than 2 centimetres. The blades of grass should still be peeking out and should not be completely covered.
Is top dressing necessary?
Top dressing is a mixture of silica sand, lawn seed, organic materials such as compost or turf and lawn fertiliser. Top dressing is widely used on golf courses, but it is generally not necessary in home gardens. If you notice bare patches in your lawn after scarifying, you can sow some grass seed in the affected areas. However, we recommend that you do not sand and reseed the lawn at the same time; instead, you should wait one to two weeks after sowing to sand the lawn, in order to protect the freshly-scattered seed from drying out.
Overview: Sanding a lawn
Lawn sand loosens the soil, ensuring better water permeability and improved soil aeration.
Moss, lawn thatch and weeds may be indicators that your soil is too dense.
To prepare, you should first fertilise the lawn and then wait about 2 weeks.
Mow the lawn to a height of approximately 3 centimetres.
For an effective result, we recommend scarifying your lawn before sanding it.
Scatter or tip the sand onto the lawn and use the back of a rake to distribute it.
Then water your lawn so that the sand will sink into the soil.
We recommended sanding the lawn in spring, when you are starting on lawn care again after the winter break. Ideally, you should sand the lawn in April or May.
Lawn sand helps to loosen very dense or loamy soil. This leads to better water permeability and improved soil aeration which ensure your lawn is provided with sufficient nutrients.
For loamy soils and heavily used lawns, you should sand your lawn once a year. We recommend doing this after winter as part of your regular spring lawn care. For areas that are used less intensively, sanding the lawn every two to three years is generally sufficient.
Depending on the type of soil, you will need between 4 and 10 kilograms per square metreto sand a lawn. The exact quantity will depend on the sand and the soil. However, you should ensure that the tips of the blades of grass remain clearly visible after application.
Lawn sand should be washed and have a grain size of at least 0.3 and at most 2 millimetres. Though play sand or construction sand that meets these conditions can be used, silica sand is ideal because it is washed and can be purchased from specialised retailers in the correct grain size.
