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Topdressing, not potting compost

Lawn soil and topdressing, compared

Lawn soil is not potting compost with a different label, and the distinction is the whole reason this family exists. A topdressing is a sandy, low-nutrient mixture spread thinly over an established lawn to level small hollows, work into aeration holes and improve the surface drainage; a seeding soil is finer and slightly richer, spread to give new seed something to root into. Potting compost does neither — it holds too much water, settles, and smothers the grass it is spread on. The corpus mixes all three, plus bags of plain sand sold for the same job, so the use column is the first thing to read. The volume in litres is how these are sold, 30 to 90 litres a bag, and the weight is worth reading beside it: a 40-litre bag of sandy topdressing weighs far more than a 40-litre bag of compost, which matters both for carrying it and for what it is made of. The composition is where the useful information is — proportion of sand, presence of compost or bark, and whether a starter fertiliser is already mixed in, which several of these advertise. The peat column is there because peat-free is now a claim makers publish prominently and because a peat-based mix behaves differently when it dries out: it repels water and has to be rewetted slowly. The pH is published by a minority and is the figure that connects this shelf to the soil testers next to it. We compare volume, weight, composition, use, peat and pH.

Every part here, laid out figure by figure

  1. 25 kg sack of washed quartz lawn sand

    kör4u K21640

    Coarse washed quartz at a published grade — the one specification that separates lawn sand from builder’s sand.

    Volume
    Not published — sold by weight
    Weight
    25 kg
    Composition
    0.4 to 1.4 mm washed quartz sand; multiply washed, screened, fire-dried, low-dust
    Use
    Lawn sand — a top dressing for drainage, not a soil · rate: Not published
    Peat
    None — washed quartz sand
    pH
    pH-neutral, stated
    Amazon reference
    B0H7BQTJ65 (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)
    EAN
    4255779701238
    • A published grain size, which is the only thing that makes a sand suitable for a lawn
    • Washed and screened, so it carries no silt or clay to seal the surface
    • No application rate published — one product on this shelf gives 250 g/m² and the other sands give none

    Best for: Top dressing a heavy or compacted lawn, straight after aerating or scarifying

    Check price on Amazon
  2. 45 litre bag of lawn substrate

    Plantop 132

    Forty-five litres of lawn substrate whose entire published description is three words and an exclamation mark.

    Volume
    45 litres
    Weight
    Not published
    Composition
    Not published
    Use
    Lawn substrate — a soil, not a sand · rate: Not published
    Peat
    Not published
    pH
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B00UTES2N4 (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)
    EAN
    4027892120506
    • 45 litres in one bag, the largest single-bag volume here
    • About 0.37 € per litre — the cheapest litre of substrate on this shelf
    • One published feature line, and it is the brand name with an exclamation mark

    Best for: Somebody re-ordering a substrate they have already used and know

    Check price on Amazon
  3. 42 litre bag of lawn soil with starter fertiliser and sand

    GREEN HOME LOVE NATURE ER10045

    The only substrate here that publishes its pH, its four ingredients and its starter fertiliser analysis.

    Volume
    42 litres
    Weight
    Not published
    Composition
    White peat, perlite, Orgapor and substrate wood fibre, plus added sand
    Use
    Lawn substrate, ready to use, fine-crumbed · rate: Not published
    Peat
    Contains white peat, named as an ingredient
    pH
    6.0
    Amazon reference
    B0GK2PKN1H (one reference across 2 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4251706710236
    • The only pH and the only nutrient analysis published on this shelf
    • Names all four of its structural components, which no other substrate here does
    • Contains white peat, where one substrate on this shelf is declared peat-free

    Best for: Sowing or repairing a lawn where you want to know what the seed is going into

    Check price on Amazon
  4. 25 kg sack of fire-dried quartz lawn sand

    Höfer Chemie VERDURMAX

    Fire-dried quartz at a stated 97 per cent purity — and a listing that rules out golf courses.

    Volume
    Not published — sold by weight
    Weight
    25 kg
    Composition
    0.3 to 1.5 mm, about 97 % quartz, fire-dried
    Use
    Lawn sand — a top dressing for drainage, not a soil · rate: Not published
    Peat
    None — quartz sand
    pH
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B0GFX916GK (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4250463130011
    • The only quartz purity figure on this shelf, at about 97 %
    • A published grade, which is the specification that matters on a lawn sand
    • A wider grade than the other quartz sand here, with a finer bottom end at 0.3 mm

    Best for: Top dressing a compacted clay lawn after aerating, on a domestic or sports surface

    Check price on Amazon
  5. 25 kg sack of diabase rock powder for lawns

    Petigi RasenHerz

    Sold as lawn sand and it is not one — a crushed volcanic rock powder, and the only product here with a rate.

    Volume
    Not published — sold by weight
    Weight
    25 kg
    Composition
    Diabase, 100 % natural with no additives; form stated as powder
    Use
    Mineral soil amendment — crushed diabase rock, supplied as a powder · rate: 250 g/m² — 25 kg for 100 m². The only published rate on this shelf.
    Peat
    None — crushed diabase rock
    pH
    Not published; stated to stabilise soil pH
    Amazon reference
    B0GV762TLC (one reference across 3 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4059419188188
    • The only application rate published on this shelf — 250 g/m²
    • Names six of its mineral constituents, which no other product here does
    • Sold as "lawn sand" and supplied as a powder, which is the opposite of a drainage grade

    Best for: Adding minerals and trace elements to a tired lawn — not for drainage

    Check price on Amazon
  6. Two 40 litre sacks of lawn soil

    Plantaflor Plus 2000714

    Eighty litres in two sacks, with two published feature lines — and both of them are the brand name.

    Volume
    80 litres, as 2 × 40 L
    Weight
    Not published
    Composition
    Not published
    Use
    Lawn substrate for new lawns and repairs, from the title · rate: Not published
    Peat
    Not published
    pH
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B08HZ48B6B (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)
    EAN
    4005182000714
    • 80 litres for the price, which is the second cheapest litre of substrate here
    • Two 40 litre sacks rather than one large bag, which is easier to carry
    • Two published feature lines, both of which are the brand name

    Best for: Somebody re-ordering a substrate they already know

    Check price on Amazon
  7. Three 30 litre bags of peat-free lawn soil

    turbogrün ERDE 90 l

    The only peat-free substrate on this shelf — 90 litres in three bags, with quartz sand and a starter feed.

    Volume
    90 litres, as 3 × 30 L
    Weight
    Not published
    Composition
    100 % peat-free, from natural biological ingredients; fine quartz sand added for drainage
    Use
    Lawn substrate, peat-free, with a starter fertiliser · rate: Not published
    Peat
    100 % peat-free, stated
    pH
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B0BWYRSSG1 (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)
    EAN
    4260721110549
    • The only peat-free declaration on this shelf
    • 90 litres, the largest quantity here, in three manageable 30 litre bags
    • About 0.63 € per litre — over half again the cheapest substrate here

    Best for: A large repair or overseeding job where peat-free matters and volume is needed

    Check price on Amazon

The live figure beside a product went and asked the shop for it the moment this page opened; any amount written into the text has not moved since the sentence was drafted, and it is the first of the two that counts.