What Type of Sand for Lawns: Know Why and Where with 5 Types
Decorating, leveling, and dressing up the lawns can give your house, office, or firm an elegant aesthetic look. But before that, you need to know what type of sand for lawns would be appropriate to get a stunning lawn.
There are sands of different categories available in the market, each with its own specific use. However, there are plenty of tasks that you might have been thinking of doing for an elegant lawn for your personal space. It can be gardening, top dressing, leveling, and so on.
Typically, any sand can be used for those works. But not all of them will serve you in a similar way. Sohere, we will discuss the best solution.
Table of Contents
What Type of Sand for Lawns You Should Use
In this part, we will give you a short brief on what type of sand is best for lawns to serve which specific purpose.
We have 5 different types of sands, which are the sharp sand, silver sand, river sand, mason sand, and play sand. Have a thorough read.
| Types of Sands | Benefits They Can Serve |
| Sharp sand | Garden all-rounder; Ideal for screeds, renders, concrete, laying slabs, block paving |
| Silver sand | Gardener’s fab; Ideal top dresser and composter |
| River sand | Best for top dressing |
| Mason sand | All-purpose sand; Good for lawn leveling |
| Play sand | Available at any home center; Best for leveling |
We have elaborated each of the criteria of sands as per their use. The table shows each sand with a short brief to their benefits, in other words, their applicability to gardening, top dressing, leveling, and so on. Let’s walk ahead for more details.
Sand for Lawn Leveling
While the question is what type of sand to use for lawn leveling, we have two options in the table above. As you can see,
- Mason sand
- Play sand
Both of the sands are considered as a good component for lawn leveling. Do you know why?
In reality, any sand can be used for lawn leveling. But the reason why mason sand for lawn leveling is recommended again and again is that its fineness to easily get into the top soil instead of sitting on the top of the grass.
On the other hand, the play soil is the most available one that you can easily get in the nearest home center. It can serve the best while aiming for a minor leveling and sometimes works as a good top-dressing element.
Sharp Sand for Lawns
Well, the sharp sand has a good rating as good gardening sand. But Is sharp sand good for lawns?
The sharp sand is a washed and lime-free coarse sand that improves drainage in seeds while potting compost. It has a better horticultural grade and is called an all-rounder garden sand.
Besides, we said that it could improve the soil’s overall drainage because it can be sprinkled and forked into peat and compost for root cutting and propagating cutting.
Silver Sand for Lawns
The silver sand is another lime-free horticultural grade sand for gardening. This type of sand has primarily consisted of anti-iron oxide quartz particles that provide a well growing medium.
The silver sand helps improve the aeration and works as an ideal top dresser. However, just like the sharp sand, it can also be mixed with peat to make compost for cutting.
What Type of Sand is Used for Top Dressing?
The top dressing of lawns is really necessary for several reasons,
The best top dressing for lawns is the river sand. Occasionally your lawn may require a slight correction to the desired level. In most cases, river sand (which is natural coarse sand) is used to fill up the lack. Also, you can use silver sand.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What kind of sand should I use on my lawn?
You have a few options! For leveling, use the mason or play sand and for top dressing, use the silver and river sand. If you are looking for a multipurpose sand, go for the sharp sand.
What’s the best sand for top dressing lawn?
The river sand can be the best topdressing sand. Also, you can use silver sand as well.
Can I use sharp sand to level my lawn?
In reality, any sand can be used for leveling. So if you want, you can apply the sharp sand to it. But the mason and play sand will be the best options when play sand is way available for you than any other type.
Can you put topsoil over the sand to grow grass?
If you want, you can create a thin layer over the sand leveling. The use of a thick soil layer over the sand dressing may violet the purpose of leveling.
When should lawn sand be used?
The best time to use lawn sand is the four to five weeks of last spring and throughout the summer.
Conclusion
If you have come reading this far, then you already know what type of sand for lawns would be appropriate. But at this point, you need to determine which task you want to do first, as each needs a specific period to settle down after surface preparation.
Also, taking the tasks one by one would be cost-effective as well. Whatever your purpose is make sure to use the sand evenly on the lawn, maintaining a proper amount.
