Fine Top Dressing Sand for winter games pitches

Fine Top Dressing Sand is a washed and hydrosized Fine Top Dressing Sand, designed to STRI standards for winter games pitches. Top dressing is an essential part of the management of winter games pitches, and is especially important for slit-drained pitches (see slit drainage sand for more details).

Fine Top Dressing Chart: A typical Fine Top Dressing grain-size distribution and grading envelope.

We regularly sample our sands to check that grain size distribution meets specification.

Top dressing is done to retain the permeability of a pitch and hence to provide a firmer surface in wet weather. A firm surface improves player traction, retains grass cover and improves ball rebound. Over the course of a playing season, soil compaction reduces the permeability of the surface layer of the pitch. This is exacerbated by residues from broken down grass, and by fine mineral matter brought to the surface by wear and tear and earthworm activity. Top dressing dilutes this accumulated fine mineral and organic matter at the surface, and allows it to decompose aerobically to form a new structured soil horizon, and so maintains permeability. Fine Top Dressing Sand, on its own or mixed with compost, is also used to repair divots kicked out by the players.

To avoid any risk of smothering the sward, Fine Top Dressing Sand should ideally be applied in two increments of about 4kg/m2 each (25 tonnes per 6000m2 pitch) allowing adequate time for sward recovery after each application. Both the sand and the surface must be dry enough for the sand to fall freely to the base of the sward, leaving the leaf tips exposed to sunlight.

Our Fine Top Dressing Sand has a pH of approximately 8.0. Store in a dry area until needed.

Photograph Courtesy of Haverfordwest County Football Club

Available in one tonne bags (at 1000kg a fraction smaller than an imperial one ton bag, which would be 1016kg). Small 20kg samples are also available (please ring).