Products & Services
What is top dressing?
Top dressing is the process of spreading a compost mixture over the surface of your lawn. The material you add to the surface of the lawn will eventually become part of the root zone. As such, it’s important to choose a top dressing mix that will blend in with your soil over time. The secret to a healthy lawn is to treat your soil and restore the natural balance that makes the whole ecosystem thrive.
What is Comand®?
Comand is truly a one-of-a-kind, bio-engineered, yet completely natural organic compost, which can be utilized to replace peat in sand-based rootzone mixes for residential, commercial or athletic turf management. With its stabilized organic matter, excellent water holding capabilities, slow release nutrients, and vitally important microbiology, Comand will accelerate turf establishment and encourage consistent healthy growth.
Why use Comand®?
Comand is derived from a carefully controlled thermophilic decomposition process, which utilizes a proprietary inoculum to stabilize and mineralize organic materials, turning them into a superior humus product. To enhance the product further, a focus on eliciting disease suppression capabilities is further boosted through secondary inoculation with mesophilic microbiology known to suppress nematodes and root and crown rot diseases. University studies are showing enhanced growth rates and effective disease suppression, including 95% suppression of Sting nematodes when utilizing Comand in a rootzone mix.
Will Comand® level out my lawn?
The compost will be about 1/8-1/3 inch over the lawn. It may take heavier or regular applications of compost and aeration to level out an extremely bumpy lawn. Following the 1-2-3-2-1 watering technique will also help alleviate over or under watering the lawn that can create unevenness.
Will Comand® work with my grass?
Yes. Comand will work with any type of grass, or garden.
What if my lawn has lots of bare spots? Will Comand® help grow new grass?
Yes. Comand helps restore soil health by encouraging new growth of thicker grass, which provides a healthier turf. For extremely bare areas multiple applications may be required to fully restore turf. Comand Compost improves soil health but does not guarantee recovery of large bare areas due to compacted ground, roots, significant slopes, harmful bugs, too much shade, etc. without proper additional services to fix above issues.
Does Comand® contain weed control?
No. However healthy lawns reduce weeds.
Is Comand® a replacement for my regular fertilizer?
No. Our service does not function as a replacement for your normal fertilizing plan.
Will Comand® break down thatch?
Thatch is a layer of dead and living turfgrass that develops between your lawn and the topsoil. It is a common development in Florida due to excessive watering and inconsistent or poor landscaping practices. Thatch creates a potentially toxic environment for your lawn. Comand is the perfect solution for thatch reduction because Comand contains microbes that decompose organic matter. Applying Comand will break thatch down into soil-improving material such as plant food, humus, and organic acids.
How long will it take to see results?
In most cases you will see results as quickly as a couple of weeks.
Best Practices
Should I mow my lawn before applying Comand®?
Yes. For optimal results we highly recommend leaf and debris cleanup prior to scheduled service. Please mow before our service as mowing is discouraged for two weeks after installation, but not required.
Should I mow my lawn after applying Comand®?
For best results, try to wait at least two weeks after applying Comand to mow. Mowed grass is stressed grass, and less able to absorb the nutrients from the compost mixture. Waiting to mow allows time for your lawn to pull all of the nutrients in and grow back better! After the two weeks are up, we encourage bag-less mowing to avoid sucking up the new compost.
Do I still need to water my lawn while using Comand®?
Yes. Compost should be watered-in after application and watered daily for 2-3 days. After materials have been watered down beneath the canopy and over the roots watering can be adjusted back to normal or less. Comand holds 6x the amount of moisture as typical soils so over watering is discouraged. Aranda Lawn & Garden is not responsible for your over or under watering of your turf. Monitor your grass daily for signs of drought or yellowing blades due to overwatering and adjust the times and days as necessary.
What time of year should I apply Comand®?
Use any time of the year in any type of soil. Recommended for use in the spring and the fall. If the compost is put down over the summer months, it is important to water the lawn shortly after the compost is put down to avoid any drought stress. If compost is put down in the spring or fall, it can be paired with aeration to work the compost down into the soil more quickly, but aeration is not critical.
How often should I apply Comand® to my turf?
Top dress your lawn annually with Comand to maintain good levels of organic matter and beneficial microbe populations. Comand holds 6x its weight in water, holding it in the rootzone and slowly releasing it to your lawn. Comand also improves the soil’s ability to hold nutrients, greatly reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers. You will still need to apply fertilizer, just not as much or as frequently.
Are there any best practices that I should utilize to get the most out of applying Comand®?
The health of your turf will depend on proper lawn heath practices. Please be sure to invest in an irrigation system if you do not currently have one. In addition you will still need to do your regular lawn maintenance tasks such as applying pest control and fertilizer.
Limitations and Information about our Top Dressing Spreader
The mechanical compost spreader will only fit into gates that are 36” or larger. If you have a gate that is smaller than this, we will not be able to apply the compost to the area inside the fenced area with the spreader. The compost spreader spreads at a 36” wide path. If there is a stretch of lawn that is narrower than 36” wide, we will not be able to spread compost on those types of areas. Edges along structures, fences, and between close objects corners will NOT get topped with compost. The spreader will tip over on steep hills so we will not be able to spread compost on steep hills (slopes are ok). The compost spreader cannot go up or down steps or stairs. If the only access to part of your yard is down steps or stairs, we will not be able to do those areas with the spreader, and manual installation may be necessary.
Product Safety & Ingredients
How is Comand® made?
Aranda Lawn & Garden is proud to be a partner with Life Soils. They produce a microbial inoculant, which accelerates the compost process while producing a finely screened compost (⅛”) that is unique, microbially enhanced, stable, and mature.
Are Comand® products safe for my kids and pets?
Comand is naturally produced from organic material, so it contains no harmful artificial chemicals. After your lawn is treated with Comand feel free to Keep ON the Grass!
When can I allow my kids and pets on my grass after fertilizer application?
Comand is both people and pet safe, which means you can enjoy your lawn immediately after application.
Are Comand® products bee and pollinator safe?
Comand is 100% pollinator friendly. Comand assists in creating healthy soil and healthy gardens. Healthy soil means healty flowers for the bees.
Terms & Conditions
Scheduling
Once approved & down payment received, your project will be scheduled. The project will take approximately a half day to 1 business day in most cases. Please be advised that crew will be on and off of property, at unspecified times, during the working day.
Delays
There are times where unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather, or product availability arise, causing delays in our time frames. Severe weather conditions, such as thunderstorms, may cause the delay of the pre-discussed start/finish date. Aranda Lawn & Garden shall not be held responsible for any delays caused by weather which make project execution impossible.
Rescheduling
Please give us at least 48 hours notice to reschedule. We ask for 48 hours because we need to make many adjustments to our routes and employee schedules in order to provide the best service to all of our customers. We can usually accommodate your rescheduling request without any issues, and by giving us plenty of notice we can work with you in case there are any scheduling conflicts.
Cancellation & Refund Policy
Deposits cannot be refunded, however we are happy to reschedule.