Infield Skin Topdressing Care

Caring for an infield that is graded properly and has a 1/2″ layer of topdressing on the surface can be fairly easy. Topdressing is like mulch; it is used to help manage the moisture in your infield. Infield topdressing should stay fairly loose. In general, all you will need to do is follow your normal dragging routine.

Periodically, you may want to spike the field to remove high spots and fill low spots. You shouldn’t need to spike deeper than 1/2″ to 1″ deep. We recommend the Beacon 2-n-1 Nail Drag Combo  or the X-Drag Hand Nail Drag. If topdressing piles up deep enough that a drag can’t grab the pile to spread it around, use a Beacon Infield Leveling Board to drag the material to areas of the field where the topdressing layer has thinned. Remember to keep lips clean and the infield skin level so surface water can run off freely.

Paul Zwaska (contributor)

A former head groundskeeper for the Baltimore Orioles, Paul has been a frequent contributor to Beacon’s Ballfield Blog and other resources and products. Among other contributions to Beacon, he authored Groundskeeper University, the pioneering online ballfield maintenance training venue.