Will Grass Spread To Bare Spots
It really depends on what grass type you have. You may be in luck if your lawn is comprised of either Kentucky Bluegrass, Bermuda Grass, Zoysia Grass, St. Augustine Grass or Creeping Red Fescue. These grasses have runners, or vine-like stolons above ground and stem-like rhizomes below ground, allowing them to expand sideways and gradually fill in any Bare Spots that may have taken residence in your lawn. Your chances of having an existing spreading grass are higher if you live in the south. Most grasses in the north are bunch-type grasses, which dont spread well. If you need help identifying which types of grasses you have in your lawn, let us know.
How To Repair Bare Spots In Lawns
Learning how to fix bare spots in lawn spaces is an essential part of lawn maintenance. The best method for grass spot repair is to overseed with new grass seed in the affected area. Overseeding, or planting new grass seed, allows for a healthy new start and can result in a virtually undetectable repair.
The best time to sow seeds for lawn patch repair depends on the type of grass you have. Youll want to match the type of grass seed to what is already growing. Cool season grasses do best when planted in late summer to early fall. Warm season grasses perform best when the seed is sown in spring or early summer.
If youre not sure what seed to use, give your local extension office a call. They can identify the perfect grass for your area and help figure out what types of grass will give you the quickest grass spot repair solution.
Rake Out Dead Grass With Leaf Rake
Use a plastic leaf rake and gently rake out any dead grass from the area you are repairing. This helps to expose more soil, which is needed for the grass seed to grow.
You do not want to rip out any of the existing, healthy grass, but should be able to get most of the dead grass raked out. Save the dead grass for later, as you will want to use some of it to cover your seed in a later step.
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How To Patch A Bare Spot In Your Lawn
A thick, luxurious lawn is like the crown to your castle. Its not always easy to maintain, but like anything else worth having, it requires work. Take these steps to repair those bald patches before they tarnish the look of your castles crown.
Step 1 – Determine the Cause
Sometimes this is easier said than done. Brown, dried up areas can be caused by any number of underlying issues: lawn grubs, fungi, pet urine, or foot traffic just to name a few. Identifying the cause is key since you dont want to undermine the work youre about to undertake. If excessive foot traffic is the cause, simply diverting to a clearly defined path through your garden should fix the problem, but if lawn grubs or grub worms are infesting your lawn, reseeding the bare spots wont be the end of it. By the time those spots grow in, you may find additional bare spots as those grubs continue to dine on the roots.
Pet urine concentrated in one spot can burn the lawn much like excessive fertilizer. Some experts suggest watering the area to dilute the concentration of urine. Restrict pets from relieving themselves at that location, otherwise your work will be all for naught.
Step 2 – Decide on Plan of Action
Step 3 – Remove Dead Turf
This is best done when the ground isnt too cold or wet. Too cold, seeds wont germinate. Too wet, it’s a big mess and rooting around in the muck can ruin the soil structure.
Step 4 – Add Compost and Spread Seed
Step 5 – Protect and Maintain
How To Repair Bare Spots
The cause, of course, determines the cure.
If the bare spots are dog spots, Churchill suggests flushing the area with water to move excess salt through the soil. Afterward, prepare the soil for repair by scratching it up, even adding in some new soil to make the area level with the rest of the lawn.
If the cause of the bare spot is disease or other growth issues, Churchill says to scruff up the straw or dust from the dead area, add new soil and mix into the existing soil. Then overseed the area and water in as you would with new grass seed. If the area is bigger, you may want to consider sprigging or sodding to fill the bare spots. Generally, reseeding the spots will do.
Once you repaired the bare spots, Churchill says you shouldnt need to change maintenance practices, other than spot-irrigating the areas that were reseeded, sprigged or sodded.
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What Causes Bare Spots In My Lawn
If you notice Bare Spots in your otherwise lush, green and healthy lawn, they could be the result of excessive foot traffic, poor soil conditions, pet urine, grub infestation, chemical spills, fungal disease, buried rocks, or a variety of other things. Several approaches exist to effectively patch these Bare Spots, however, it’s important to understand and address the underlying cause, so that this same problem doesn’t continue to manifest in your lawn. If you’re uncertain about the catalyst for your Bare Patches, give us a call or submit a question and we can offer some insight.;
How To Fix Bare Spots In Your Lawn With Ashton Ritchie
Scotts Lawn Expert Ashton Ritchie shows you how to fix bare spots in your lawn.
Even if youve got a great looking lawn, you may end up with a bare spot thanks to high traffic or a disease or insect problem. Scotts Lawn Expert Ashton Ritchie has this recommendation: Fill it in using the right Scotts® EZ Seed®;which contains high performance grass seed, premium continuous release lawn food, and super-absorbent mulchfor your grass type. When you wet the mulch, it expands, surrounding the grass seeds with moisture so they wont dry out and die.
Grass seed germinates when temperatures get between 60 and 80 degrees F. So, if you live in the North, spring and fall are the best times to plant. If you live in the South, however, spring and early summer are the best times to seed bare spots.
To to use Scotts® EZ Seed®, youll first want to clean up any overhanding foliage that might keep sunlight from reaching the grass seed. Then, remove any dead grass and break up the soil with a hand rake.
Sprinkle Scotts® EZ Seed®;so it covers the area, but bare ground is still visible. You want each seed to come in contact with the soil. Water thoroughly right after applying. Youll want to continue to water daily while the seeds are getting established, even twice a day if your area is experiencing hot and windy conditions. If the Scotts® EZ Seed®;begins to turn light brown, its time to water. Continue watering this way until the seedlings reach at least 2 inches tall.
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How To Fill In Bare Areas Of Your Lawn
Noone likes a patchy lawn. If you walk out to your front yard or backyard and see bald, weak, thin, or bare patches in the lawn, try not to lose your cool; you can definitely repair them with a little bit of TLC.
Seeding is a great way to freshen up your lawn and give it a minor makeover. But before you get started, it’s important to find out what caused the patchiness in the first place.
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How To Fix Bald Spots
After youve taken care of what caused your bald spots, you can make them green again. Laying down seed so you have new, fresh growth is easy, but there are some things you should consider when you put new seeds on your lawn.
- Determine if the bald spot has room for pieces;of sod or perhaps a tray or more of grass plugs will do. The trays come with 18 – 3 X 3 square cubes of grass plugs.
- No need to remove dead grass unless fitting in a whole piece of sod. Then you must dig down enough so that when the sod is put in place it will match the existing soil level.;Plus, this will prep underlying soil where root contact and establishment will be better served.
- If there is enough viable grass with not enough room for a whole piece of sod, then grass plugs are the way to go. Plant them with 6 spacing from center to center. No need to remove all dead debris first but the more soil on the surface that exposed only quickens time that plugs will grow in.;Also, be sure to loosen soil between plugs so that grass runners may spread and root quickly.
- Finally, make sure you have good water support from irrigation in a uniform pattern over the repaired area. Full sun areas should receive 1 of water peruse.;Just monitor new grass for wilting and water well until it becomes established enough to survive off of normal irrigation cycles.
What Causes Bald Spots
Thin or bare areas of a lawn can be a result of a number of lawn care issues, such as;
- Heavy foot traffic, resulting in soil compaction
- Debris and items covering lawns
- Misapplication of control products
It’s important to investigate what the underlying issue might be, and try to remedy it to avoid future bald patches. If you’re no detective, speak to a lawn care professional and they’ll look at things such as your soil condition and help you get to the bottom of it.
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Why Are There Bare Spots In My Grass
There are several possibilities, Churchill says, and chief among them are dogs, turf disease and human error.
If a dog is relieving itself on your lawn, that can create so-called dog spots, or dead patches of grass that turn into bare spots. And turf diseases such as patch diseases kill grass in circular shapes. Over-fertilizing in one spot, spilling gas while filling the mower and using a grill hot enough to toast the grass underneath are all typical ways you might accidentally cause bare spots yourself.
Generally, spots dont just show up without any reason, explains Churchill. A bare spot is a dead spot, and its a remnant of something else thats gone wrong; its almost like bare spots are scars.
How To Repair A Thin Lawn By Overseeding
If the turf has been damaged by pet urine, it will resemble a patch of straw in the center with a dark green ring around the outside. The urine acts much like a fertilizer burn. Ohio State University scientists recommend watering the area to dilute the concentration of urine. If you are able to keep pets off the lawn, the grass can be reseeded.
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Spring Lawn Care: Reseeding Tips To Fix Bare Spots Thin Grass Stands
Spring rain brings your lawn back to life.;With cooler temperatures;and plenty of moisture in the ground, the grass tends to grow faster, requiring frequent mowing.;
However, spring lawn is not always perfect. Patches of bare spots and thin grass stands are common this year due to a lack of snow cover to provide insulation to surface roots. ;To repair the damaged areas, consider the following reseeding options and best management practices:
Urine From Pets Or Wild Animals
Dogs, cats, and wild animals urinating on your lawn will usually leave a telltale brown, straw-like patch due to the high concentration of urea that burns the grass. But just around this dead spot, there may a ring of very dark green, unusually healthy grassthe result of a higher-than-normal;nitrogen level. If you catch an animal urinating, then you may be able to prevent the burn by watering the spot thoroughly immediately afterward.
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What To Do If Your Bare Spot Has Thatch Or Dead Grass Overtop
Will Grass Fill In Bare Spots On Its Own
Even the most beautiful lawn can be prone to bare spots. They can appear for a number of different reasons. For example, you might have wild animals hunting for grub worms at night, or maybe your grass is infected with a disease. It can be tricky to know what to do with these spots. Youre probably wondering if you need to take some action or will your grass fill in the bare spots on its own?
To understand whats going on in your lawn, you need to know what caused the problem first. Then you can work on finding it how to repair it.;
In short will grass fill in bare spots on its own?
It mainly depends on the type of grass you have in your yard since different grasses will respond in;their own way
Some will spread to fill in the bare spots, while others do not. If you have Kentucky bluegrass or Bermuda grass, these types of grass have runners. These are stolons that are like vines above the ground along with rhizomes under the ground that are similar to stems. They are able to make new grass that spreads to fill in the bare you are seeing.
There are a few other types of grass that have runners, including:
- Zoysia grass
- Red fescue
- St. Augustine
If you have other types of grass, you might need to fill in the bare spots yourself. Its important to know what kind of grass you have so that you can find out whether your grass will fill in or whether you need to repair it.
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Apply Your Grass Seed
Apply grass seed at the rate recommended on the grass seed bag label. Avoid applying too much seed as the seedlings can die out due to too much competition for water and nutrients. Use a high quality mixture of seed that is appropriate for the amount of sunlight in the area you are repairing. Look for improved varieties, or types of grass seed that is drought and/or disease resistant. For newer, full sun yards that were established from sod, use a pure Kentucky Bluegrass blend. For older sunny lawns, use a mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass. For shady lawn, use a shade mixture.
Adding Moisture & Fertiliser
Now comes the fun part add fertiliser and moisture. First, use a watering hose to wet the entire surface of the new planting bed. Make sure the water goes at least 8 deep into the ground beneath the grassy areas around the edge of the patch. Use enough water so that it runs off the surface of the moistened earth. Let sit for 15 minutes then repeat this process every few days for 4 weeks after planting. Afterward, apply a light sprinkling of fertilise once per month for several months afterward.
Depending on how long ago the bare spot was created and whether other vegetation grew back before you started applying fertiliser, the amount of time required may vary slightly. Some people prefer to wait 6 months between applications while others might only require one application. Whatever works best for you! Once finished, enjoy watching your beautiful garden grow!
Here at BMS Products, our goal is to help you create the perfect outdoor environment for you and your home. Whether youre looking for ways to keep mosquitoes away from you and your family, reduce unwanted pests like ants and termites, or simply beautify your home and yard, we offer solutions to fit your needs.;
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How To Prevent Bald Spots On Your Lawn
The best way to prevent bald spots in your lawn is to continuously care for it throughout the year. There are a few preventative measures you can take to help reduce the risk of disease and weeds spreading through your lawn. Continuous care includes mowing regularly, applying fertilizer, and watering. These are the best ways to prevent lawn diseases and weeds from taking over and promote healthy, green grass. Other ways to prevent bald spots are to:
- Ensure adequate, uniform irrigation coverage with the proper amount.
- Pull weeds up by their roots whenever you find them.
- Avoid having heavy foot traffic in certain areas of your lawn.
- Dont let pets urinate on your lawn.
- Fight off pests as soon as you think theyve come to live in your grass.
