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.
What Happens If I Put Down Too Much Grass Seed
All plants, including grass plants, need adequate soil space for roots to spread and develop. If you put down too much grass seed, you will encourage competition that will cause your grass seedlings to struggle after germination because there will be excessive competition for sunlight, soil nutrients, and water.
My Lawn Has Bare Or Very Thin Patches In Random Areas With Grass That Can Be Easily Pulled From The Soil
If youve eliminated too much shade and insufficient watering or feeding as probable causes, its likely that your lawn has grubs, beetles or worms. Bring a small soil sample to your local lawn experts for proper pest identification and treatment. You can also use a grub and insect control product that doesnt harm earthworms to rid your lawn of pests and parasites.
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How To Repair Your Lawn To Fix Bare Patches
by Jamie Donovan | Mar 13, 2021 | Yard Tips
A thick, gorgeous lawn doesnt happen by itself.
When you have foot traffic from people and pets, wear and tear can take its toll on your grass and make your lawn look patchy. The next thing you know, weeds will start growing on these patches. What youll be left with is an unsightly lawn you wont get to enjoy.
What to do now? Kick your worries to the kerb because were giving you our best lawn repair tips on how to fix bare patches like a pro.
How To Repair A Bare Patch Of Lawn
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Bare patches can be a nuisance and usually let the garden down. But there are certain tricks that can be useful in these circumstances. From shade to compaction, there is a solution for most bare patches. This article provides some suggestions for repairing a bare patch of lawn.
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How Do I Fix Bare Spots In My Lawn
My services do not repair bare spots. I do offer a general over-seeding in mid-August through early-September, but it is not designed to repair bare spots because bare soil requires more of a long-term effort to be successful. Many of the lawn mowing / landscaping companies do this type of work on the side for a reasonable price. To fix a bare spot, you will need to:
How Do You Revive A Bare Lawn
Use a rake to remove dead grass and roughen the soil, then apply new seed with a drop or rotary spreader. Be sure to press the seed into the dirt with either a lawn roller or gentle, evenly spaced footsteps. Also, try to keep the area moist, and fertilize it with a high-phosphorus seed-starting fertilizer.
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What Causes Bare Spots
Hard or compacted soil can make it difficult for grass seed to grow because the roots are unable to access the air and soil nutrients they need to grow. Shade from trees, buildings, and other objects can cause thin grass growth, straggly grass, and bare patches. There may be dead spots in the lawn because those areas are not getting enough sunlight. Fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and some insect repellants can cause brown spots if spilled. If not applied properly, these products could burn the grass. Lawn diseases and insects like soil surface-feeding chinch bugs and sub-soil feeding white grubs can cause thin, patchy grass. The family dog can also be a culprit for some of the brown spots that appear in our lawns.
What Causes Brown Patch
What type of grass is most susceptible to brown patch? Brown Patch lawn disease is a common and widespread problem caused by Rhizoctonia solani fungus. The disease can infect a variety of common turfgrasses, but the most susceptible grass species include perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and the bentgrasses.
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How To Repair A Lawn With Seed
If your lawn seems thin all over, try overseeding it. The basics are the same as patching.
Patching Your Lawn05:58
What To Do If Your Bare Spot Has Thatch Or Dead Grass Overtop
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How To Repair Bald Spots In Your Lawn
Learn how to fix bald spots in your lawn by repairing with seed or patching with sod.
Does your lawn have bald spots that need repair? We can help you with some easy steps for patching or seeding those problem areas and getting the lush lawn you’re after.
Shutterstock/Dean Clarke
Before turf can be treated, you need to determine the cause of the problem. If you eliminate fungi, bugs, grubs or other pests as causes, you may just need some seeds.
Once the ground temperature warms to about 52 degrees Fahrenheit, seeds will grow. Good seed-to-soil contact will get the seeds germinating fast.
Kick Back & Enjoy The Results
Repairing bare spots in your lawn is a quick and easy project that reaps many rewards. Its the perfect weekend task that you can finish in no time, so you can get back out in the hammock and enjoy the results! Dont forget to improve the lushness and color of your whole lawn with regular feeding and proper maintenance.
For more on bare spot lawn repair, check out this helpful video from Scotts Lawn:
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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.
Three Measure And Install The Sod
Now that you have both sod and soil ready to go, its time to cut the sod to fit. Lay the sod on the bare spot making sure the sod makes good contact with the soil bed. Now using a garden knife or a sharp shovel, remove the excess surface area of sod.
Each bare spot should be covered with a patch of sod that is slightly larger than the bare area. A couple of inches of the sod patch should extend over onto your healthy, established grass.
In lawns with loads of small bare spots, one roll of sod can be cut multiple times and used in several areas.
However, if the spot is larger than a patch of sod, simply add another roll until the area is completely covered with that extra couple inches all around.
Clear away the mess of trimmed and extra sod, and walk on the new grass a bit to ensure good, solid contact with soil. Be aware that you should avoid mowing until the grass has become established and grown to mowing height.
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Plant At The Right Time Of Year
The goal is to get the roots established before environmental conditions become too harsh for the baby grass to survive. The best time to repair bare patches is when the grass is actively growing, says Waltz. That depends on where you live. Warm season grasses grow during the warm times of year, which is about May to mid-September. Cool season grasses grow during the cooler times of year until the soil freezes, which is roughly December to February. If youre not sure what you have, talk to your local university coop extension service. Both seed and sod are good options for patching.
Guide On How To Repair Bare Patches
Bare spots in lawns can be as a result of many different factors, including lawn insect pests, diseases, drought and wear and tear from kids and pets. In addition to ruining the look of the lawn, weeds are opportunistic and will quickly invade bare patches in the lawn if you dont repair them.
Summer is a great time for repairing bare patches with lawn seed, as new grass seedlings can establish quickly with regular watering.
To prepare the bare patch for repair:
- Remove any dead grass or weeds and gently cultivate and loosen the soil to create a nice soft and crumbly surface for the seeds to grow in.
- Scatter Yates Lawn Seed Repair over the patch and gently rake into the surface.
- Yates Lawn Seed Repaircontains a premium blend of turf seeds that are ideal for patch repair in both sun or shaded lawns, creating a rich green, fine textured grass cover. Yates Lawn Seed Repair also contains slow release fertiliser that will feed the new patch as it establishes and a natural wetting agent to promote better water absorption into the soil and aid seed germination.
- Its very important to water the patch regularly while the new grass establishes. Watering the patch several times a day may be required in hot, windy or dry weather.
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Apply Fresh Black Top Soil
Get some good, fresh black top soil and fill in the area where you raked out the dead grass. Use a high quality soil that is high in organic matter. Avoid the cheap bags of fill dirt as they usually include rocks, sand, and debris.
Once you have it applied, brush it back and forth with your hand to allow it to work itself down into the existing grass.
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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A Lush Lawn Can Still Be Prone To Bare Spots We Take A Look At The Causes How To Repair Them And Cover The Bare Spots
You finally have your lawn just how you want it green and lush and thriving. Then, all of a sudden, a bare spot appears. What to do? To find out why bare spots occur, and how to fix them to return your lawn to its splendor, we checked in with Joe Churchill, senior turf specialist with Reinders, Inc. to share his insights and tips.
What Causes Small Dead Spots In Lawn
Some common causes of brown spots include: Dull Mower: Dull mower blades tear your grass, causing damage and gradual death to the grass. Remedy: Sharpen your blades in fall and spring. … Chemicals: Gasoline, fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides can cause dead spots if spilled.
If you still have questions like the ones below, please contact us for answers:
why is my grass dying in patches
how to fix bare spots in lawn
dead spots in lawn grubs
how to fix dead spots in lawn
best time to repair lawn
grass seed for patches
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How Do I Fix Brown Spots In My Lawn
Damage can be repaired at any time, though fall is best. To repair existing brown spots, rake the affected area to remove the dead grass, then applying Scotts® EZ Seed® Patch & Repair for small areas or Scotts® Turf Builder® Grass Seed for larger areas. With all of these products, be sure to follow label directions.
Prepare Your Lawn For Repair
When doing lawn repair, preparation is equally important in having a lush and healthy-looking lawn. The best time to start repairing your lawn is during spring to ensure that your grass grows strong and healthy through summer.
- Remove weeds before seeding by using a non-selective herbicide at least two weeks before seeding.
- Clear your lawn of any dead leaves, weeds and debris.
- Loosen compacted soil to let air and nutrients in.
- Scatter lawn seed repair over bare or thinning patches then rake it into the soil. You can do this manually or use a seed spreader to ensure that seeds are distributed evenly across your lawn. I find that walking backwards while doing this is the best way to spread seeds well.
- Water the patch well to help your new grass establish. You may need to water more frequently when the weather is hot and dry.
- Keep people and pets off of your lawn while new grass is trying to establish.
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Quick Guide To Lawn Repair
1. Patch your lawn. Repair thin or bare spots with Scotts® EZ Seed® Patch & Repair or Scotts® Sprouts. Both are great solutions, but take two different approaches . There is one exception: If you have a St. Augustine lawn, its best to pull up dead turf or edge out bare spots. Apply Scotts® EZ Patch Lawn Repair for St. Augustine Lawns then place new sod or plugs.
2. Water well. New seed and sod require more frequent watering. Keep your soil moist, but dont drown it.
3. Feed your lawn. After 6 to 8 weeks, give your new grass the nutrients it needs to grow lush and strong. Feed your entire lawn with Scotts® Turf Builder® Lawn Food.
4. Kill weeds and pests. Bugs and weeds will try to creep into your lawn while it grows. Before you apply any weed or bug control product, check the product label to see when it can be applied to new grass.
5. Mow later. Be sure to wait until your lawn is at mowing height before you mow.
Consider The Cause And Correct It Before Repairing
Treating only the symptoms of a health issue is never the smart approach to managing our health and well-being. Not only can the causal issue continue, but it can also spread and get much worse.
Bare spots in lawns are another instance where ignoring or treating only symptoms is massively ineffective.
To truly repair bare spots in your lawn, you must start by discovering the cause of the bare spots. If you dont, the brown spots will likely returnand soon. Check out our blog or our complete brown patch guide as an aid to see if you recognize what the problem may be.
However, contacting a local lawn care company will be your most effective option.
Many, many issues can cause your lawn to be brown and become barren in some areas. Below is a list of the most common causes of bare spots and their simplified solutions.
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