How To Fix Dry Spots In Your Lawn

What Causes The Yellow Spots In The Grass

In addition to dry weather conditions, here are some of the most common issues that homeowners battle to maintain a healthy yard.

• Excess nitrogen. Sometimes less is better. Thats true when it comes to fertilizing your lawn. Over fertilizing will produce too much nitrogen, which upsets the pH balance of the soil and burns the roots of your grass. This can cause it to turn yellow. Be sure to heavily water your lawn after applying fertilizer.
• Dog urine. As much as we love our four-legged best friends, their pee can do a number on the lawn! This is because their urine contains high levels of nitrogen. Its probably best if you train Rover to go in another area, such as the garden.
• Pests and diseases. Take a close look at your grass to see if you notice any insects or pests near the roots. This could be the source of your problem. Your yellow grass could also be the result of some type of fungal disease.
• Heat and sunlight. Sometimes its just Mother Nature herself thats the culprit. If your lawn receives direct sunlight all day long in addition to extremely hot, dry weather it can become stressed and dry out quickly. The result is a lawn that is now an eyesore.

How To Fix Dead Grass

Foot traffic and weather extremes like drought and flooding can damage your lawn, leading to patches of dead grass. Repair these spots for a lush lawn spring, summer and fall.

This simple process requires just a single product, and depending upon the number of patches, not much of your time. Start with a grass seed product that combines seed, fertilizer and mulch.

How To Repair Bare Patches In Your Lawn

You pride yourself in a beautiful lawn and for the most part, you have it looking great. But there a few hideous bare patches preventing your lawn from looking its best.

Bare patches can occur due to excess compaction in certain areas of your lawn. You will usually find these bare patches on worn paths in the backyard, in a path to the pool, back shed or the clothesline. The excess wear causes the ground to go hard making it difficult for the turf to grow a runner through the compacted ground. A good way of looking at it is through the analogy of pushing a screw driver into sand, vs pushing a screw driver into asphalt. The same principal applies with a turf runner trying to grow through non-compacted ground vs compacted ground.

Here are our two recommended methods for repairing bare patches:

Method 1

If your bare patches are fairly small , you can fix these patches without having to buy turf.

Whilst your grass is repairing, it is important to minimise traffic as much as possible. Depending on the time of the year and the size of the patch, the repair process will generally take a couple of months to fully complete.

Method 2

The second method, which is preferred, is to lay new turf to the affected bare area. It is also recommended to use this method on smaller areas as it is quicker, easier, and much cheaper in the long run.

For turf suppliers in your area click here.

Check out the Lawn Solutions Australia lawn care page for more helpful tips and advice here.

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Aerating The Lawn To Relieve Soil Compaction

Hard, compact soil can prevent water from penetrating it. Which in turn can cause brown patches in parts of your lawn. Especially areas that are used heavily like around kids goalposts, along the washing line or areas that you walk on regularly.

Aerating your lawn via spiking will allow water to more easily penetrate the soil, as well as oxygen and other nutrients.

Hollow tine aeration removes cores of turf from the lawn. This relieves compaction by allowing the soil particles to relax and separate from each other and move into space you created by removing the cores of turf.

This separation of particles means water can work its way in the soil profile much more easily.

Read: Aerating a Lawn: Why, When and How

Everything You Need To Seed Is Pre

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How To Fix Dry Spotsin Yard

Here are the steps to help you deal with the unappealing dry spots on your yard:

Get rid of any dead, matted turf. The new grass will germinate best when it is in direct contact with the soil.

Grab that rake! You need to scratch the surface of the dry spot at least 2 or 3 inches to loosen the soil. Just tossing the seeds, sod plugs, or new sod on top of the hard ground isnt as helpful.You want to give the roots access to the soil with more nutrients thats found deeper under the ground.

Scatter grass seed over the damaged area. We recommend investing in a hand seed spreader. If you go by hand, you may have clumps of grass seed fertilizer that only ends up causing more burn spots!

Fertilize. If you opted for sod or plugs, youll still want to spread lawn fertilizer on the new areas to help the new grass root.

Water! Youll want to make sure the new areas are well watered. In order to get your grass green again during the drought season, apply 1 inch of water every 6 or 7 days. Your grass will hopefully return to its green color again once the temperature drops and the drought season is over.If you replaced dry spots with new sod, we recommend using a hose for 15-20 minutes a day for at least 3 days to help make sure that the formerly dry spots retain moisture.

How To Fix Dead Patches In The Lawn

Summer is rough on a lawn. Patchy dead spots can come from all sorts of directions, including fungal diseases such as brown patch and rust, animal digging, grub damage, dog urine and plain, old heat and drought. Whatever the cause, late summer through early fall is prime time to patch the patchiness.

Grass seed germinates well in those cooler, damper conditions. Then the young roots get off to a good start in soil thats still reasonably warm for growth. Early spring is also a good time to patch, but youll need to pay more attention to watering as the weather turns hot and dry. Young grass plants are more vulnerable to heat and drought stress than established grass.

Especially in hot areas, early-fall lawn-patching is best because that gives young grass 6 or 7 months of potential root growth before hitting its first test in the summer oven.

Heres the process:

1.) Clear out any dead, matted turf and other debris. Grass will germinate and root best when it comes into contact with soil.

2.) Loosen the soil. At least scratch the surface, or better yet, dig and loosen the top 2 or 3 inches. If the soil is particularly poor, work in a little compost or similar organic matter. Dont just toss seed on top of hard ground.

4.) Fertilize. Get new growth off to a good start by scattering a small amount of lawn fertilizer specially formulated for new grass.

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Do Apply The Right Lawn Care Products Based On The Issue And Timing

If material is improperly applied to your lawn , this can also cause damage. For example, fertilizer burn is caused when too much product is applied to the grass. Excess product can draw moisture out of your grass and cause it to yellow and ultimately die.

However, all lawn care products have a proper amount and a proper timing associated with them. And some lawn care products may be warranted in certain instanceswhich can differ from lawn to lawn.

You want to make sure that your lawn care company is applying the right products at the right time in order to not only be most effective but also to prevent possible problems.

How To Fix Dry Grass: Sunburnt Lawns

We have gotten to the part of the year where the temperatures are in the 90s and we arent getting much rain. The beautiful lush green grass you had in May is starting to look dry and even yellow in some places these are signs of stress for your lawn. Here are some things on how to fix dry grass and make your lawn happy and green again.

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How To Repair Patches

If the patches are verygreen:

Use a quick release fertiliser such asour QUICK RELEASE: Spring / Summer onthe rest of the lawn toachieve one uniform colour on the lawn

Apply at a rate of 70g per m2, andensure to water the fertiliser in until it is dissolved

Keep pets off the lawn duringapplication and until the granules are dissolved

If the patches are yellow/ brown:

Firstly, mow your lawn as you wont be able to while thenew grass is establishing

Scarify the area to remove as much of the damaged grassas possible, aiming for bare soil

Rake the patch so that the soil is fine, loose and level.If it is not level to the rest of the lawn, fill in with top soil and rake tolevel

Use our QUICK RELEASE: Pre-Seed toaccelerate growth, apply at a rate of 70g per m2 and ensure to water thefertiliser in until it is dissolved

Keep pets off the lawn duringapplication and until the granules are dissolved

Once the granules are dissolved,overseed with our FAMILY: Kids and Pets mixfor fastest results sowing at a rate of 35g per m2

Keep the patches moist by wateringdaily for the first 6 weeks after sowing. Avoid if there is prolongedrainfall.

You can mow the patches alongside the rest ofthe lawn when the blades are hitting 5-7cm and have been established for atleast 6 weeks

How To Stop Dog Urine From Damaging Your Grass

The Spruce / Almar Creative

If youre a dog owner who takes pride in a beautiful lawn, it can be frustrating to look at your yard and see dead grass where your dog has peed. Dog urine can create unsightly brown or yellow spots of dead grass. Some dog owners believe that its just part of living with dogs, but this doesnt have to be the case. There are steps you can take to prevent your dogs urine from ruining your grass.

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How To Treat Dry Spots On Grass

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• Lawn Care for New Sod

Seeing a patchy lawn is usually a sign that your lawn is stressed. Grass typically dries out due to inadequate water, fertilizer burn or dog urine. When your grass is thirsty, it may dry out in irregular patches, or the drying may occur over the entire lawn.

Dry grass caused by dog urine typically occurs in small patches, while fertilizer burn can occur over a large area. After noticing the signs of dry lawn grass, attempt to find the cause of the dry spots. After that, your lawn can typically recover with the proper care.

Properly Maintaining Your Yard

Once you have determined what is causing the dry spots, then your lawn can usually be recovered with proper care. However, if you cannot figure out what the causes of the dry spots on your grass, it is recommended that you reach out to a professional.

If you are in the Tampa Bay Area, Grass & Landscaping Hunters will help you with all your landscaping and lawn care service needs. We offer affordable, top-rated service. Call/text us today to get your lawn care quote! Remember, if you grow it, well mow it.

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How To Fix Dry Patches In Your Lawn

Jan 29,2020 | Frequently Asked Questions, Lawn Care Tips and Articles, Lawn Maintenance Tips, Seasonal Lawn Care, Sir Walter Buffalo Turf, Weeds, Pests & Problems

Is your yard suffering from lawn dry patches? With summer underway and water restrictions in place, you may have noticed the toll the hot dry weather has taken on your lawn.

Even the healthiest of lawns can become thin, off-colour and develop dry spots over the summer months when the climate conditions deteriorate and homeowners are away on holidays.

One of the most common questions we get asked in regards to lawn care is about dry dead spots and patches in lawns, specifically what causes them and how to fix them.

If this is one of your lawn care concerns or youre interested in learning how to avoid dry spots in your lawn, please read on.

What are the possible causes of dry spots in your grass?

Not all dry patches in your lawn are created by the same cause. Here are some common reasons you might be seeing these dead spots.

As this article is being published in the warmer season, were going to focus on the first cause and lawn care for dry spots.

How does a dry spot happen?

Step 1 Aeration:

How To Treat Dry Spots In Your Lawn

Hot and dry weather can really take a toll on even the healthiest lawns and cause them to become thin and patchy. This usually happens over the summer months, as the weather is hot and dry and lawn owners are generally on holidays or too busy to keep up their regular lawn maintenance schedule. It only takes a couple of days of hot, dry weather to affect your lawn.

Usually what you will see is bare patches throughout the lawn or your lawn wouldve started to thin out and change colour. What follows this, is those bare patches bake in the sun and become rock hard making it difficult for water and nutrients to get into the soil. This is commonly known as dry patch and appears regularly in lawns throughout the summer. Thankfully it is treatable and is relatively easy to fix.

First things first, it is always recommended you aerate the affected area of your lawn. Aeration can be done with a garden fork, aerator sandals or a specialised aerator depending on the size of the lawn. This is crucial as it will de-compact your soil and will help nutrients and water penetrate your lawn.

Next, apply a wetting agent like Lawn Soaker to the affected area. Wetting agents come in liquid and granular forms and assist with water absorbing into your soil. This will also allow the soil to hold water in a usable manner for longer. Always remember to irrigate your lawn well after applying the wetting agent.

There are steps you can take to reduce the suffering.

2. Dog urine burns .

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Determining The Cause Of The Dry Spots

Here are some of the major causes of dry spots:

• Insufficient Moisture
• Thin Topsoil Over Shallow Rocks
• Sand Patches That Do Not Hold Water Well

Dry spots usually do not have well defined borders, such as circles or streaks. Be certain that when looking at what you perceive to be a dry spot that it is actually a dry spot. If there are purple legions encircling tan spots or hour shaped tan lesions, then it is not a dry spot, but possibly a diseases. Diseases are active on the outside edge of disease spots and there you will usually find the symptoms that identify it. Excessively watering some disease spots can make it worse and even cause it to spread faster.

Examing the Causes for Dry SpotsInsufficient Moisture:

This is easy to check. Take a metal rod and push it into the ground, push it forward and backward to make a hole big enough to see if the soil is dry.

You can also purchase a moisture gauge that can tell you if it is dry and how dry. Most are very simple devices that have a metal spike that pushes into the ground and a gauge from dry to wet. The gauge is an instant read so it only takes a second to use. You can use it for potted plants to lawn soil. They can be purchased at any garden store.

If the soil is dry then water the dry spot heavily and see if that improves the lawn. It should respond quickly, but may take a couple weeks for the grass to look like the rest of the grass if no die back occurred.

Compacted Soil:

How To Do It

Ok, this is really complex.

• Retrieve whatever mild hand dishwasing detergent you have from under the sink
• Put an ouce or two in the bottom of a bucket
• Fill the bucket with cold water just like youre going to wash your car
• Dump it on the dry spot
• Water it in immediately
• Ensure that the dry spot continues to receive adequate watering
• Wait for it to green up

That wasnt too hard was it. The good news? It actually works, but you have to be patient. It may take awhile for the grass to begin growing again. However, you can test the results by probing in the soil with a knife or screwdriver maybe half an inch or so down to make sure it is getting soggy. If so, its just a matter of time. Note: If the grass actually died you may have to repair the lawn itself.

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