How To Repair Patchy Lawn

How To Repair A Lawn

Between April and October, loosen the existing bare patch a little, spread the lawn repair mix, press it down lightly and water generously. Keep this patch of lawn moist. The first blades will appear after 10 to 24 days.

If possible, when repairing your lawn use a specialised lawn repair mix, which is mainly made up of the fast-germinating perennial ryegrass. Mixes with a growing medium for germination and fertiliser will give you optimal results.

Step by step guide for repairing large lawn patches:

Lawn Repair: Patching With Sod

Laying sod is the quickest way to patch a dead or damaged turf area. You can lay it any time during the season. Prepare the soil the same way you would for patching with seed. Keep the area an inch or so below grade so the new grass will be level with the lawn. Then cut a piece from the strip of sod to fit the repair site. Press it firmly onto the soil, placing its edges snugly against the surrounding lawn. Walk on it to settle it into place. Water deeply and often until roots grow into the soil beneath the sod.

My Lawn Is Thin All Over

When your lawn is thin all over, it can be a combination of different environmental factors such as extreme weather conditions and insufficient watering or feeding. Thinking long-term, it would be best to have a care regimen for your lawn to ensure that it is fed and watered well regularly. In the meantime, you can aerate and feed your lawn with fertiliser and apply moisture-retaining soil products to revive the grass.

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Restoring Your Lawn After The Winter

After a harsh, cold winter, most lawns need a little TLC. The low temperatures cause the grass to lose its fresh green colour, and you might discover new bald patches that youd never noticed before.

Winter offers the perfect conditions for a range of grass diseases, such as Snow Fungus, which occurs between 0- and 8-degrees and is caused by humidity or extended periods of sogginess due to melting snow.

Grass is a hardy plant, but it falls foul to winter conditions. But fear not: you can restore your lawn to its former glory.

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.

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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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How Many Minutes Should You Water Your Lawn

It is always better to water your lawn for longer periods of time, less frequently, than it is to water your lawn frequently for short periods of time.

That means you are better off watering your lawn for an hour two or three times a week, than it would be to water your lawn for 10 minutes, seven days a week.

A good guide is to aim for 10 to 15 millimetres of water, twice a week, during periods of no rain.

You should also consider the time that you water your lawn.

Early morning, as the sun is rising, is the best time to water your lawn in the warmer months. This will keep your grass wet for an optimum amount of time, ensuring it does not evaporate straight away in the heat of the day.

Watering your grass in the evening can encourage fungus to grow if the turf is cold and dewey overnight.

Following these steps will help you restore life to those ugly, brown patches and bring a sense of pride back to your beautiful turf.

Of course, for all your lawn care products, head to our online store to browse our high-quality range of products.

If you have any lawn care questions, give our expert team a .

Related Article

Which Seed Should You Use To Repair Lawn Patches

There are broadly three types of grass seed mixes that you can choose from, as Homebase explains. Hard-wearing lawn mixes tend to include ryegrass and are good if you’re on the lookout for family garden ideas. Premium lawn mixes are a blend of a finer-textured grass seed for a high-quality result. Or, you can purchase a mix that’s suitable for shadier gardens which isn’t as reliant on direct sunlight as other blends.

When repairing lawn patches, try to use the same seed as you used for the rest of your lawn to avoid a variation of appearance.

Use the same grass seed mix as the rest of your lawn when repairing patches

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Fixing Small Sections Of Lawn

For an easier application, you could buy an all-in-one product like Scotts EZ Seed Patch & Repair for a quick fix to any bald spot. Youll simply have to rake the ground to loosen the soil, then apply the EZ Seed, and water it daily.

New seed is going to need more frequent watering, but be careful, since there is a balancing act to it. You want your soil to stay moist, but dont water so much you drown the new seeds.

Patch and Repair products come with mulch in the bag, which will retain water and help keep your seeds moist longer to improve germination rates.

How To Stop Dog Urine From Damaging Your Grass

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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 Repair Seasonal Die Back And Thinning

You’ll pretty much follow the standard procedure for over seeding which you’ll find in detail on the next page and in the Raking and Scarifying topic. If moss has moved in then the Moss Control topic would be a better place to be.

In Summary:

• Remove debris/thatch/moss and open the soil surface by raking or scarifying
• Over seed the whole area so the new seed blends with the existing grasses
• Ensure good seed to soil contact
• Fertiliser – if this is part of an established but thinned lawn you are best off with one of the fertilisers at the bottom of this article
• Ensure adequate supply of water – in other words don’t let it dry out

When To Patch Bare Spots In Your Lawn

Ideally, patching bare areas with seed or sod should be done early in the growing season so it can take root and blend into the surrounding area before the winter dormant season. This ideal time depends on the climate where you live.

Patching with seed: In northern cold-winter zones, the cool-season grasses that are most popular grow most actively in later summer and fall, making this an ideal time for patching with seed. But you can also seed in early spring, provided it’s done early enough for the grass to be well established by the time the hot mid-summer months roll around.

In warm-winter zones where warm-season grasses predominate, late spring and early summer is regarded as the best time to sow grass seed.

Patching with sod: You have a larger window when it comes to patching with sod. Professional recommendations for sodding a full yard are similar as for seedingearly fall for cool-season grasses, late summer for cool-season grasses, but if you are simply cutting patches for bare spots, you’ll likely succeed during most of the growing season, provided you keep the sod patch moist while it is taking hold. Remember that sod supplies at garden centers are seasonal in many regions, so don’t wait too long.

Sod will develop a shallow root system in about two weeks, but a deep root system can take as much as six weeks. If you live in a zone where hard frost arrives in early December, for example, it would be best to plant sod patches no later than mid-October.

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Spread Lawn Lime On The Grass

For the most beautiful lawn, you need the right degree of acidity in your soil. MOOWYs Lawn Lime improves the soil condition and ensures that additional nutrients are adequately absorbed.

If your soil has a low pH, simply sprinkle lime onto your lawn.

Tip: Sprinkle lime during the winter. This strengthens the lawn and prepares it for the new season

Aerate With A Garden Fork

Aerating will help to decompact the hard-bare ground making it easier for the healthy grass to spread its roots into the bare soil. Drive a garden fork into the ground to around 100mm and wriggle it back and forth to fracture the soil profile. If you have subsoil irrigation be careful that you dont do so too deeply or where you are likely to come in contact with a pipe. After aerting can also be a good time to apply soil conditioners like gypsum to improve your soil base.

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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.

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 at Nutri-Lawn and they’ll look at things such as your soil condition and help you get to the bottom of it.

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Lawn Repair Seeding Tip

Spread a thin layer of topsoil or straw over the lawn repair area that you’ve just patched with seed. This protects the seed and, later, the sprouts from wind or getting washed away. More importantly, by covering the soil, it reduces moisture loss. A constant supply of moisture is the key to good germination for a repaired lawn.

Quick Guide To Lawn Repair

1. Patch your lawn. Repair thin or bare spots with Scotts® EZ Seed® Patch & Repair. 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.

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When Is It Necessary To Repair A Lawn

Repairing a lawn is necessary when it has large gaps, such as those caused by dogs digging holes, placing plant pots on the lawn or when weeds are pulled out over a large area. Such large patches offer a space for weeds to take hold before the surrounding lawn can close the gap.

Your lawn may also have holes or large bare spots because well-trodden paths trail across it or as a result nitrogen over-fertilisation from dog urine. Sometimes grass repair is necessary after long periods of drought too. If this sounds like your lawn, then use a suitable lawn repair seed mix to restore your lush lawn and stop the weeds in their tracks.

Tip: Lawn repair and lawn overseeding are not the same thing! Lawn repair quickly re-vegetates large gaps in the lawn whereas lawn overseeding replenishes the entire lawn area with grasses that are missing from or no longer present in the area. Using a lawn overseeding seed mix will make the whole lawn more dense and able to regrow. So, if you have a lot of small holes in your lawn, a lawn overseeding might work better.

How To Patch Repair A Lawn

If you have any patches that appear in your lawn, you will need to over-seed to repair them. Make sure the weatherconditions and temperatures are adequate for this process, this isnormally between April & September.

• Make sure to mow the area first, when you sow the new seedyou will have to wait awhile before you can cut again.

• Remove any debris or stones from the patchy area and loosenthe soil either with a rake or gardening fork

• Apply our A1LawnPre-Seeder Fertiliser at 35g per m2to pack the soil full of nutrients to help the grass seed developand build a solid root structure.

• Sow the grass seed at the recommended rate and work the seed into the soil to achieve great seed to soilcontact, this will really improve germination and optimal results. You can even apply a light layer of top dressing to just cover theseed slightly, this will also help with bird take.

• If no consistent rainfall is present, make sure to water thearea for around 4-6 weeks, keeping the seeds moist.

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How To Build Up Your Turf

Maybe the problem with your lawn isnt just a few dead patches, but instead is weak, thin grass throughout the lawn. In that case, apply a fertilizer product for thick, green grass. A single application with a spreader distributes the seed, fertilizer and soil improver that will improve your turf.

Whether you need the right planters, seeds or potting soil, The Home Depot delivers online orders when and where you need them.

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How To Fix Patchy Grass

Theres nothing worse than having a nicely trimmed lawn with perfect edges that shows thinning grass in places and bare brown patches. These bald areas have somehow appeared and now, they give your lawn an eyesore type of look.

The main symptoms of a thinning and unkempt green area are spots with scarcely growing grass along edges, pavings or near garden features, such as the bench you like to rest on with a book or along the raised veggie bed, which needs regular weeding. Also, its not uncommon to have randomly located brown patches in the middle of your lawn for no apparent reason.

• Having bare patches in your lawn
• Wondering what the cause might be
• Looking for the right way to repair your patchy lawn.

Then youre in the right place because this post explains it all. Shall we begin?

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