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How To Repair Your Lawn

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How To Repair A Lawn

How To Repair A Lawn

Youve put a lot of effort into your lawn, but it doesnt look as good as it should.

Before you become disheartened, look at this checklist to see if theres something else you can do to bring it back to its full glory.

Remember that any lawn repair is best done in spring or summer depending on the climate in your area when the lawn is actively growing.

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.

Choose The Best Lawn Repair Product For Your Lawn

Here are some useful things to remember when buying grass seed, weed killers and pest control products.

  • For a quick fix, use multi-purpose lawn seed products. These are convenient, easy to use and contain nutrients that nourish your soil while repairing your lawn at the same time.
  • When looking for weed killers, choose one thats appropriate for your grass type. There are also available weed killers that fertilise while doing the job. Youll be left with weed-free healthy green grass after the treatment.
  • Use pest control products that kill grubs and parasites but are non-toxic to earthworms. Youll need these little creatures to burrow through and aerate your soil to keep it healthy.

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How To Fix A Dead Lawn

There are many ways on how to restore a dead lawn. Lawn restoration starts with healthy soil. Removing thatch and weed build-up, aerating your soil and adding in nutrients by watering well and using fertiliser are all important in reviving your lawn.

If youre still unsure on how to repair your lawn and fix bare or thinning patches, you can ask your local lawn service provider for assistance. Getting professional help for your lawn can be the best thing you can do for your thinning or patchy lawn. You can be sure that your lawn care professionals will properly diagnose your lawn and have the right treatment carried out.

Think About Aerating The Lawn

How to Repair Your Lawn

Dead patches of grass sometimes signal that it is time to aerate your lawn.

Aerating is the process of creating small holes in the ground that provide air and other essential nutrients to the soil. They go directly to the roots and can improve the overall health of your yard.

You can aerate the lawn yourself by using good lawn aerator. Keep in mind that aeration should be done once a year for most yards to prevent the soil from compacting.

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There Are Stripes Of Yellow Grass In My Lawn

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but this means youve probably applied your fertilizer incorrectly. When you walk back and forth with your spreader, be sure to slightly overlap each pass to ensure full coverage. Strips of grass that dont receive fertilizer can appear yellow in contrast to all of the lush, new, green grass growth next to it. So, youll just need to tune up your application technique to make sure all of your lawn is green and growing.

A gorgeous lawn doesnt have to require tons of work. Take care of your lawn the best you can, identify problems before they get out of hand, and apply one of these easy fixes when you need to. The result? A lush green oasis youre going to love spending time in.

*Dont use either of these products if youre planning to seed, or youve just recently seeded, your lawn

Determining The Cause Of A Dead Lawn

When your grass turns brown and dry, either on parts of your lawn or across the whole area, you may be itching to lay down new sod or start another plan to revive your lawn. But if you want your new lawn to last, you first have to determine the cause of death for the old lawn. If you dont fix what was wrong, you may find yourself staring at another dead lawn in the near future. There are a few common causes of dead patches or dead lawns, and it may take some detective work to find which one is responsible for your dead lawn.

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How To Repair & Restore A Damaged Lawn

Sometimes, things happen that are outside our control. You might have a bad hurricane season, a super dry summer, a harsh winter, or an outbreak of fungal disease in the area. These things, as well as other factors, can cause a lawn to take on a dead, withered appearance.

We cant control the weather, and we cant protect our lawn against every possible environmental factor. But if youre dealing with a dead or damaged lawn, you can restore it to its former glory. Or, better yet, you can completely transform your lawn into a lush, green landscape.

So how do you repair and restore a damaged lawn? Heres some simple lawn treatment tips.

How To Fill In Bare Or Patchy Spots

How To Repair and Protect Your Lawn | Waitrose

Patching your lawn may seem like a big undertaking, especially if you remember what it was like setting up your lawn in the first place. But you can get it done in a few simple steps. First, choose whether you want to use seed or sod.

In either case, make sure to select a grass type that will thrive in your region and the specific conditions of your yard. If you have large trees that cast a lot of shade, you want to purchase a shade-resistant grass that doesnt need too much sunlight.

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Rake Out The Dead Material

When the grass dies, for whatever reason, the dead material is left in the patch or sward of the grass to decompose slowly. To help your lawn thicken up again and recover quicker, rake out as much of this material as you can. This will provide space for the healthy grass to spread back through and also help more sunlight, water and oxygen to penetrate boosting the health of the grass in these areas.

Problem: Persistently Thin Patchy Grass Solution: Get A Soil Test

Chronic lawn problems are often about the soil, not the actual grass. Having a soil test done is the best $10 to $15 you can spend. Home and garden centers sell DIY kits, but we recommend working with your local cooperative extension , whose experts will pinpoint your soils pH level and identify any missing nutrients. Theyll also prescribe the best course of treatment, for example spreading limestone if the soil is acidic or sulfur if its overly alkaline. Its prudent to do a soil test every few years, though if you just moved into a new home, you may want to do one annually, at least until the desired results start to show.

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How To Overseed A Patchy Lawn

There aremany easy fixes that will help to bring your lawn back to life and keep it lookingits best. Follow our step-by-step guide on how to overseed your lawn –

Removeany dead grass, weeds, or moss by scarifying/raking the area

Rake thearea enough so that the soil is loose and not compact

Sow some seedat our recommended rate of 35g per m2, by using a seed spreader or you hand

Rake theseed in after sowing so that the seed is in amongst the soil

Firm downby foot or by using a roller to improve seed to soil contact

Water thejust-sown seed well

If you arenew to overseeding and this is your first time doing it, you can follow ourmore detailed guide on how to overseed your lawn.

To Improve Water Retention In Sandy Soils

How to Repair Your Lawn

Compost. As always, compost is the first line of defense, since unlike sand it holds water well. The real surprise may be that you dont have to stir it into the soil worms and microorganisms nourished by it will carry it downwards, incorporating it gradually and improving the sandy soils ability to retain water in the process.

Coconut Fiber or Peat Moss. Both of these products are extraordinary sponges, and they will retain this quality when added to your soil. They can be mixed into soil before seeding a new lawn or used as a top-dressing over an existing one. Be sure to water immediately after applying either of these, or they will drift away on the next breeze.

Coconut coir is the preferred choice for environmental reasons: it comes from coconut shells, while peat moss grows over thousands of years in bogs with fragile eco-systems.

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Planting New Grass And Reviving A Dead Lawn

There are two ways of planting new grass and reviving a dead lawn. The first is to lay down seed. Use a high-quality grass seed and spread it evenly over your prepared lawn. For a larger lawn, you can rent seed spreaders from your local garden store. After the seed is laid down, cover it with a thin layer of soil.

The second method is to lay down sod. Sod is grass that is already growing and comes in rolls or squares with the roots and soil attached. To lay down sod, place it over the soil, making sure each section is set tightly against the one next to it to avoid empty patches. If you are only filling in dead spots, you can use plugs to fill in wherever you need new grass.

Whether you use seed or sod, follow up planting by rolling. Rolling sod helps press it down into the soil so the roots can attach to the ground. Rolling seed helps push the seed down into the earth so it can take root and grow strong.

Take Care Of Your Grass

It may sound sickeningly simple, but its true: making your lawn healthy is not only the best way to ward off weeds, its the best way to beat back those you already have. That means having healthy soil with plenty of active microbes and earthworms, so topdress with compost, amend your soil as necessary, and overseed to encourage thick growth.

Skimping on lawn care and mowing closely give weeds the opportunity to move in, and as most of us know, getting rid of weeds is a lot harder than preventing them in the first place, because weeds tend to be hardy souls with huge root systems. I have it on excellent authority that Canadian Thistle, for example, can sprout from under a truck-load of gravel dumped on it.

Even while youre trying to kill off weeds, therefore, take care of your grass. It may seem that youre improving soil for the sake of the dandelions, but do it anyway: its the only way the grass will be able to compete.

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Problem: Ugly Bald Sports Solution: Start From Scratch

Weeds love bare patches, so if you dont act quickly, they will. Springs cool, wet weather is conducive to growing many types of turfgrass. Start by digging up the damaged section, plus 6 inches of surrounding, healthy lawn, cutting about 2 inches deep. Then level the soil and add a small amount of soil amendment, such as a plant-based compost, and starter fertilizer. If youre using seed, cover it lightly with straw and keep the ground moist until germination. For sod, which is about 10 times more expensive than seed but tends to work better, cut a section to fit, press it into place, and water frequently until it takes root.

Dead Grass Repair With Sod

How to Fix Bare Spots in Your Lawn with Ashton Ritchie

You can tackle it yourself or hire pro sod installers who are expert in fixing dead grass.

Sometimes, the best thing to do is start over, with a fresh sod lawn that turns that dead grass into instant green. Almost as fast as crayons.

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Im A Gardening Expert The Bizarre Reason You Should Be Putting Dish Soap On Your Lawn

YOU’VE probably heard the phrase “the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.”

But what about “the bottle of Dawn should be sprayed along the lawn?”

According to garden experts, using dish soap on your grass can solve a common problem, so don’t write this bizarre solution off.

The tip comes from Tom Monson of Monson Home and Landscaping, who told Homes and Gardens that dish soap is effective in killing off moss that creeps onto the lawn.

“Killing moss without decimating your grass can be tricky, but a dish soap solution can make it look easy with a little care and attention,” Monson told the outlet.

Removing moss is key to a thicker, greener lawn. The earlier you catch the moss, the easier it will be to remove and the best part of this solution is the dish soap won’t harm your grass.

Don’t Spill On The Grass

  • Park your spreader over a tarp or your driveway when filling the hopper.
  • Note: Spills and leaks can saturate one spot of your lawn and kill your grass.
  • Between your second and third spring mowings, apply lawn fertilizer.
  • Pro tip: Use a fertilizer with slow-release nitrogen.
  • Follow the spread rate listed on the fertilizer bag and spread it on the entire lawn.
  • Pro tip: For your spring and summer mowings, cut just the top third of the grass. So if your grass is 3 inches high, take 1 inch off the top. Mowing more than one-third stresses the grass. You can mow the grass shorter in the fall.
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    How To Repair A Damaged Lawn

    If there are bare or yellowed spots in your lawn, it means you need to refill them. An easy and cheap solution is to spread soil and grass seed.

    Quality grass seed blends not only give a fresh new look to your lawn, they also contribute to reducing the amount of weeds in the soil.

    Here is how to repair a damaged lawn in 4 simple steps:

    Where To Use One Step Complete

    How To Fix A Patchy Lawn

    You can turn to Pennington One Step Complete anywhere you have lawn damage and want thick, beautiful grass. This simple combination lawn product is ideal for patching or repairing small bare spots or larger areas with less than 25 percent damage.

    Whether you’re looking for a quick weekend fix of bare spots or your goal is thicker, lusher lawn in an extended area, One Step Complete helps your lawn achieve smooth, uniform beauty. For larger lawn areas with heavy thinning or damage greater than 25 percent, it’s generally best to overseed or plant grass seed as you would with a new lawn.

    Pre-mixed One Step Complete pours easily to cover bare spots in need of repair.

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    The Weeds Are Out Of Control

    From dollarweed and dandelions to oxalis, crabgrass, creeping Charlie, and more, weeds are the bane of any self-respecting lawn caretaker. If youve got a particular problem with crabgrass, refer to the next section, but for all other weed problems, heres what you need to know. You can help avoid the issue in the first place by maintaining the overall health of your grass. To do that, follow these mowing tips, give your lawn just the right amount of water, andfertilize your grass regularly. If weed problems show up anyway, use Scotts® Turf Builder® Weed & Feed3* to feed grass while controlling weeds, or use Scotts® Spot Weed Control for Lawns if you have just a few to manage.

    Removing Your Old Lawn

  • 1Smother your lawn. Smothering your lawn will block light and prevent photosynthesis, killing the grass and weeds. The smothering method is not as dependent upon the weather as solarization or herbicides.XResearch source
  • Mow the grass closely. Cover it with layers of cardboard or newspaper .
  • Wet the covering and top it off with grass clippings , compost, 6-inch wood chips, or another organic mulch.
  • Black plastic also works. It will block the sun and prevent photosynthesis.
  • Avoid heavy mulching in shady areas,which prevents the soil from warming up, causing too much moisture in the root zone.XResearch source
  • The layers of your old lawn will break down, making compost. The soil is now ready for planting.
  • 2Use solarization to remove your old lawn. Solarization uses the suns heat to kill the old grass by cooking it. Weeds, seeds and pathogens are also removed.Youll need to cover the entire lawn with clear plasticXResearch source
  • Keep the lawn covered for about 7 weeks.
  • Cloudy days slow things down. The hottest days with direct sunlight are optimal for solarization.
  • Remove the plastic when the grass has died.
  • The dead grass can also be removed, or you can leave it as compost.
  • Clear plastic is preferable to opaque because more sunlight can get to the grass surface.
  • Thick plastic will last longer because its sturdier and resists tears.
  • Add just a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap or another surfactant to help the herbicide stick to vegetation.
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    How To Patch A Lawn With Seed

    Mow the existing grass in the area down as low as you can. Youll want your seeds to have direct contact with the bare, exposed soil. Dig a border using a sharp spade and get rid of any debris or weeds in the delineated area. Rake up the soil, then leave it level and smooth.

    Distribute the seed with a spreader, using the appropriate amount for the designated space. Spread the seed so that it covers the surface, but dont let seeds overlap with one another. For uniformity, spread half the seed in an east/west pattern and half the seed north/south.

    Rake over the seed for even distribution. Then, cover the top with a thin layer, about ½ an inch, of straw or topsoil to keep the seeds moist and protect them from birds.

    For the first week or two, youll need to water your lawn daily or twice a day to make sure the soil is moist, but not soggy. Once the seedings begin to emerge, you can dial back the irrigation to two deep, infrequent waterings totaling 1-1.5 inches per week.

    Do not mow until the grass reaches a height of about 3-3.5 inches. Then, be sure to cut no more than the top of the grass blade to encourage drought resistance and deep root growth, and discourage weeds.

    It may take up to eight weeks, depending on the grass type you selected, for the new grass to blend in fully with the rest of your lawn. If you need to mow the rest of your lawn before then, be careful to avoid the newly seeded grass.

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