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.
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:
Retention And Deletion Of Data
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How To Patch Your Lawn
Learn how easy it is to repair bare spots for a prettier lawn.
Grass seed plays an important role in helping you maintain a beautiful, thick, green lawn. When you need seed for your lawn, its important to consider the type of project you have and choose the correct grass seed product for your needs.
For bare spots, an ideal product is Scotts® EZ Seed®. Designed by turf scientists, it combines three high-quality components that work in harmony: premium grass seed, a special slow-release fertilizer, and a revolutionary growing material. Together, these three ingredients will grow grass anywhere, guaranteed*.
Heres how to apply :
- First, take a hand rake and start to break up the soil. Loosen it, pulling out any rocks or other debris, so the grass seedlings will have an easier time building good roots.
- Next, apply a thin, even layer of Scotts® EZ Seed® according to label directions. You wont need to put too much down, as it will expand.
- Now, gently but thoroughly water until both the Scotts® EZ Seed®youve applied and the soil underneath are saturated and no more moisture is being absorbed. Until the seedlings reach at least two inches tall, water daily as needed to keep the area moist. Youll know the patched areas need water when they turn light brown.
With the right product and application, those bare spots will soon be a thing of the past.
Spilled Chemicals Or Gasoline
Spilled pesticides or broad-spectrum herbicides such as glyphosate will often cause dead spots in the lawn. Even if you have an appropriate weed killer, its concentration may be just a little too high for your lawn and can kill turf grasses. Chemical spills will often create an irregularly shaped dead patch that matches the shape of the spill. Water the spot thoroughly if you accidentally spill. Take extra care when you have strong chemicals near your grass, and be very careful about preventing a spill. It’s best to prevent a problem than to try to fix it.
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Why Are There Brown Patches In My Lawn
Brown patches in a lawn may be one of two things. Firstly, your grass may just be dormant in areas, which means it will come back. Or, it could be diseased or dead, and of course it’s important to know the difference before you repair the lawn.
Dormant grass should still have healthy roots so won’t come away if you grab a handful and gently pull it. However, bear in mind that dormant patches will be large, as grass doesn’t become dormant in small, isolated areas. Why does grass become dormant and go brown? These tend to be cold-season grasses that don’t like heat, or warm-season grasses that don’t like the cold once the temperature is more favorable, they will grow green again. To avoid this in future, combine warm- and cool-season grass seed when you sow.
Diseased patches may need diagnosis from a lawn repair professional, who can then deal with whatever is afflicting it.
Dead grass will come away in your hand if you grab a handful and gently pull it. With dead brown patches in grass, you will need to replace the sod or reseed the patch. With dormant patches.
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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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.
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.
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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.
Lawn Care: How To Repair Bare Grass Patches
As lawns emerge from winter dormancy, it’s exciting to watch them green up. What’s disappointing, though, is discovering that the lush lawn you put to bed late last fall is awakening with brown or bare spots.
The toughest part of dealing with lawn spots is discovering what’s causing them. Learn 10 common reasons for spring lawn spots and what you can do to fix them.
Cause: Dogs
If your dog has used the same area of the lawn all winter long , you may discover brown or bare spots.
Solution: If the grass isn’t dead, flush the area with water . Mow higher in this area until the spot greens up. If the grass is dead, reseed. Create a mulched area in an inconspicuous part of your yard and train your dog to use that area.
Cause: De-icing methods
The salts in de-icing materials can burn grass. Typically this damage appears as a narrow band along a walkway, street or driveway. Damage may also occur where you pile snow from streets or sidewalks.
Solution: Before reseeding, flush the area with water. Let spring rains help with this task. Reseed with salt-tolerant grass varieties. Frequently these grasses are included in mixes intended for boulevard plantings, which are sold in regions where winter requires salt-laden road treatments. Check with independent garden centers for these blends.
Cause: Object left on the lawn
Cause: Snow mold
Solution: Rake Snow Mold spots to separate matted blades. Most often, grass grows out of the disease. If not, reseed.
Cause: Meadow Voles
Cause: Exhaust
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Will Grass Spread To Bare Spots In Your Lawn
When you have bare spots on your lawn, youre probably keen to fix them. The method you should adopt to fill in bare patches varies according to what type of grass you have. Many homeowners wonder if grass will spread to bare spots by itself, or if youll need to invest your time and money to repair and re-seed your lawn.
In this article, Ill explain why some grasses fill-in and repair bare spots on their own, and why youll have some work to do to repair other types of lawn turf.
Ill also cover what causes bare spots so you can prevent them from occurring again, Ill share a simple trick to find out which kind of grass you have, and how you can go about fixing bald patches if your lawn turf doesnt spread via rhizomes.
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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How To Fix My Lawn Full Of Weeds
Do I need to get rid of weeds before seeding?
Yes, it is best to remove weeds before seeding. Weeds will outcompete your new grass for nutrients needed for growth and will cause your lawn to thin and look unhealthy.
How can I remove weeds from my lawn?
Use a non-selective herbicide to rid your lawn of weeds. Spray the herbicide at least two weeks before seeding your lawn. Alternatively, you can manually remove the weeds one by one if you have the patience for it. This is a tedious but thorough process, and is a sure way to remove weeds and its roots from your lawn.
How do I fix a weedy lawn?
How to fix a weedy lawn is a constant concern of mine, and Im sure its yours, too. When your lawn is all weeds and no grass, this means that weeds have overtaken your grass and consumed the nutrients intended for your lawn.
Weeds grow in bare or thinning patches in your lawn. When your lawn is healthy, the weeds wont be able to thrive and outcompete your grass for nutrients.
The best way to prevent the growth of weeds is to nourish your lawn well so that the grass grows healthier and stronger than the weeds. In this way, there is also less likelihood that there are thin or bare patches on your lawn for weeds to grow on.
Preparing Bare Spots For Repair
Mow damaged spots and surrounding areas at normal spring mowing levels, and then remove dead or damaged grass to expose clean soil. If leveling is needed, add or remove topsoil, rake spots briskly, and then smooth the surface. Loose, smooth soil invites new seedlings to take hold.
Delay adding pre-emergent herbicides or weed-and-feed products to repair areas. Unless applied at least five to six weeks before seeding, these products hamper seed germination and rooting.
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What Causes Bare Spots In Your Lawn
Before you begin filling in and fixing your lawns bare spots, its important to determine what caused these spots. Even if you provide your lawn with the best possible care, your yard may still suffer from diseases. Plus, your grass may have insect pests below the turf. The following list includes other possible reasons for bare spots to occur in your lawn:
- Heavy foot traffic
What Helps A Struggling Lawn
- Aerating your lawn helps to allow air, nutrients and water into your soil. You can choose between a hand-held or mechanical corer and a lawn aerator for this purpose.
- De-thatching helps your soil absorb moisture and nutrients well. You can de-thatch by mowing your lawn at a low level or using a thatching rake or lawn scarifier machine.
- Feed and water your lawn well to revitalise your lawn and help new grass to establish.
- Make sure there is plenty of sunlight to nourish your lawn. Prune overshadowing plants if you see thinning or bare patches near garden beds or large bushes.
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When Your Lawn Is Bare
3 min read
When your lawn is bare There are lots of different reasons for parts of your lawn to go bald and very few of them are down to poor lawn care.
Wear and tear is the most common reason, closely followed by shade then pet urine and occasionally pests and diseases. Repairs are usually easy and rarely is there any need to replace the whole lawn.
Lets take a look at some of the ways to fix bare spots in a lawn.
When wear and tear causes thin or bald patches
Personally I think this is a good thing. It means your lawn has been thoroughly enjoyed. But how to fix it?
Frequent traffic usually results in the soil beneath your lawn becoming compacted and thats what causes problems for the grass plants.
For a long-term fix-it you could think about putting stepping stones down in high-wear areas like grass paths or your route to the linen line. If your lawn is used for football and the like think about moving the goal posts every week or so. If the dog is to blame, try to encourage him/her to let off steam in another way or in a different part of the garden.
In the short-medium time you need to fix the compaction before you can repair the bald bits.
Start by aerating the area. Preferably by removing small plugs of lawn to create air-holes. A tool like this one is invaluable for aerating small areas and can be picked up from DIY stores or garden centres.
Brush some top-dressing soil into the aeration holes if you can still see them.
Keep it well fed all year round
