How To Fix Patchy Grass & Bare Spots In Your Lawn

Whether you have a dog who likes using your lawn to pee on, or lots of children running around your garden, your lawn may be looking a bit worse for wear at this time of year. Luckily for you, we have put together this blog which contains some tips on how to resurrect your grass and make it look healthy again.

Before we go into detail about lawn repair, it is really important that you take the time to identify exactly what has caused the bare spots on your lawn. If they have appeared as a result of natural foot traffic continually going over one area, reseeding these patches isn’t going to fix it. Alternatively, if you have lawn grub problems (beetle larvae), this needs to be treated before you turn your attention to the lawn itself. There are two easy methods to fix your patchy lawn: reseeding & patching with turf. Let’s have a look at these in further detail.

Patching With Seed

In warm-winter zones (like in the UK), where the warm-season grasses in the late spring/early summer, these are the best times to sow grass seed. Patching bare spots with seed is one of the quickest and cheapest methods, but it will take a few weeks before your lawn is ready to be mowed again so keep that in mind.

Here are the steps for patching your lawn with seed:

1.       Rake the area - removing any dead grass or moss from the area. This will also help you see whether there has been any damage caused by grubs too.

2.       Loosen the soil - a lawn rake or garden cultivator are best to aerate the soil, ready for the seed to be sown.

3.       Top the soil - add a couple of inches of compost and mix this in with the existing soil using a rake.

4.       Spread the grass seeds - sprinkle these evenly throughout the patch, but not too thick that the seeds pile up on top of each other.

5.       Rake the seeds - lightly rake them to ensure even distribution, bringing a thin layer of the soil over the seeds. This will stop birds from eating the freshly laid seeds.

6.       Water the area - keep the seeds moist by watering them lightly every day for the first 10 days, or until they start to germinate.

7.       Mow the area - once the new grass has grown slightly longer than the rest of the lawn, you are safe to mow the newly seeded area.

Types of Grass Seed

It is worth mentioning that there are a huge variety of different grass seeds, and it depends entirely on the area you are seeding as to which one you will need. For basic home lawns, we recommend ornamental grass seed, or if you have a heavy footfall then hardwearing grass seed may be a more suitable choice.

Patching With Turf

When it comes to patching your lawn with turf, you have a much larger planting window. If you are cutting patches for bare spots, you are best doing this during the main growing season. It usually only takes a couple of weeks to develop shallow roots too, provided you keep the area moist.

Here are the steps for patching your lawn with turf:

8.       Cut a turf patch that is slightly bigger than the bare area on your lawn (ideally extending by 2 inches).

9.       Use the new turf patch as a template, placing it over the bare spot. Trace around the area and then dig out all the dead grass underneath this spot.

10.   Prepare the soil by loosening it with a garden rake, as you want the new turf to root down quickly into the soil underneath.

11.   Plant the turf patch by placing it in the excavated area and walk on it repeatedly. Water immediately and then two or three times for a few days until it actively starts growing.

So, there you have it, how to fix your patchy lawn! If you would like any more help or advise on improving the health of your lawn, get in touch with the experts at Boston Bulbs who will be more than happy to help.