You've made it past winter, but you've noticed some bare patches in your lawn. No problem, in this guide we will run through some of the best and easiest ways to fix patchy grass and get that healthy lawn in time for spring and summer.
Causes of bare spots
Most lawns suffer from bare patches from time-to-time, there can be a few common causes such as:
Moss removal Removing moss from your lawn can leave particularly bare patches, you'll often remove moss with a plan to repair the lawn after.
Dead Grass Unfortunately over the colder months grass plants can suffer, the frost and snow can cause some winter dieback leading to dead grass.
Worn Areas Overuse of a lawn is a tell-tale sign of that large bare patch on your lawn. Does the bare area coincide with where your kids play football?
Dog Urine Unfortunately for those with pets, urine can scorch the grass and usually leaves brown patches on your lawn.
Weeds Weeds take over parts of the lawn and when removed can leave patchy grass behind.
Soil Compaction Compaction can cause problems with nutrient intake, root development and drainage which will likely leave your grass to suffer.
Infestations Unwanted critters such as chafer grubs can cause your grass to die as they eat the grass roots.
Let's run through some of these problems and how to use grass seed to repair a lawn.
When can I fix my patchy lawn?
If using seed to repair your lawn (the easiest and most common way) then we would recommend applying seed during the growing season which is usually starts in early spring March to October (for our seed mix).
If your patches are only small you can use regular mowing to help to promote thickness, alongside the right seasonal fertilisers. This means your surrounding lawn will also benefit from the fertiliser and so will the soil beneath!
How can I carry out a lawn repair?
Lawn repair can be pretty simple, sowing seed to either patch repair a lawn or to totally re seed the lawn. Lets run through some repair methods. A quick note before we begin, we would recommend mowing your lawn short before applying any type of seed, ensure you never take off more than one third with each mow. This will ensure the seed can get the right amount of light and isn't suffering in the shade of the existing grass.
Patch repair Say you have a small bare patch on your lawn you'd like to repair, one way of dealing with this is to apply some lawn seed to the area, watering the seed to keep it constantly moist and in a few weeks time you'll start to see the seeds germinate.
One of the problems with this method is that if you use a different seed mix you may notice a slightly different colour or thickness to the grass leaves so we usually recommend to overseed the entire lawn for uniformity. When carrying out a patch repair, ensure to prepare that section of soil by either applying a small amount of top soil so that the seeds have good seed to soil contact or lightly rake the repair site, apply the seed and compact.
Overseeding This requires using new seed to boost the existing grass on your lawn, which is great to maintain uniformity and thicken out the entire lawn. Our packs are designed for this purpose and are great for lawns with either no grass at all or if you're looking to thicken out the whole lawn. Your lawn will likely have some bare patches and overseeding the entire lawn can solve this quite easily.
We have easy to follow step-by-step guides, but as a quick overview you'll want to deal with any existing problems such as moss, weeds or thatch so that you are left with just exposed soil and the healthy grass. Then you can sow grass seed by using a spreader or by hand (alongside any fertilisers etc.) to the surrounding grass then continue watering regularly for the first four weeks to ensure it is kept constantly moist. Those new green shoots you're seeing are the germinating seeds and you can expect to see these from between 7-21 days depending on the time of year.
Sow a new lawn You might be looking at your lawn and there is a whole array of problems to deal with and you'd simply like to start from scratch. You can do so by removing the grass, turning the existing soil and re seeding the entire thing. We sell The Lawn Pack Plus for this purpose as it provides enough seed to fully thicken out completely bare areas. You might also want to consider covering the seed with a thin layer of compost or similar. The benefits of this? It'll look like brand new turf as we've been told a few times!
Aftercare of my new grass
So you've treated your damaged area and it's several weeks later and you're wondering if you can finally use your new lawn.
The good news is we recommend to keep lawn usage to a minimum for 4 weeks but after this and with regular maintenance then you're free to enjoy your new lawn.
You've gone to the effort of a lawn repair, so we really would recommend doing the following to make the most of your lawn year round:
- Mow your lawn regularly, mowing is your lawn best friend as it prompts growth and thickness
- Regularly fertilising your lawn to ensure it is receiving the right nutrients
- Aeration for soil compaction (you can lightly fork the soil, but we recommend using a proper aerating machine)
- Scarification to remove thatch (you can use a garden rake or scarifying machine).
What can I use to easily repair the patches?
The great news is you can now use the same supplier for all your garden repair needs, not only do we offer The Lawn Transformation Pack we now also sell our seasonal booster packs which can be applied to your lawn to help them to retain moisture and provide your garden with the right nutrients for the time of year. Looking to give your garden a healthy boost this year? Choose one of our packs and receive support from our committed team.
