Are you looking for a way how to fix patchy grass? We’ve shown you how to fix patchy grass by overseeding the problematic areas in this guide. We’ve also explained why these patches appear and how to avoid them in the future.
Your lawn may acquire bare patches for a variety of causes, including:
- High usage, such as from children or pets.
- Urine from pets (although your lawn will normally turn yellow first).
- Weedkiller application that is excessive.
- Fungal growth on the lawn is an example of a lawn disease (although other symptoms will show first, typically, depending on the disease).
- You may have just cleared your lawn of a substantial amount of weeds or moss.
- The key to preventing bare patches on your lawn is proper lawn maintenance.
Basically, the stronger and healthier your grass is, the better it will be able to withstand foot traffic, illness, and other pressures that might lead to bare patches.
Taking good care of your lawn includes things like:
- To avoid damaging your grass, mow it more frequently, at a greater cutting height, and with razor-sharp blades.
- Scarifying your grass once or twice a year to reduce thatch buildup is a good idea.
- Aerate your lawn on a regular basis, especially if it has drainage problems.
- Tree branches should be pruned to ensure that your grass receives adequate sunshine.
To provide your lawn with plenty of nutrients, use fertilizer and/or mulch grass clippings.
Read our lawn care calendar to discover more about lawn care and what activities you should be performing during each season of the year.
- My Lawn is Patchy and Uneven What Next to do
- My Lawn is Full of Weeds and Dead Grass
- Types of Cool Season Grass will grow in Partial or Full Shade
- 8 Steps to Revive St-Augustine Grass to Grow Back
How To Fix Patchy Grass | How to Fix Bare Patches on Your Lawn
What you need to do to fix bald spots on your lawn is as follows.
1. Prepare the soil
To offer the grass seeds you’ll be sowing the best chance of thriving, prepare the soil before you start fixing bare places on your lawn.
To do so, you’ll need to:
Remove any debris, such as sticks and stones, from the bare regions.
Any sections of the grass that are entirely dead should be removed. If your lawn only has bare spots of dirt, you usually don’t need to do this.
If there are spots of dead lawn that you don’t think will grow back, though, it’s a good idea to remove them to make way for the grass seeds you’ll put later.
Especially if the soil is dry and compacted, loosen it. A garden fork can help you do this, especially if your bare spots are small; otherwise, a rotavator can be used.
Remove any weeds by hand, if possible. Weeds can obstruct the growth of your new grass, and it’s much easier to get rid of them when there’s no grass.
When pulling weeds by hand, make sure you get the whole plant and don’t leave any roots behind.
Using a rake, level the soil.
2. Add fertilizer
Spread a thin layer of organic fertilizer on your lawn, especially in areas where there are barren patches, to give your new grass seeds the best chance of sprouting.
To achieve a uniform spread, add a tiny amount of fertilizer and scrape the ground again.
3. Buy grass seeds
You can now re-seed the bare regions to help them become lush and green once more.
The first step is to look for grass seeds that are compatible with the sort of grass you already have on your lawn.
First, have a look at our guide to the various types of grass seeds available in the UK and compare them to your own lawn. Most lawn seed packs will have a variety of seeds, so seek ones that primarily contain seeds that are comparable to your grass kind.
Although finding an exact match can be difficult, most grass on UK lawns is quite green and has a fine blade, similar to fescue. If you’re not sure, fescue seed mixes are usually an excellent option.
4. Spread grass seeds
You can now disperse the seeds around your grass.
- If you have a big area of bare patches, you can spread it by hand or with a lawn spreader. If your seeds are brand new and have not expired, you should distribute them in a quantity according to the instructions on the packet.
- If the seeds have been left in an open bag for a few months, you will need to spread them out more because some will not grow.
- Water the lawn thoroughly once you’ve scattered the seeds, giving it a good soak.
- Keep your distance from the bare places for the next six weeks while the grass grows, and water the seeds regularly.Put up a small fence to keep pets out of the seeded areas if required, and consider putting up a bird repellent as well, at least until the seeds start to sprout.
- Optional: cover the seeds with a thin layer of dirt or compost to protect them from birds and keep them from blowing away.
- It is also feasible to patch bare spots with turf, although this is normally a considerably more time-consuming process. You’ll need to purchase the appropriate amount of grass, trim it down to size, and then wait for it to blend in with the rest of your lawn, which can take a long time.
Conclusion
This concludes our approach to repairing patchy areas on your lawn.If you’re still stumped on how to reseed bare grass areas, post a comment below and we’ll help you out.