Get a Thicker, Greener Lawn

REPAIRING BARE SPOTS IN YOUR LAWN

Bare spots can appear in your lawn due to various reasons like pet activity, children playing, winter damage, pests, or neglect. Let's focus on how to fix these bare spots correctly. 

If you're looking to address larger areas or your entire lawn, consider overseeding, which involves seeding over the existing lawn to improve its health and thickness.

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Here's how to repair bare spots

Before you start, identify the root cause of the bare patch. For instance, if it's due to foot traffic, the approach will be different from addressing pest or disease damage.

Equipment you’ll need

• Garden rake
• Hand cultivator
• Spade or garden shovel
• Compost or soil
• Grass seed
• Seed cover (optional)

1. Rake the area clear of debris

Using your garden rake, clear the area of any debris, thatch, or dead grass.  

While here, this is a good time to check for potential grub damage.  The damaged patch will lift very easily if grub damage exists, almost like lifting a floor rug.  A few grubs are OK - However, if there many present, you likely have grub issues and need to tackle this first.  

2. Break up the soil

Loosen up the soil using your cultivator.  If you don’t have a cultivator, this can be done using a garden rake.  The goal of this is to break up the top layer of soil as much as we can without damaging the surrounding area.  

3. Add compost or soil

Amend the soil by adding a thin layer of compost of soil over the existing bare spot.  Mix the soil together even out surface using either hand or garden tool. 

‍4. Add grass seed

Using your hand or a handheld spreader, spread the grass seed across the bare patch area enough to evenly cover the surface.  If seeds are beginning to pile up, this is too much seed.  Seed should fit comfortably next to one another with soil in between.  

‍5. Rake seed into soil

Using your garden rake or cultivator, mix the grass seed into the soil bed to promote optimal seed to soil contact for germination.  

6. Apply starter fertilizer (optional)

You can apply a starter fertilizer, however, it’s not required.  Starter fertilizers are designed to promote establishment of the root systems and development of new grasses.  

‍7. Add seed cover (optional) 

Add a seed cover to protect the newly laid grass seed.  You can use peat moss, straw blanket, or something similar.  I recommend using something that encourages moisture retention to minimize risks to seed drying out.  

8. Water until germination

Seeds need water to germinate and will need to be kept moist until germination occurs.  Depending on the seed selection, this can take anywhere from 4-21 days for germination to occur.  Be mindful of watering schedule and forecast ahead when planning.  

‍9. Mowing new grass

When new grass has reached 3” inches it can be cut for the first time.  If you have a small enough bare patch, you can manually cut this area - Or lightly take a lawn mower to it.  Avoid multiple passes and any traffic until grass has had a chance to mature and fully establish.  

SELECTING THE RIGHT GRASS FOR YOUR LAWN

What grass is best for you, your local environment, and your lifestyle?  Great news for you, I’ve done the heavy lifting for you and provided my personal recommendations on which cool-season grass is best for you in my free guide “What Grass is BEST for You?”

Each lawn is different with various environmental considerations - Meaning, what works for one person may not work for the next, so on and so forth.  

Certain grasses tolerate various conditions better than others (i.e. drought, shade, traffic, winter hardiness, etc.) that all need to be considered when selecting the right grass seed.  

Elite Seed vs Big Box Store - What’s the difference? 

All grass seed is the same, right!?  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  

I created this video to help visually help you understand an issue that you likely never knew even existed when it comes to purchasing grass seed.  

Simply put, you get what you pay for - In most cases, by taking the cheap route you’ll be spending more in the long run when you could have done it right the first time.  

I’m hoping my videos provide a “light bulb” moment so you don’t make the same mistake that I, along with millions of others have made in the past.  

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SEED YOUR LAWN?

The best time to seed your lawn depends on where you’re located.  I’ll reiterate that the answer is dependent on which growing zone you’re located in.  Cool season growing zones will have a different recommended schedule than Warm season growing zones.  

Read this post about growing zones and familiarizing yourself with your surroundings.

If you’re in the Cool Season or Transition Zones planting a cool-season grass (Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue, Fine Fescue, or Perennial Ryegrass), the best time to seed is in the late-summer or early fall when soil temperatures begin to drop. The next best time to seed is in spring, when soil temperatures are consistently above 55-degrees fahrenheit. 

If you’re in the Warm Season or Transition Zones planting a warm-season grass, you’re best timing is going to be mid-spring, early summer.  However, this is highly dependent on the type of grass you are choosing and the growth pattern to recommend a path forward for seeding.  

WHAT PRODUCT TO AVOID WHEN SEEDING

While spring is probably the most popular time amongst homeowners to seed their lawns, there is also a common practice of applying a pre-emergent around the same time to control weeds in the spring and summer. 

While pre-emergents are very effective at controlling and suppressing the germination of select broadleaf weeds, they are also incredibly effective at doing the same to newly planted grass seed.  

If you’re planning on doing any sort of seeding project, you want to ensure that you haven’t yet or don’t plan to apply a traditional pre-emergent (barricade, dimension, etc.) - Otherwise all that seed you purchased will be a giant waste of money sitting out in your lawn.  

There are selective pre-emergents that you can use that will selectively target only the weed seeds available on the market.  Mesotrione is a commonly used product that is available in both a liquid and granular form that has both pre-and post-emergent characteristics for controlling weeds that is safe to use during cool-season seeding projects 

Always read the label.  Do not use Mesotrione on warm season grasses.

HOW TO GET A THICK, LUSH, GREEN LAWN

Achieving your dream lawn has a lot to do with great cultural practices (i.e. fertilizing, mowing, watering, maintenance, etc.).  However, to get your lawn up to your standards and to stay there might take a seeding project or two.  

This is where overseeding comes into play.  Overseeding is the practice of planting grass seed over an entire existing lawn with the end goal to enhance the overall health and appearance of the lawn.

Most cool-season grasses will require you to overseed from season to season.  If you have Tall Fescue, Fine Fescue, or Perennial Ryegrass, these are grass types that traditionally won’t repair themselves - If they do, the repair is marginal and recommended to overseed. If you have a rhizomatous grass type, like Kentucky Bluegrass, that has the ability to self-repair - You will not need to overseed nearly as much (or at the same rates) as the others.  

Introducing a rhizomatous grass type to an existing cool season lawn may be a great long-term strategy to help fill in those bare spots over time.  

As mentioned earlier, it is best to complete an overseeding project for a cool-season lawn in the late-summer/early-fall season, followed by spring.  

For a complete step-by-step guide on overseeding your cool-season lawn, tips, and recommended products, download my Overseeding Guide that is also found within my Cool Season Starter Pack, providing all you need to know to start your lawn care journey on your cool-season lawn.  

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