Here ’s what you need to have a go at it about overplanting areas of diseased or distressed sod .

Despite your effective efforts to keep a lawn in tip - top shape , including selecting thebest type of grass for your region , applying an organic fertilizertwice a class , aerating periodicallyto discourage thatch buildup and soil compaction , andproperly mow it , unsightly spots in need of mend may appear in your lawn .

Before you guarantee any lawn stamping ground , it ’s important to see out what caused the trouble . Sometimes , an accident , such as a fertilizer spillage , create a bare smear in the lawn . Other causes are plant disease , destructive insects , or competition for light and wet from overgrown neighboring plants . Correct these upshot first ; sometimes , the grass will recuperate or regrow on its own in the moved place . If it does n’t , utilise seed or sodomist to repair the lawn .

lawn with beds and potted plants

Credit: Richard Brown

fix orotund areas of your lawnrequires particular prick , but if the patch is modest , all you demand is grass semen , topsoil , and a trowel .

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

Lawn Repair: Patching with Seed

In spring , cut down the existing grassas closely as potential ; be careful not to scrape the crowns of the works ( if you ’re fill a spot that ’s already stripped , you may hop-skip mop ) . take away the clippings in the area to be repaired so the seed will have direct inter-group communication with the soil . Remove anydead grassor weed .

Rake Soil

apply a garden pitch to rough out up the grime between the grass works . This , and the straw of the impertinently mown grass , will make a expert seedbed for the new ejaculate you ’re adding to the lawn repair region . Rake the land smooth and level .

Spread Seed

Sprinkle seed thickly in the lawn repair area . Use a variety that corresponds to the surrounding grass if possible . Otherwise , use a salmagundi of grasses appropriate for your region .

masking seed with a light sprinkling of surface soil or a thinlayer of compost , or scatter some straw over the lawn fixing country you ’ve seeded . This prevents the seeds from being blown away by the wind or wash away by irrigation or rainfall . Covering the stain also thin wet loss .

Instead of go around supergrass seed and topsoil one by one , you could also use a lawn mend mixture that includes grass germ and mulch or soil and pitter-patter that on top of the bare patch .

loosen up matted turf and debris with rake

Credit: Brie Passano

Water

Unless it rains every 24-hour interval , irrigate the area daily(in red-hot weather condition even twice a day ) to ensure germination and keep germinating seeds moist at all times .

Only begin cut down the grass when it has grown to a altitude of about 3 to 4 column inch , which is typically six to seven weeks after seeding . Mowing too ahead of time disturbs the tender roots .

Lawn Repair: Patching with Sod

Laying sodis the immediate technique for lawn repair to patch a dead or discredited turf field . Any time during the time of year is fine when you are just fixing a few small spots . However , for larger area , the best time is in the spring and early autumn when the temperature are cooler and there is more rainfall .

buy a character of sod that fit your existing lawn . Prepare the dirt the same path you would for patching with seed . Keep the orbit an inch or so below score so the new eatage will be level with the lawn . Then cut a small-arm from the slip of sod to agree the repair website . exhort it firmly onto the soil , placing its edges snugly against the surround lawn .

take the air on it to sink it into spot . piddle it profoundly every day until the roots grow into the soil beneath the sod , which takes at least two weeks .

sprinkle grass seed on bare spots

Sod mats amount in a reach of sizes , from small-scale slab ( 16x24 column inch ) to larger mats or rolls measuring 2 feet in width and 5 metrical unit in length , brood 10 square foot .   If you are only prepare very low spot in your lawn , seeding is preferable over cut turf to size .

saturate topsoil and grass seed with hose

add layer of topsoil above grass seed

Credit: Brie Passano

cut sod piece with blade to fit patch

cover bare patch with sod piece