There’s little more terrifying to a homeowner than seeing a beautiful lawn overtaken by brown patches and dead spots.
These spots in an otherwise green lawn are often caused by various factors, making assessing and treating them yourself difficult. But don’t despair!
This resource has a step-by-step plan to help you patch those dead spots and get your lawn back to its healthy former self. If you’re not up to the task, consider calling upon a professional lawn care service to help you devise the right plan for treating your lawn.
Determine The Cause
It’s essential if at all possible, to determine the cause of brown spots on your lawn. They can be caused by many factors, including insects, heat and drought damage, dog urine, fungal diseases, and many more. However, if you already know the cause, you may be able to take preventive measures to stop further damage.
Example: If you have dog urine damage, try to restrict or discourage the dog’s access to your lawn. You can also take a soil sample to have it tested (or hire a lawn company to come and do this for you.)
Prepare Your Lawn For Seeding
You’ll want to clear out old, dead grass, along with rocks, pine mulch, or any other types of residues. This way, when you seed your lawn, the seeds will come into direct contact with the soil and are more likely to germinate successfully.
You should also loosen and aerate the top few inches of soil. Tossing grass seeds on top of arid, dry soil is a guaranteed recipe for disaster, as the sources are unlikely to get the nutrients they need and won’t break through the hard surface.
The cooler fall months are the perfect time to re-seed dead lawn areas, as conditions are generally moister and cooler than in summer. If your soil is deficient in nutrients, you may want to mix some fertilizer or compost into the uppermost layer of dirt.
Seed The Lawn
You can spread the seed by hand or use a wheeled seed spreader for larger areas. Either way, you might wish to work the seed down gently, so that it embeds in the dirt.
Once you have spread the seed, fertilize the entire lawn with an appropriate fertilizer for your soil conditions. You will also need to water your new seeds regularly, while being careful not to overwater, which can leave a lawn susceptible to fungal diseases.
Spreading mulch over fresh seed is an excellent way to lock in nutrients and protect the seedlings from scattering while they take root. It can also discourage animals from digging while the grass is still growing.
Do your best to keep the lawn from being disturbed during the growing process. This means maintaining animals, kids, furniture – everything – of your increasing grass of at least a week or two.
If all of this sounds daunting, or you aren’t sure where to get started, a lawn maintenance company can not only help you repair the dead spots that are plaguing your lawn; they can also create a program to keep your grass healthy year-round and prevent further problems.