Repairing bare patches in your lawn is a fairly simple task that you can perform yourself, but you will need some tools and guidance to get it just right.
There are two main ways to repair dead spots in your lawn. The first one is by using seeds to regrow the lawn, and the second is by placing a new sod patch on the damaged area. Both are quite easy, but there are a few details you should be aware of to make sure all goes well.
Let’s start with the tools you’ll need for your grass patch repair and move on to how to do it!
“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have. – Vince Lombardi
What you’ll need
These are the main tools you’ll need to fix dead grass spots in your lawn:
- Rake
- Water
- Grass seeds
- Trowel
- Compost or topsoil*
- Shovel*
*Compost is optional but helpful, and the shovel will only be used for the second method. If you’re curious, you can make compost at home using leaves, but this process takes some time. For this project, it’s better to just purchase some if you need it!
How to patch dead spots with seed
- First things first: rake the soil on the area you want to repair until it’s smooth and ready for the seeds. You can add some compost to this area and rake for better results.
- Once the raking is done, spread seeds over the soil. Be generous with the amount so that you cover the entire area, but not so much that seeds are piling on top of each other. Once that’s done, cover the seeds with a thin layer of compost.
- Water the seeds. Don’t drench them, just keep the area moist as much as possible throughout the day. If you’re facing hot sunny days, you might want to cover the patch with a sheet of burlap to secure the moist. Check regularly to make sure the seeds aren’t dry.
- At least for the following couple of weeks, mow your grass around the patch so that it has time to grow and blend properly. Only start mowing the new patch after it’s grown about 3 inches. You might notice a difference in coloration at first, but this should even out in a few weeks as the area blends more with your lawn.
How to patch dead spots with sod
- Here’s where you’ll use the shovel to cut out the damaged portion and remove the sod patch. Once that’s done, also remove some of the healthy grass around the area by hand – this will help the new patch blend later.
- Now let’s prepare the soil. This is very similar to the way we would prepare for repairing grass patches with seed – rake the soil until smooth and add a bit of compost if possible. You might also want to remove an extra layer of soil so that the new sod patch is even with the rest of your lawn.
- Cut a piece of the new sod to fit the patch you want to repair as closely as possible. It’s better to make it a tight fit than having it loosely fit, since we want it to blend as seamlessly as possible. Place it down on the area, snuggle the edges and then walk over the patch to settle it down.
- Water generously to start, and then continue to water up to three times a day. As per expected, it will look slightly different in coloration, but once the new patch gets more used with the area, it will blend nicely with your lawn.
Need help patching up your lawn? Get free quotes from a local landscaper!
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