Lawn repair after the damage is done

Lawn repair is required when your grass is dead or severely damaged.  Repairing the affected areas will ensure beautiful grass and will keep out those pesky weeds.

The following steps should be followed carefully when patching the affected areas or doing any type of lawn renovation.

• Identify the problem.  Is it weeds, insects, disease or damage that caused the problem?
• Dig up the affected areas of grass.  Removal of all damaged grass plants helps ward off weeds and disease when the patching is complete. It is easiest for you to work with a square area of the grass.
• If you had a chemical spill, be sure to dilute the area with water.
• Level the soil so it is the same height as the soil in the surrounding areas.  If necessary add top soil to level the ground off.
• Make sure your soil has the necessary nutrients for grass growth to be successful.  If your soil is nutrient deficient, add compost.
• Either seed or sod the affected area.

If you decide to seed the area, seed by hand or with a spreader.  You want to make sure the seed coverage  is even in all areas.  Rake the seed into the soil.  You want to make sure the seed has good contact with the soil for the grass plants to grow.  To protect the seeded area, cover it with mulch.  When you finish apply a starter fertilizer and water the area well.

If you decide to sod the area, make sure you build up the soil approximately 1 inch above the surrounding soil.  Place the sod in the proper area.  Make sure you press down on the sod, it needs to have good contact with the soil.  It is important for the roots of the sod to establish themselves in the soil.  The newly sodded area should be level with the rest of the grass.  Water the area well.

You have to wait a few weeks before you can mow the newly seeded/sodded areas.  Make sure traffic on the new grass is kept to a minimum.  You want to make sure the new grass has the time it needs to establish it's root system in the soil.

Return from lawn repair to planting a lawn.