How to fix dead grass spots

Dealing with patches of dry grass in your lawn can be a real challenge. They seem to mysteriously show up without warning and quickly wear out their welcome. Determining the reasons why those patches of dead grass are there in the first place will help you figure out a game plan to fix them once and for all.

Dry grass is unhealthy or dead grass. It’s the result of an underlying problem that needs to be corrected before you can restore the area to its original healthy condition.

What Does Dry Grass Look Like?

Dry grass can take on different looks. The color, shape and size of dry grass areas can vary. Changes in color, shape or size are clues that can help you to identify the cause. Where it shows up in your lawn can be a clue, too. Usually the dry grass areas are straw-colored and may have weeds growing in them.

Why Does Dry Grass Occur?

Here are some common causes for dry grass patches:

• Dog urine;
• Lawn disease;
• Fertilizer or pesticide spills;
• Soil compaction;
• Grub and insect activity;
• Localized dry spots;
• Unwanted subsurface materials and contamination.

How Do I Fix Them?

These seven easy steps will help you restore your lawn to its original condition:

1. Remove dead material to expose the soil underneath it.
2. Loosen the soil with a rake or hand tool.
3. Flush damage from dogs and spills with water to move the contaminants through the soil.
4. If necessary, add topsoil to bring the area back up to grade.
5. Sprinkle seed and lightly scratch it into the soil. Top-dress the area with a light coating of additional soil. Gently tamp.
6. Add starter fertilizer and seed starter mulch.
7. Lightly water and follow with frequent light waterings as the seedlings mature.

Whatever the reason for your dry grass, follow these steps to restore your lawn. But before fixing these trouble areas, it’s important to know why they occurred. You wouldn’t replace wet carpet without fixing the hole in the roof. The same logic holds true here. Remember, dry grass is only a symptom of the underlying problem that created it. You’ll want to correct those problems first. Otherwise, the same dry grass will return.

Originally Published: July 09, 2020

Nothing ruins a beautiful lawn more than brown spots and dead patches. And while little spots or patches can seem innocent at first, they can be signs of more significant problems in your yard. If you’ve got dead patches and brown spots, there are a few steps you can take to keep your grass healthy and avoid a headache down the round. We’ve got three quick tips to help you keep your lawn looking beautiful. 

What causes bare patches and brown spots on a lawn?

Bare patches and dead spots on the lawn is a problem that every homeowner faces from time to time. A lot of issues can cause dead patches and bare spots, and it isn’t always obvious what’s to blame. 

Some common issues that cause dead patches on your lawn

• Poor soil quality
• Bugs and other pests
• Fungal diseases
• Compacted soil
• Sun & heat damage
• Inconsistent grass seed
• And lots more!

Like most things in life, no matter how well you take care of something, it will eventually need to be repaired. And the same is true with your lawn. No matter how well you take care of your grass, maintenance (even the strictest, most disciplined kind) won’t always be enough. 

Dead patches are not an uncommon problem; animals, disease or poor soil conditions are a reality for every home and property. Luckily, most issues are easy to fix.

Here are a few things you can try yourself to take of brown, dying spots in your lawn.

Step 1. Aerate Your Lawn

The main idea in aerating your lawn is to create small holes in the ground, allowing air, water, and essential nutrients to reach the plant roots easily. By giving the roots an extra boost, you can create healthier, thicker grass. 

Aerating your lawn is also extremely important to reduce the damage of soil compaction. This soil compaction occurs when soil is packed too tightly, reducing the amount of air and water that are absorbed. 

When it comes to aerating your lawn, even if you only have two or three visible dead areas, go ahead and aerate the whole lawn. By aerating the entire lawn, you’ll improve the overall health of your turf and make sure you don’t have any more dead patches appearing. 

You can rent a hand aerator for smaller yards, or a machine aerator for larger yards with more tightly compacted soil.

Step 2. Topdress with Compost

Poor soil is one of the leading causes of dead grass patches. Topdressing your lawn with compost is the best way to provide much-needed nutrients and improve the quality of the soil.

Compost adds organic matter that improves the soil structure. The nutrients it contains are released slowly, which is ultimately better for your lawn than a quick dash of chemical fertilizer.

Pelletized compost is the easiest to apply. The pellets expand when they get wet, so a bag covers a much larger area than you might think.

Spread a thin layer over your entire yard, but focus on the dead areas that need fixing.

Step 3. Reseed Your Lawn

The dead spots in your lawn will need to be seeded to produce new growth. A mix of perennial rye and blue grass works well in most parts of Ontario.

To start reseeding your lawn, lightly spread seed in the newly prepared bare areas, but also take a look at the overall lawn. If the grass seems thin or sparse, you may want to overseed everywhere. Blue grass takes about 28 days to germinate, so you’ll have to be patient.

Make sure to water thoroughly after reseeding – after all, watering is still an essential factor in maintaining a lush, green lawn. The new seed should be kept moist until it germinates, which is usually five to seven days.

Once the seeds have germinated, gradually reduce how often you water. Established lawns do better with a few deep waterings instead of more frequent, quick watering.

If aerating, topdressing, and reseeding doesn’t solve the problem, you might need to seek out professional help. A lawn care professional will be able to help test your soil, identify potential pests and disease, and make recommendations for how best to tackle your dead patches and brown spots. It’s hard to suggest what needs to be done, as different pests, animals, diseases and fungi need special treatment. 

If you have ongoing problems with the health of your lawn, consult with the landscape experts at Wright Landscape Services.

For most homeowners, aerating, topdressing and seeding are easy tasks that will help to revive and renew your lawn with lush, green growth and help solve most lawn care issues. When your lawn is looking nice and healthy, and you’re ready to give it an extra boost, make sure you check out how to thicken up your grass and yard.

And if you’re ready to take your back or front yard to the next level, check out our Design & Build Services to get the yard you’ve been dreaming of.

Grass photo credit to Eric Martin under cc 2.0
Neighbours Compost photo credit to Joi Ito under cc 2.0
Home is where the sprinkler is photo credit to Robert Couse-Baker under cc 2.0

Having a lush green lawn that the neighbors envy can make you feel good every time you step outside. It looks great, it boosts your curb appeal, and can really put a smile on your face.

But that may not be what you’re seeing outside and potentially the reason you found this article. You could have thought you succeeded in growing a great lawn but are now looking at dead, brown spots. Or, you could just now be realizing your lawn has progressively gotten worse and really needs some professional help.

When you start to see dead spots in your grass, it can completely change your mood. Few things can be more frustrating and you want a solution—fast.

Of course, the last thing that you want to do is make the problem worse. There are definitely certain things that you should be doing—and other things you should not.

That’s why we’ve rounded up a handy list of how to get dead grass to grow—as well as what to avoid doing.

The DO’s of How to Repair Grass

Repairing dead grass can be a bit more involved than a lot of folks realize. In order to ensure that you’re taking the right steps and getting your lawn what it needs, we’re starting off with a list of things to do when it comes to how to get dead grass to grow.

DO Get Connected With a Worthwhile Lawn Care Pro

Why does this matter? Because you need an accurate professional diagnosis of your lawn problem. There are so many different issues that could be causing your dead grass areas, and so many of them have similar (or even the same) symptoms.

It could be a lawn disease or lawn pests. It could even be an environmental stressor. But before you can start solving the problem, you need an accurate diagnosis. It’s the most critical first step to a solution and if you receive an improper diagnosis and start treating the wrong problem, you can actually make the problem worse.

DO Adjust Watering and Mowing Based on Recommendations

One of the recommendations that your lawn care provider might make in terms of how to repair grass is to adjust your watering and mowing routine. Your grass needs around one to two inches of water each week, dependent upon air temperature and movement. If it is cool and still, the soil will retain more moisture. If your lawn isn’t receiving enough water, it may need more.

On the flipside, too much water can actually drown your grassroots. Because grassroots need oxygen to live, excessive water can fill those air gaps in the soil and actually drown your plants. This will cause the lawn to yellow, brown, then die. If your lawn care professional determines you are overwatering your lawn, you’ll need to back off on how often you’re watering.

Similarly, your mowing habits can also contribute to dead patches. Mowing, in general, puts stress on the lawn. If you are mowing too short, you may be putting more stress on your lawn then it can handle.

DO Apply the Right Lawn Care Products Based on the Issue and Timing

However, all lawn care products have a proper amount and a proper timing associated with them. And some lawn care products may be warranted in certain instances—which can differ from lawn to lawn.

You want to make sure that your lawn care company is applying the right products at the right time in order to not only be most effective but also to prevent possible problems.  

DO Repair the Lawn with the Right Method

First, you have to get the problem under control. Whether a pro diagnoses a disease, a pest, or an environmental concern (or more than one of these), you need to address the problem so that it doesn’t keep coming back.

Once that’s done, then you’ll need to apply the right method of repair. For the vast majority of cases, aeration and overseeding will restore the dead patches in your lawn.

While there are other more intensive repair methods out there, which tend to be quite costly, even in some of the worst cases we’ve seen, aeration and overseeding have been effective at repairing dead patches.

Of course, it’s important to ensure that it’s performed properly. There is a best time to repair a lawn, which is in the fall when new grass seed will be able to thrive.

DO Care for Repaired Areas Properly

Getting on the right watering schedule for your repaired areas as well as implementing an after-care program will be important steps when it comes to how to turn brown grass green.

You’ve gone through the trouble of having your lawn properly repaired, now you want to make sure that it remains an effective solution. New grass can require some extra care in order to grow successfully.

The DON'Ts of How to Repair Grass

Of course, there are also ways that you can prolong the time that you have to deal with dead spots—or possibly even make the problem worse. We’ve rounded up a list of things that you should avoid doing when it comes to how to repair grass.

DON’T Just Wish for the Best

Ignoring your problem and hoping it will get better isn’t going to get you anywhere. In fact, chances are, if you already have some brown and dead spots, they are only going to get worse.

These dead areas are an indicator that something is wrong and you need to take action. A problem that is causing your grass to die needs remedying.

DON’T Assume the Cause

While we love educated homeowners and we put a lot of information out there in order to help people in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, PA understand their lawn problems, we don’t advocate taking matters into your own hands.

When you try to make your own diagnosis, you risk implementing the wrong solution and making the problem worse. As we mentioned, many lawn problems mimic one another and it really does take a professional examination to determine the cause of your problems.

DON’T Just Automatically Water More

For instance, watering incorrectly can cause a fungal disease to spread. Plus, if overwatering is actually the root cause of your problems, more water is only going to make the problem worse.

DON’T Just Apply More Fertilizer

Similar to watering, a lot of homeowners are inclined to throw down extra fertilizer assuming this will solve how to turn brown grass green. Actually, we find that a lot of homeowners believe the more fertilizer added to their lawn, the better.

The truth is, most summer lawn diseases are actually aggravated by too much quick release nitrogen fertilizer. If you’ve unknowingly hired a lawn care company that uses quick-release nitrogen fertilizer (or maybe do one as a late summer treatment), and your lawn is struggling with turf disease, it could make it a lot worse.

DON’T Seed at any Time Other Than the Late Summer or Fall

Seeding bare spots will be your best solution in most cases—but when you seed is important. We don’t want you to waste your time or money seeding any time other than in the late summer or fall.

Seeding in the spring or early summer is not going to be effective as the conditions are simply not ideal for new lawn growth. Instead, you should wait until the fall when the conditions are truly ideal for your lawn to thrive. The nighttime air is cool, the ground is moist, and the soil is still warm. These are the best growing conditions for your grass seed to germinate and grow strong and healthy roots.  

Hiring the Right Lawn Care Professional to Fix Dead Grass Areas

When it comes to how to repair grass at your home in Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, PA, it may be a bit more involved than you had anticipated. As we mentioned, we often hear from homeowners who tell us they thought they could just water the spots or throw fertilizer down, and they could be fixed.

But your best bet is to hire a lawn care service who truly understands the science behind lawns. First and foremost, you want to be sure that your lawn problem is properly diagnosed as time is often of the essence when it comes to the solution.

By choosing the right professional, you’ll be able to gain confidence that your lawn is getting back on track and those dead areas will be filling in soon. Before you know it, you’ll be looking at the thick, green lawn that you can be proud of.

If you’re ready to work with a lawn care company that knows what your grass needs at your Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, PA home, get in touch with us to get some free expert advice and learn more about our lawn care program options.