If the lawn develops into a desolate patchwork quilt, littered with gaps and sparsely overgrown areas, nobody has to put up with this annoyance. The causes of the problem may be manifold; the procedure for the solution follows a uniform pattern. Learn all the important aspects of how to fix your lawn, overseeding and touching up bare spots. The problem can be rectified almost all year round, so that nobody has to do without a dense, lush green lawn for a long time. How it works is quickly explained.
Table of Contents
Preparing the soil for overseeding
You can easily repair isolated areas of damage in the lawn by reseeding. Regardless of their size, these bald spots first undergo preparation. The procedure depends on the extent to which vegetation is still present.
- Mow the remaining lawn as short as possible
- Then scarify lengthwise and crosswise
- Sweep the area clear of grass and plant debris with the rake
If all green had already said goodbye to the spot, skip this part of the prologue and enter the procedure here:
- Thoroughly loosen the soil with a rake
- Additionally enrich sandy soil with clay powder
- A thin layer of humus makes it easier to grow later
Choose a dry, frost-free day for lawn patching, with no scorching sun in the sky. A point in time during or immediately after a summer drought is just as unsuitable as shortly before winter. The less stressed the lawn is, the higher the chances of success for a permanent repair.
Reseed bare spots selectively
After all the gaps in the battered lawn have been carefully prepared, the actual reseeding is on the agenda. Foresighted hobby gardeners always keep a small reserve for this purpose when laying out a new lawn. It might now pay off if you at least saved the packaging. Given the enormous variety of lawn varieties, you know exactly which seeds to use. The reward for this care is a uniform appearance after the lawn repair.
- Distribute a starter fertilizer in the dosage specified by the manufacturer
- Scatter lawn seed by hand or with a spreader
- Sieve the seeds thinly (0.5 cm) with compost or garden soil
- Water all repaired areas of lawn generously with a fine spray
Although lawn seed germinates with light, it makes sense to cover the patches that have been repaired. The reseeding is thus protected from being washed out by heavy rain showers and does not end up in the stomachs of pecking birds.
Repair damaged areas in no time with rolled turf
Bald spots in the lawn can be easily repaired by overseeding; Afterwards, of course, a little patience is required until the sparse passages have grown over. The repair is much quicker when using rolled turf. This modern form of turf laying has the reputation of being comparatively expensive. However, the argument only applies if you have the turf laid by a specialist company. If you use the finished pieces of lawn for the repair yourself, the costs of around 2-4 euros per square meter (without shipping costs) are hardly significant.
Rolled turf achieves optimal success in the period from March to October. After the preparatory work, which is no different from reseeding, the lawn paving should be laid as freshly as possible. Ideally, you should repair your lawn on the day the turf is delivered.
- Smooth the surface with the rake and lawn roller
- Begin the patch along a straight edge
- Lay end to end to avoid any gaps and joints
- Trim the excess with a sharp knife
Exposed areas within the damaged areas must not be entered. Patches that have already been touched up are covered with wooden slats before stepping on them. In the last step, the lawn roller is used again before the restored section is watered with the watering can.
Repair lawns over a large area using the sandwich method
If the lawn is more reminiscent of a tundra, a comprehensive repair of the entire area can be considered. Hobby gardeners who have to economize with their time capacities usually shy away from this radical measure. The complete removal of the sod and new seeding is too time-consuming, which can often hardly be managed without the use of machines. Since the invention of rolled turf, there has been an efficient patent solution based on the sandwich method. Accordingly, it is not absolutely necessary to peel off the damaged lawn and carry out the extensive work related to soil preparation and sowing. It’s much easier:
- What is left of the lawn is mowed extra short
- A layer of topsoil levels out any unevenness
- Basic fertilization ensures sufficient nutrient supply
- The turf rolls are laid in an offset manner, similar to bricking a wall
Under the new lawn cover, the green area is transformed into a rich layer of humus within a few weeks. Here the roots of the ready-made turf find ideal conditions to anchor themselves in the ground. The weeds that were previously on the grass, such as clover or dandelions, have no chance of penetrating to the surface. The dense sod of the sod rolls reliably suppresses such attempts.
Proper care after repair
After the damaged lawn has been repaired, the focus is on conscientious care. Experience has shown that insufficient watering in particular leads to complications.
- Water the lawn well immediately after repairs
- Do not water or sprinkle under direct sunlight
- Water every 2 days for 2 weeks
- Mow reseeded lawns for the first time from a growth height of 8-10 cm
- Mow the lawn pavement and rolled turf after 7 to 14 days
The nutrient supply is ensured for the near future by the administration of fertilizer as part of the preparatory work.
Proven mixtures for lawn reseeding
When laying out a new lawn, not every hobby gardener considers that they might need the seed again afterwards to repair bare spots. This fact is known to the specialist trade. Fortunately, there is a wide range of repair kits available for this case, which can be harmoniously integrated into all common lawns. An overview:
Compo Saat – Rasenreparatur Mix
- repairs gaps in the lawn and regenerates areas that have been thinned out
- 1.2 kilos for 10 euros
NL Chrestensen Lawn Repair
- Erfurt seed for overseeding
- 500 grams for 8 euros
2in1 Rasenreparatur-Set
- 500 grams of grass seed and 25 kilos of quartz sand
- especially for wet areas
- 25.5 kilos for 21 euros
Captain Green Miracle Repair Lawn
- Combined preparation of seeds and fertilizer
- Price for the set: 10 euros
Substral Magic Lawn Patch
- Lawn seeds, fertilizer and germination substrate
- 4.5 kilos for 25 euros
The manufacturer Compo offers small lawn pads as a compromise between lawn paving made from rolled turf and lawn seeds for overseeding. These are already prepared with seed, substrate and fertilizer. With a size of 20 cm x 20 cm, the pads repair small damaged areas in just a few simple steps. If necessary, the pieces are simply lined up.
Prevention against light spots
Incidentally, if the freshly repaired lawn shines in its old glory, you have it in your hands to be spared such problems in the future. If you heed the following cornerstones of lawn care, you have the best chance of a permanently manicured lawn.
Mowing
The blades of grass must not be trampled on before mowing. Pruning is not done according to a fixed schedule, but in accordance with the growth height and climatic conditions. More than a third of the stalk height should not be mowed. The optimal length of the grass is 4 to 6 cm. During a dry summer period, the blades of grass are welcome to stand a little higher. Never mow in direct sunlight, immediately after a rain shower or after the first frost.
Scarifying
A lawn that is densely covered with weeds and moss after the winter is aerated. A scarifier designed for this purpose loosens the turf and removes all unwanted plant matter. The combed green area is then allowed to recover for 1 to 2 weeks. After the next mowing, the first dose of lawn fertilizer is applied.
Watering
Not only after you have repaired the lawn, the water supply is a pivotal point in the care. Your lawn should never dry out, nor be burdened by waterlogging . This means that in summer the green area may be watered every 2 days, while in continuous rain the lawn sprinkler is not touched for weeks.
Fertilizing
Like all plants in the garden, the grasses in the lawn need nutrients in order to grow dense and lush green. The specialist trade has a large number of balanced fertilizers available, tailored to the type of lawn being cultivated. Applied with a fertilizer wagon, an even distribution is ensured. In practice, fertilizing two or three times has proven to effectively prevent bald spots in the lawn.
