I have a small front lawn, around 4m square and it is very patchy due to the dog peeing on it. However he is now very rarely using the grass and I would like to try and fix all these patches.
Is it possible to patch repair these at this time of year or am I looking at reseeding or returfing next spring? The patches have literally no grass and nothing else growing in it. So dead soil effectively.
Anyone any experience of this?
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If it’s a few patches then turfing is very satisfying. It’s just like patching a carpet. Cut the turf to shape with a sharp knife. Use the patch as a template to cut out the dead lawn part. Water the ground then stick your patch in. It will establish quickly if you keep it moist. Spring would have been ideal but you can do this anytime that grass grows. Just keep watering until it’s growing actively.
Turf is about £3-4 for a meter long strip roll. Buy it fresh from a good garden centre or B&Q if your not fussy.
Seed is OK too and cheaper for big areas but need a bit more prep and it’s harder to establish especially in hot weather. I prefer the instant results that turf gives.
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Martin that does sound therapeutic especially during lockdown!
But would I end up with a patchwork quilt of a lawn with different types of turf? Or does it all blend in to each other?
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>> Martin that does sound therapeutic especially during lockdown!
>>
>> But would I end up with a patchwork quilt of a lawn with different types
>> of turf?
Very possibly, it depends on the *breeding and bloodlines of your current grass and the turves you buy. I moved a pergola that was on paving slabs last year, About 4 sqm. I turfed that to match the lawn
> Or does it all blend in to each other?
I left wavy edges that I filled in with soil and seed. Bit like feathering paint. Its visible, just, if you know or its pointed out to you.
Currently the weather is perfect for fixing lawns, warm and wet. Next week if as promised the sun comes out and it hits 30, it won't be.
*well ok not quite like that, but what type of grass it is, and where it comes from, grass does vary in type and mix.
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your local garden centre sells tubs of lawn patch for dog damage. You rake out the dead spot, fill with the "stuff" from the dispenser. Its lawn seed, fertiliser, some soil, and stuff that expands to fill the hole level, and cover the seed to protect it. Then water.
6 weeks later you have damaged areas fixed
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Yes I have used the patch kits too but I find it can be slow to take and as you say it’s about 6 weeks. I used some during lockdown when garden centres were shut. Turf gives instant cosmetic results and is fully walkable in a week or two.
Both methods are OK but having done both I prefer turf.
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Here’s a confession.
I have never in my life been in a garden centre.
I don’t do gardens, flowers, plants etc. I know folk who go on Sundays for tea and cake and to kill time but I have never been.
I am strictly decking, artificial grass, paving and stone chips. And my lawn at the front.
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>> I have never in my life been in a garden centre.
Don't go Bobby, or at least think very hard about the possible consequences. First, it'll just be a packet of seeds, then you'll start buying compost, fertiliser, roses, clematis, planting tubs, tools etc. Soon it will consume you, you'll start thinking of beige clothes as stylish, admiring the clever seats in Honda Jazzes, it's the slippery slope man...don't go...
;-)
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>> Here’s a confession.
>>
>> I have never in my life been in a garden centre.
DO NOT go there at 1 minute past 12 on a Sunday lunchtime, you will get trampled under walking frame by a slow but heavy tide of pensioners going in for Sunday Lunch.
Its clear by 13:30.
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>> DO NOT go there at 1 minute past 12 on a Sunday lunchtime, you will
>> get trampled under walking frame by a slow but heavy tide of pensioners going in
>> for Sunday Lunch.
Not at the moment, as restaurants are all still closed because of Covid 19.
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>> or am I looking at reseeding or returfing next spring?
I have always understood do reseeding in the early autumn.
The ground is still warm and unlikely to dry out so the seeds grow well ready for the next spring / summer.
Wth cimate change , who knows?
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Henry my grass is producing seed heads now so nature doesn’t wait until autumn. I think summer drought may be a risk to seed, as you infer, but as long as the patches are small then a bit of watering will keep the patches going.
Bobby re patchwork, only digging it all up and applying new seed or turf all over will eliminate that. However I have found that whether seeding or turfing in patches it soon blends into my lawn. It’s not a bowling green but it passes muster. It will certainly look a whole lot better than the pooch patchwork you seem to have now.
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Looked at a couple of web sites and the cost of complete new turf and top soil for my area would be around £150 supplied. Which is making me think of this and if I do this, I might replace some slabbing and edging.
Might even get a pro in to do it - depends if I get furloughed for another month!
One job leads to another..........
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Grass reuires two things to germinate
The soil temperature needs to be between 9-12 degrees C This is usually from March/April until September.
On average, the UK usually has sufficient rainfall in March - April and September – October.
If you sow in summer you need to water, perhaps daily in a dry spell
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I never had much luck seeding bare patches until I took a hint from my borders. They self-seed and flourish with ease. I trowelled out some planting holes in the bare patches, transplanted tufts from the borders and watered for a few days. I'm told that the tufts are probably couch grass but so long they are green they are ok by me.
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Patchy grass due to dog - martin aston
