dead patches

[ChrisL]

I've been spending some extra time on the lawn recently, and for the most part it's looking very well. However, there are a few spots where not only has the grass not come back, but nothing grows there at all. I'm thinking its a pest problem, perhaps something common like chinch bugs. The "dead patches" aren't bare dirt, it looks like rotten grass instead... any opinions?

 

[Chuck]

I've been spending some extra time on the lawn recently, and for the most part it's looking very well. However, there are a few spots where not only has the grass not come back, but nothing grows there at all. I'm thinking its a pest problem, perhaps something common like chinch bugs. The "dead patches" aren't bare dirt, it looks like rotten grass instead... any opinions?

Well, it is getting to be grub worm season..............again

 

[MartySue]

My mother's lawns have always been the worst in the neighborhood--this has happened more than once, that she's moved into a house and the yard is allowed to take care of itself. Oh, the grass never gets too tall because it's always walked on by the grandkids and the dogs, but after a couple of years, it turns into just a yard of dirt.

What causes this? It's not like she sets out to have a yard of dirt, but it gradually encroaches on the grass until the grass just gives up and dies.

She can't afford a landscaping service, and since I don't know why this happens, I have no idea (and no expertise) to tell her how to fix it.

 

[Chuck]

My mother's lawns have always been the worst in the neighborhood--this has happened more than once, that she's moved into a house and the yard is allowed to take care of itself. Oh, the grass never gets too tall because it's always walked on by the grandkids and the dogs, but after a couple of years, it turns into just a yard of dirt.

What causes this? It's not like she sets out to have a yard of dirt, but it gradually encroaches on the grass until the grass just gives up and dies.

She can't afford a landscaping service, and since I don't know why this happens, I have no idea (and no expertise) to tell her how to fix it.

What is happening is that the dogs and grandkids are compacting the soil and thus restricting the oxygen that the grass roots need.. Here is how to fix it. All you have to do is go rent a grass/lawn aerator. It is kind of like a lawnmower but instead of having a blade it has a roller with a bunch of spikes on it. As it rolls across the lawn these spikes penetrate the soil and remove little plugs of soil leaving a little hole where the plug was. Then go get some organic fertilizer. Usually the people you get the fertilizer from will loan you a fertilizer spreader. Then go and buy a good hose end sprayer and some horticultural molasses from a nursery. Set the hose end sprayer to 2 oz. per gallon and water in the fertilized area. You will not have to repeat the aeration process. Just keep the grass fertilized. And the use of molasses on a regular basis will bring back and keep the lawn looking good whether vandalized by grandkids and dogs or not.

 

[Beth_B]

Grubs weaken the roots, and when heat or whatever stresses the grass, it won't grow.

You can also buy a punch aerator such as @Chuck describes, for cheap. A bit slower because it is manual but if you dont have a huge lawn it will work fine. I had and used one annually when I lived in Colorado, great little tool.

 

[kgord]

I have some dead spots too. I haven't tried doing anything specific with it yet, but I plan to try planting grass at some point over there. That part of the lawn doesn't get much traffic, so I am hoping that grass seed will go well over there. I have been waiting for some cooler weather over this way to do some planting.

 

[Chuck]

I have some dead spots too. I haven't tried doing anything specific with it yet, but I plan to try planting grass at some point over there. That part of the lawn doesn't get much traffic, so I am hoping that grass seed will go well over there. I have been waiting for some cooler weather over this way to do some planting.

To ensure good germination grass seed should be sown in the hot part of the year. The only thing is that it has to be kept moist

 

[kgord]

Some people say that grass seed should be planted in the Fall, but I will plant it as soon as possible. I am not going to go out and start messing around when it is 90 plus though. It has been very humid. I need a cooler day to work in the yard. I am pretty heat sensitive.

 

[Chuck]

Some people say that grass seed should be planted in the Fall, but I will plant it as soon as possible. I am not going to go out and start messing around when it is 90 plus though. It has been very humid. I need a cooler day to work in the yard. I am pretty heat sensitive.

Not know where you live fall planting is very iffy. In 7a when is your first frost. Turf Grass should be established before it freezes Little grass seedlings will die if frozen

 

[kgord]

Oh the frost won't be until sometime in October. I think there is plenty of time. I have planted this seed with mixed results elsewhere in the lawn. I just planted some of it in the dead zone..I guess we will see how it does. That area doesn't get a lot of foot traffic so I am hopeful. We had several drenching rain storms this past week, I am glad I didn't plant them before, because they could have been washed out I think.

 

[rz3300]

Well at a certain point it just comes down to certain level of luck, and I can really relate to @MartySue in that I grew up in the house that seemed to be the worst. Every other house had a nice lawns and the perfect 1950's image that you see with the picket fence, and then her lawn was full of dead patches. This was really before all the advancement in lawn care that we see now, too, so it was just something we dealt with, but I am curious to see what we could have done. Thanks for sharing.