Questions tagged [lawn-repair]
For lawn-fixing and repair questions
234
questions
42
votes
5
answers
27k
views
How do I encourage lawn seeds to germinate successfully?
I'm trying to repair some patches in my lawn with grass seeds, but I can't seem to get the seeds to germinate. Is there anything that can be done to encourage germination?
In addition, the weather ...
- 3,284
40
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How do I know when and how much to aerate my lawn?
I have a section of my lawn which seems prone to standing water, grass that doesn't grow very quickly, and seems very hard-packed. I think it's probably in desperate need of aeration.
What is the ...
- 1,973
35
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Making a yard that's settled more level?
My yard was installed when the prior owners built our house a dozen years ago. They did a decent job with the landscaping and yard. The problem is that some areas of the yard have settled and I'd like ...
- 923
32
votes
1
answer
23k
views
Can my lawn be saved or is it time to dig it up and re-sod?
The majority of the grass in my backyard has turned brown and/or died after what we believe was a chinch bug onslaught that went untreated for way too long. It is St. Augustine grass in South Florida....
- 655
23
votes
2
answers
74k
views
How to fill low spots over existing grass in my yard?
I read this question and it made me think of what I need to do this weekend. But I have these questions:
If I've got a few holes - maybe a place where a bush was dug out and the ground eventually ...
- 9,161
23
votes
3
answers
18k
views
How can I tell if my lawn needs to be dethatched?
I understand that a lawn may need to be dethatched periodically so the roots of the grass can reach into the soil (instead of into the thatch layer). How do I tell if my thatch layer is getting too ...
- 1,973
22
votes
3
answers
66k
views
How is a lumpy lawn flattened out?
My lawn has both peaks and troughs. I guess that I can just fill the troughs with lawn soil or compost, right?
But how do I flatten the peaks?
I’ve read that a water filled roller does nothing.
Has ...
- 2,884
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How is crabgrass removed from lawns?
I have some crabgrass in various patches in my lawn that I would like to remove. At the same time, I would like to fill in some patches (and the crabgrass locations) with new grass seed. I can buy ...
- 425
19
votes
4
answers
47k
views
I reseeded my lawn but the results are patchy. Do I apply further seed, or start again?
I had a tree taken down and the stump ground up. I cleared a majority of the tree mulch and laid top soil, seeded, and put some hay on top. It's been a couple of weeks and the grass is growing in ...
- 291
19
votes
5
answers
322
views
What is the right watering schedule for the different areas of my front lawn?
I recently bought a house, and would like to keep my lawn looking as nice as everyone else's in my neighborhood. Right now I water every zone 5-8 minutes, every other day. This is just something I ...
- 193
18
votes
5
answers
60k
views
How do I get rid of the large cracks in my lawn due to the lack of rain?
I live in Dallas, Texas and we've been having some pretty crazy heat this year.
I try to water my lawn 3 to 4 times a week so my grass doesn't all die. My lawn is doing pretty well considering how ...
- 535
16
votes
12
answers
122k
views
Family pool on lawn all summer - what can I do to help the grass underneath recover?
Like many families with children we have a large (15 foot) inflatable paddling pool taking up part of the lawn for the entire summer period (roughly May to Oct).
When we pack away the pool, there's ...
- 9,523
16
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Will leveling uneven lawns with extra sand kill future lawns?
I just removed my old front stoop: it was a wall of field stone, filled with a layer of pea stone and 2x8x8 cubic feet of sand, and finally covered by slate. I want to level my very uneven lawn with ...
- 489
15
votes
4
answers
38k
views
How do I quickly remove crabgrass without too much manual labour?
My backyard is being overtaken with crabgrass again. It started later this year than last. In the early spring, I rented a de-thatcher/powerrake and cleaned up the year of a lot of dead material (to ...
- 1,093
14
votes
2
answers
31k
views
How long do you water after planting grass?
I have just planted some grass seed to replace some grass lost after the dry summer. I have been watering it daily for 3-4 days. How long should I keep this up?
- 629
14
votes
4
answers
22k
views
How can I deal with broken glass spread out in my yard?
I recently purchased a house on a 0.25 acre (0.1 hectare, ~11,000 sqft) lot that in the past was known as "the party house." This name became more clear to me today while raking leaves I found large ...
- 255
13
votes
2
answers
19k
views
Should turf be laid above, below or flush with existing ground level?
When patching a section of an existing lawn, should the turf be laid
a) very slightly above existing ground level (to allow for settling)
b) very slightly below existing ground level (to give it ...
- 9,523
12
votes
2
answers
513
views
What is a good strategy to fix up a lawn in winter?
I have an issue with my lawn.
There is a huge patch of dead grass just below a covered area. The area gets plenty of sun, but I guess it just does not get enough water.
What is a good strategy to ...
- 313
12
votes
1
answer
10k
views
When is the best/acceptable time to perform a fall core aeration and seeding on a lawn?
I live in Southern NJ, USA (Mid Atlantic/Northeast region). I recently contracted with a (well known, national) lawn care company to perform some maintenance on my lawn (aeration, fertilizers, ...
- 1,093
11
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Dandelions taking over the lawn
My lawn was overrun with dandelions so I've used some Ortho Weed-B-Gon Max and that seems to be killing the dandelions very well. The problem is now my lawn is very sparse with grass. There just wasn'...
- 295
11
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Is early November too late in the season to overseed, repair a cool-season lawn?
I'm wondering if it would be too late in the season to overseed, repair a cool-season lawn in preparation for the coming Spring.
I live in Atlantic Canada.
I've been fighting with our lawn since we ...
- 213
10
votes
7
answers
42k
views
How can I drain water from a low spot in my garden when I have no lower spot to drain to?
I have a low spot in the back of my yard that pools excessive water after a rain. The only lower spot than that is my neighbor's yard (there is a brief upslope between my yard and his) so I cannot ...
- 101
10
votes
4
answers
28k
views
How do I fix the worst lawn on the street?
I inherited this Picasso last year when my wife and I bought our first home. Now, there is plenty of potential, but first and foremost I want to remove all the vegetation I don't want, which includes ...
- 347
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How should I fill and reseed shallow depressions in my lawn?
I want to level out a lawn that is roughly 4000 square feet. It has many low areas that vary in diameter and depth. Not sure what caused these holes; my guess is that they are from a previous owner ...
- 101
10
votes
1
answer
148
views
What are these plants growing on my lawn?
I have these leaves sprouting all over my lawn and property. What is it? Should I be worried?
NOTE: This is in Wisconsin.
- 549
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What is the best type of grass for high-wear areas in England, and how to use?
We have started a nursery school in our garden in northern England, it has a large lawn but after the first winter there are bad bare patches on heavy-use areas. Clearly we need to be more actively ...
- 2,507
9
votes
2
answers
133
views
Growing a healthy lawn
We've recently bought our first home and I'm slowly getting in to the garden. I have a lot to learn, so starting small - amongst some basic composting and herb growing I'm also trying to fix our lawn.
...
- 563
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What type of lawn damage is this, and what do I do about it?
I would like to give my front lawn a little TLC this year.
I don’t really know a lot about lawn care, (other than mowing it) so I am looking for some general advice. Does this look like a seeding ...
- 191
9
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Filling low spot in yard
I have a low spot in my yard that I want to fill in. It is an 8' diameter spot that is about 4"- 6" lower than the surrounding grass. The grass in this spot it mostly dead from this being a small ...
- 91
9
votes
3
answers
13k
views
How can I fix a lawn which has become patchy?
My backyard lawn has always been slightly "patchy." My yard keeper attributes this to my two female dogs. I've been willing to believe him as the front yard grass has not had this problem and the ...
- 205
9
votes
2
answers
11k
views
How often should you overseed a lawn?
I'm unclear if this is something that should be done only when a lawn has problems, or as part of normal maintenance every X years? I guess you could even do it every spring but I imagine that's ...
- 2,507
9
votes
1
answer
284
views
What are the benefits of dethatching your lawn?
I have St. Augustine grass. What exactly is the process of dethatching? This question went into a brief discussion regarding dethatching.
Are there benefits to dethatching? When is the latest time ...
- 2,157
9
votes
2
answers
480
views
How do I prepare and sow a lawn organically?
Sowing a lawn organically seems to have 2 problems that need solving:
Killing the weeds prior to sowing
Avoiding weed growth after sowing
Once the soil is levelled, I'm considering trying the false ...
- 1,473
8
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Why are there yellow areas in my lawn?
I have recently purchased a home in Illinois. The yard was in terrible condition before. There were big bushes growing all around the yard (as shown in picture two). Now there are only patches of ...
- 285
8
votes
3
answers
13k
views
What should I do to improve a lawn growing on a new construction lot?
A builder built a new home for us last year (2013) and put sod in the front, and a seed blanket in the back. The seed blanket came up somewhat patchy, so we bought a few bags of seed and a spreader, ...
- 245
8
votes
5
answers
83k
views
How to reseed grass after killing weeds?
My lawn is overrun by clover and all sorts of weeds. I have lawn grass spots here and there, but the majority is weeds.
I was going to spray with "Ortho Weed-B-Gon Max", then spread some top soil ...
- 181
8
votes
4
answers
79k
views
What immediate steps should I take after my lawn is aerated?
My lawn which is a combination of clover, moss, crabgrass, dandelions and occasionally some grass is going to be aerated in two weeks. I want to know the immediate steps to take after the cores are ...
- 647
8
votes
3
answers
149k
views
Is throwing grass seed without dirt enough?
I have seen some people throw seed without using dirt. Is it less or more efficient ?
Here is this video here that shows what I am talking about
- 223
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How long should I wait after overseeding, before I apply pre-emergent weed preventer?
I aerated, overseeded and applied starter fertilizer last Sept 15th. Would I be safe to apply a pre-emergent such as Scotts fertilizer with Halts pre-emergent this spring, or would some of the grass ...
- 81
8
votes
1
answer
5k
views
How do I restore my lawn without having to re-sod the property?
We've been in our home for roughly three years. The previous owners did a less than stellar job at maintaing the lawn, so I've spent quite a bit of time trying to get it back into fair condition ...
- 183
8
votes
0
answers
119
views
How do I flatten out the four inch high bumps in my lawn? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How is a lumpy lawn flattened out?
My lawn is full of bumps, there's no stretch of flat ground anywhere. They're little mounds about 4 inches high or so, and this is not on ...
- 181
7
votes
4
answers
756
views
Beginner Starting from Scratch: Weedlot to Enjoyable Garden [closed]
I live in the Pacific Northwest (Portland), and I have a small urban back yard (20'x30'). In the decade I have owned the house, I have never really done much with it, and it has ranged from boring ...
- 173
7
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Can I save a lawn that wasn't watered for a week?
We turned our sprinkler system off last weekend so that we could mow the lawn in the morning without the grass being wet. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn the sprinkler system back on and the grass has ...
7
votes
2
answers
24k
views
What are the Coldest Spring Temperatures to Overseed a Lawn?
I know (now) that the best time to overseed a lawn is in the Fall. I obviously missed that window so I have to make do. I've read that the 2nd best time to overseed is early Spring. But how early ...
- 235
7
votes
3
answers
294
views
order of actions to revive and maintain (or re-purpose) abandoned orchard
[First question here on gardening and landscaping SE, please excuse my English and terminology. I would like to ask a 'few' questions (sorry for long post) but I'm mostly looking for some directions/...
- 1,582
7
votes
2
answers
5k
views
What should I do about bare patches in my lawn after killing off Creeping Charlie?
I live in midwest Iowa and my lawn has started to get taken over by Creeping Charlie. After much reading, I went out and bought the Ortho Weed Be Gone to try and kill it off. A week ago I tested by ...
- 173
7
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Aerate, de-thatch & overseed. Is this really the correct order?
I operate an equipment rental delivery service in the Portland, Oregon area. It's that time of year again when DIY homeowners are renting these items together.
Aerator (core aerator)
De-thatcher (...
- 103
7
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Should I leave or remove sand under a demolished brick walkway to allow grass to grow?
I started demolishing an old brick walkway in my backyard and I found sand underneath about a good 3 inches worth of sand. My question is: If I leave the sand underneath and add about 2 inches of ...
Eric
7
votes
3
answers
309
views
How to avoid damaging waterlogged lawn in winter?
We have quite a long lawn with my woodworking workshop at the end. In winter the lawn —like the rest of the UK— becomes quite wet. I still need to get to the workshop. However it's slippery and ...
- 171
7
votes
2
answers
25k
views
Why are holes and divots typically filled with a sand mix?
I was taking a lunch time walk at work and noticed some council workers filling in a sizable patch (about 1m square) with soil. I've noticed this done on golf courses and also on sports grounds and I ...
- 6,352