Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Patches in my lawn

devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Hi all. Amateur gardener here with an ambition to resurrect my lawn.

Can anyone help me identify what these dry patches are on my lawn, there are a lot more than shown in the pic.

Any tips on how to treat them too would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Posts

  • tlchimeratlchimera Posts: 51
    I'm by no means a lawn expert (as in I know next to nothing) but things that cause patches in my lawn include female dog wee, if I leave something lying on it for too long, heavy use (i.e. it's a patch we walk across a lot, particularly when it's feeling delicate), if there's something weird under it (we have a lot of builder's detritus under the surface), deep shade, super dry patches and compacted soil. I'd probably stab it with a fork a bit and chuck seed at it on a rainy day. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you have a female dog and let her wee on the grass, that's probably the cause.
    I once made a small, perfectly round dead patch on my grass by standing a hot cup of tea on it and then getting distracted by something, but I only did it the one time.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Have you had the lawn in situ for long @devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0?
    Apart from the dried out patches, the grass looks quite sparse in places too. What kind of care has it had, and is it a shady site or sunny, and what's the soil like? 
    As already said, if it's a new build, the soil underneath can be rubbish -literally, and it's often compacted too. That can cause grass to be poor, but it can be helped  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0 Posts: 5
    Thanks all. Much appreciated.

    I don't have a dog and hardly used it over winter which is when these patches came to be.
  • devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0 Posts: 5
    edited April 2022
    Fairygirl said:
    Have you had the lawn in situ for long @devkrishanbhattm5B3XgK0?
    Apart from the dried out patches, the grass looks quite sparse in places too. What kind of care has it had, and is it a shady site or sunny, and what's the soil like? 
    As already said, if it's a new build, the soil underneath can be rubbish -literally, and it's often compacted too. That can cause grass to be poor, but it can be helped  :)
    It's about 3 years old, it was a newly laid lawn in a new build and from some of the weeding I've been doing, I've found a lot of rubble under the turf.

    It looks sparse in patches due to my lack of experience/knowledge. I used to cut the grass on the mowers lowest setting, practically scalping it. I now know it needs to be a higher setting, so will look to live with it during the summer and reseed in the autumn to make it more dense.

    Any advice on the patches and how to get rid of them would be appreciated as well as how to fix the soil under the turf!

    Ps, I applied some feed on Monday and gave it another cut yesterday morning.

    PPS, it's a South-ish facing garden so in the shade for a couple hours in the morn, in the sun the rest of the day!
  • zugeniezugenie Posts: 831
    Being a new build I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some rubble under there, have you stuck a fork in to see?
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited April 2022
    If the dead patches are due to buried rubble or something like that, the only long term solution is to get it out, fill in with some topsoil (you can buy bags from DIY places if you don't have anywhere else in the garden you could take some from) and re-seed.
    You could maybe try sticking a garden fork in vertically into the dead patches. If it will go in down to the whole length of the tines without hitting anything hard, that should be enough depth for grass so you would just need to dig out the dead clumps (they shouldn't be deep-rooted), fill in with a small amount of soil if it leaves a hollow, seed the bare patches and keep it well-watered until it's grown.
    I think the lighter green patches are clumps of coarser weed grasses so you could do the same with those if you like (dig out, fill and seed).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    There's only two solutions really. One is as @JennyJ describes, and the other is raising the soil level over the whole area and re seeding. You may need to add an edging round the lawn to contain that. 
    You'd be better trying to amend the soil, whether it's the overall level, or the poor, rubbley areas, over the next month or so, and re seeding before summer. That would mean your lawn would be fairly decent by autumn, and able to withstand winter well. If the site isn't in full sun, you might need to look for a seed suitable for a shadier site. 

    Cutting too short is always a mistake, especially in long dry spells. Never take off more than about a third of the height at any time, especially early in the year. Later on, you can alter the height according to your climate and conditions. In wetter areas, you can afford to cut a little shorter, but the grass has to be in good health and thriving  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sign In or Register to comment.