Dealing with Bare Spots in Your Lawn

Have you been waiting for winter to end only to see bare spots peppering your lawn? Don't worry, even the best green keepers and gardeners can't always prevent small areas of grass from dying in their yards. This article will take you through the steps required to solve this common lawn care problem:

1. Determine the cause of the bare spots and solve any lawn care problems contributing to them.
2. Consider variances between warm vs. cool season grasses.
3. Know optimal timing and conditions for seeding bare spots.
4. Fill in bare spots and tend to them.

Common Bare Spot Culprits

Scan your lawn this spring and ask yourself if the same areas of your lawn are consistently prone to bare spots each year. If so, an underlying lawn care issue may be the problem. Following are some common causes of bare spots and how to solve them:

• Dog urine: Soak these areas with water to flush excess salt from the soil.
• Excessive or prolonged snow cover: Rake and sprinkle grass seed across the areas.
• Ice formation over the grass: Implement a drainage system to keep these areas drier throughout the winter months (For more information about fixing drainage problems, see "Standing Up to Standing Water,".
• Insect or weed damage from the previous season: Tackle weeds, grubs and crabgrass at the appropriate times.

Not All Grass is Alike

Before filling in bare spots, think about the climate you live in. Warm season grasses will act differently than cool season grasses. Knowing how these grasses react (or don't react) to bare spots will make filling them in easier.

Southern States
If you live in the southern U.S. and have warm season grasses such as Bermuda grass, Zoysia grass or St. Augustine grass, then small bare spots will normally fill in on their own due to the grasses' creeping growth habits and their ability to rapidly fill in. Larger bare spots, however, may need a jump-start.Shovel a small amount of turf and soil from the west or south side of the lawn next to the house and transplant it to the bare area. This will help the spots fill in very quickly.

Northern States
Fixing bare spots is more complicated in the North because cool season grasses aren't as aggressive and fill in slowly (or not at all if they have bunch growth habits). Leaving holes to fill in on their own will cause depressions. If the bare areas are small enough, the leaves of neighboring grass around the holes will cover them, but there will not be plants within the area to anchor the soil. Eventually, this soil may shift or move, leading to lumpy, uneven lawns. Therefore, the best remedy for cool season grasses is to fill in the bare areas with seed.Identify the type of grass in the yard and seed with a grass of similar appearance or species.

Timing is Everything

Just as people work more efficiently in comfortable conditions, so does grass. Preparing a bare area for grass reestablishment involves recognizing that three essential environmental factors must be present simultaneously: proper light, temperature and moisture. If any of these three factors are not present in appropriate quantities, the grass will not germinate and grow. For example, seeding in the northern U.S. in February - even with plenty of moisture and sunshine - will not work due to the cold temperatures.

What this means is that certain optimal windows exist for seeding bare spots where light, temperature and moisture are ideal for grass growth. Seed in the spring and fall for cool season grasses, and in the spring and summer for warm season grasses.

Giving Bare Spots Their Fill

When the time comes to hit the dirt, follow these easy steps:

• Scratch the ground with a hard tooth rake. Loosen the soil to a 1-inch depth to help optimize germination.
• Sprinkle the seed down at a rate of 10-20 seeds per square inch. Don't apply the seed too heavily - too many seeds in one spot will cause a bunch of tiny plants to compete for water and nutrients.
• Use only high-quality grass seed (check the seed label).
• Sprinkle starter fertilizer on the area.A tablespoon of fertilizer per square foot is plenty.
• Turn a rake upside down and work it over the area. This will mix the seeds in the top 1-inch of the soil.
• Press down on the area with a tamper or your foot to secure the seed in the soil.
• Mulch the area to help retain moisture. Use clean straw or a light application of paper mulch like "PennMulch" or "Germinator." The products needed to fill in bare spots can be purchased separately or with a patch kit, which can be found at local garden centers.
• Water daily if possible. It is not necessary to soak the area because the spot will draw existing moisture from the surrounding soil and grass.

Equipped with the steps necessary to tackle bare spots, you will have lush, green grass that covers your whole yard in no time. But, don't get discouraged if they reappear in the same areas or different ones - keep in mind that bare spots are difficult for even the experts to prevent.