If you’re like us, you take great pride in your lawn looking great and are proud when it’s looking nice and fresh. But you also may have a few bare spots that are stopping your lawn from being the best it can be.
Bare patches can appear on your lawn due to excess compaction, which means you will usually find them on worn paths in your backyard – such as the path to the clothesline, the pool or the back shed. The excess wear that these areas are exposed too causes the ground to go hard, which is known as compaction, which makes it difficult for turf to grow a runner through the compacted ground.
A useful analogy for the situation is when you try and push a knife through sand, as opposed to pushing it through concrete. This is the same principle with a turf runner trying to grow through non-compacted ground (or sand) vs compacted ground (concrete).
With this in mind, we recommend two methods which can help repair bare patches on your lawn.
If the bare patches on your lawn are the size of an A4 sheet of paper, or smaller, it is possible to fix them without buying new lawn. The steps include:
De-compact the ground with a chipping hoe (or something similar). This breaks up the soil and allows both air and nutrients to penetrate the soil. When you complete this step, make sure you turn the ground over, so it is de-compacted to a depth of at least 100mm.
Level the ground so it matches up with the existing levels around it. This provides a nice soft base for the turf to both produce a runner and repair itself. To assist in softening the base even further, add a small amount of sandy top dress to the bare spot/s.
After completing steps 1 and 2, get into a regular program of fertilising and watering the area while the lawn is repairing itself. Fertilise every 8 – 9 weeks and water a few times a week (you can get away with watering the bare areas only).
Remember, try and minimise the traffic that makes its way across the area while your turf is repairing. Depending on the time of year and the size of the bare patch or patches, the repair process will likely take a few months to complete.
The second method, and the preferred option, is to lay new turf to the affected bare areas. This is also recommended for smaller areas, as it is easier, quicker and cheaper in the long run as opposed to Method 1.
Rake any dead foliage out of the bare area/s.
This is similar to Step 2 above – turn over and level out the existing soil and add new sandy loam, if needed, to bring the level of the ground up to the existing grass.
Once you have prepared the lawn, head to Rosemount Turf and pick up the amount of turf needed. We always recommend calling ahead to ensure we have the correct amount lawn ready for you – our number is 5448 6398.
Cut the turf to the size required (remember when preparing the area to try and make it as square as possible to help with the patch up) and lay it in the bare patch. If you have any leftover sandy soil, use this to top dress around the edges (if you don’t have any left, don’t worry!).
Water the new turf in well and try to avoid mowing the area until the lawn has rooted into the ground. Continue watering regularly to keep the new turfs feet wet whilst it is establishing into the ground.
If you have any questions or would like some further assistance when it comes to your Sunshine Coast turf needs, give Rosemount Turf a call today!
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We understand that COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is having a significant impact on all Australians and that it is a difficult and unprecedented time at the moment. We wanted to assure you that health and safety are the top priorities for Rosemount Turf management and staff. There are certain measures that we have put in place to ensure that our customers and employees are safe. We are being vigilant with our office and ensuring all surfaces are sterilised and cleaned regularly.
We would like to remind you that orders can be made online or over the phone and paid for via credit card, so no cash handling is needed. We can arrange delivery and the placement of your turf over the phone with our administration staff when you purchase. You don't need to be home when it is delivered.
If you have any further questions regarding any of our safety policies that we have in place during this time, or would like to discuss some new turf, give us a call on (07) 5448 6398.
Rosemount turf along with Lawn Solutions Australia is reaffirming our commitment to consumers with our ability to produce and deliver high quality turf products to consumers. No contact is required during the ordering or delivering process.
