On Friday, June 13, 2014 2:23:19 AM UTC-4, Guv Bob wrote:
Any ideas how to get these bare spots filled in again? Same spots, same places as last year about this time. Location is So Calif. No rain to speak of, but have been watering a couple of times a week.



Last year I spent a lot of time preparing the soil, raked in some peat moss & sowing perennial rye. Kept it watered and had moderate success. Now this year, it's mostly all gone and back like it was before.



http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...ozin/GRASS.jpg



In this photo, the foreground is near a water spigot and gets plenty of water from general use. The rest is all hand watered and is greening up in some places, all except the bare spots which doesn't change from week to week.



There is still plenty of peat moss and decent dirt.

The foreground that gets plenty of water is green and lush. The rest is bare. That would suggest that lack of water is the problem. Particularly
when it's been reseeded, still has shallower roots and will need to be
watered more. The "hand watered" suggests a problem too. I don't know
exactly what that means, but it takes a lot of water and even with a
sprinkler system, a long time to put it down. And no matter what your
intentions, it's hard to stand there for more than 15 mins with a hose.
Typical sprinkler system with 2 gal/min heads needs to run for an hour
minimun per zone to put down a reasonable amount of water, eg at least a 1/2"
If you have one and put down some empty tuna cans, you'll be surprised
at how long it takes to get 1/2". And a lawn typically needs 1" a week,
more in hot weather. Figure out the area size, due the math and see
how many gallons it takes.

I'm no expert in CA turf types, but usually a mix of various seed
types, including some bluegrass which can repair via rhizomes is a
better strategy than using one just one variety. And if it's going to
have limited water, I'd look for grass seed that's targeted for less
water applications.