Our front lawn looks pretty nice except for a couple of bald areas,
where one sees mainly dirt. What is the best way to patch the areas
with grass? Would spreading grass seed and fertilizer on those areas
work well? We live in Western Washington. Thanks.

tenplay wrote:

Our front lawn looks pretty nice except for a couple of bald areas,
where one sees mainly dirt. What is the best way to patch the areas
with grass? Would spreading grass seed and fertilizer on those areas
work well? We live in Western Washington. Thanks.
I mix up some potting soil, starter fertilizer and grass seed in my
garden cart. At each bar spot I use a 3-tined cultivator to rough up
the ground, apply some of the mixture, stamp it down. And then water,
water, water. The potting soil has a lot of peat moss in it so it
holds the water fairly well, but grass seed must be kept damp in order
to sprout.

Stubby wrote:
tenplay wrote:

Our front lawn looks pretty nice except for a couple of bald areas,
where one sees mainly dirt. What is the best way to patch the areas
with grass? Would spreading grass seed and fertilizer on those areas
work well? We live in Western Washington. Thanks.

I mix up some potting soil, starter fertilizer and grass seed in my
garden cart. At each bar spot I use a 3-tined cultivator to rough up
the ground, apply some of the mixture, stamp it down. And then water,
water, water. The potting soil has a lot of peat moss in it so it
holds the water fairly well, but grass seed must be kept damp in order
to sprout.

It sounds like it would be better to wait until the fall when the rainy
season is back in force. Of course it never stops raining for long in
the NW. I'm just thinking that we will go on a couple of trips during
the summer when the grass won't be getting watered frequently. Thanks
for your advice.

I find patching from seed a waste of time. If it's too hot or too dry the seed
will not germinate and there is a good chance a bunch of weeds will germinate
too. I just go to the garden center an buy rolls of sod for $4.00. Within a
week the sod roots itself, viloa!


tenplay wrote:

Stubby wrote:
tenplay wrote:

Our front lawn looks pretty nice except for a couple of bald areas,
where one sees mainly dirt. What is the best way to patch the areas
with grass? Would spreading grass seed and fertilizer on those areas
work well? We live in Western Washington. Thanks.

I mix up some potting soil, starter fertilizer and grass seed in my
garden cart. At each bar spot I use a 3-tined cultivator to rough up
the ground, apply some of the mixture, stamp it down. And then water,
water, water. The potting soil has a lot of peat moss in it so it
holds the water fairly well, but grass seed must be kept damp in order
to sprout.

It sounds like it would be better to wait until the fall when the rainy
season is back in force. Of course it never stops raining for long in
the NW. I'm just thinking that we will go on a couple of trips during
the summer when the grass won't be getting watered frequently. Thanks
for your advice.

Sir Topham Hat wrote:
I find patching from seed a waste of time. If it's too hot or too dry the seed
will not germinate and there is a good chance a bunch of weeds will germinate
too. I just go to the garden center an buy rolls of sod for $4.00. Within a
week the sod roots itself, viloa!

Sod must be kept damp, also. Digging out the old turf and preparing the
subsoil is far more work that I want.