How to fix a lawn after heavy rain washes away grass seed
Torrential rain often washes away newly planted grass seed and top dressings like peat moss before germination can occur. Fixing the damage involves assessing whether the seed is truly gone, repairing washed-out areas, and applying spot seeding so the effort and money spent are not completely wasted.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Waiting patiently for slower germination times
- 2Sprinkling additional seed in washed-out areas rather than mowing
- 3Spot seeding later
- 4Trying to fix and save what is left
- 5Waiting to seed until after the heavy rain passes
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Should I stay the course or mow low again and hit with more seed? Doesn’t look like there’s been any germination”source ↗
“Last night it torrentially downpoured for hours; lots of peat moss and seed were swept away by the rainwater.”source ↗
“Anybody have any tips on what to do next? Don’t want all of my hard work and money to go to waste.”source ↗
“Had it happened to me once. Try to fix as best you can and spot seed later.”source ↗
“Was planning on overseeing tomorrow, did lots of prep work today. I saw that we are projected 2.5” rain Thursday and another inch Friday.”source ↗
“Should I wait to seed, or send it? Afraid my seed will get washed out.”source ↗
“That's a ton of rain id be waiting”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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