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.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Waiting patiently for slower germination timesDid this help you?
- 2Sprinkling additional seed in washed-out areas rather than mowingDid this help you?
- 3Spot seeding laterDid this help you?
- 4Trying to fix and save what is leftDid this help you?
- 5Waiting to seed until after the heavy rain passesDid this help you?
- 6Putting down peat moss over the seedDid this help you?
- 7Proceeding with seeding anyway because existing grass keeps things in place or aerator holes catch the seedsDid this help you?
- 8Waiting for a different day in the week when showers might be shorterDid this help you?
- 9proceeding with seeding and letting natural rain water in the seedsDid this help you?
- 10delaying seeding until after the rain or until the ground dries outDid this help you?
- 11Waiting until after the storm passes to avoid seeds being washed away or puddled.Did this help you?
- 12Throwing down more seed directly over the washed-out spots without re-prepping the soilDid this help you?
- 13Covering exposed areas with additional topsoil, peat moss, or compostDid this help you?
- 14Mixing seed and soil/compost together in a bucket, keeping it damp, and placing it in gapsDid this help you?
- 15Waiting patiently for the existing grass to tiller and fill in over timeDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Overseeded and out down peat moss but had some really hard rains that washed away some spots. My questions is can I go over these spots with a cultivator tool and those some seed down or will that mess up the current grass already coming up?”source ↗
“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 ↗
“Is this too heavy for overseeding? Looks like 2.0 inches across the week.”source ↗
“I've spent the last couple days thatching, topdressing, and leveling by backyard to prep for over seeding. Looking at the forecast for the next 72 hours there's a potential for 3/4" of rain in a 24 hour period.”source ↗
“i'm seeing 1.75 inches total fri-mon northshore ma. is that too much for overseeding? people are over hyping the nor easter i think. do i see during the storm? do i wait for the ground to dry out a bit (so monday or tuesday)?”source ↗
“I'm in MA and expecting 3-5" in 24-36 hours....that's a total no-go...but for 3/4", that's just free irrigation.”source ↗
“Had the same thing happen almost two weeks ago. Got 1.5 in heavy rain after seeding and putting peatmoss down. I had areas wash out and seed displaced.”source ↗
“I’m in a similar situation and you should t do anything invasive. Just throw down more seed and topsoil/peat.”source ↗
“this happened to me. I threw out more seed and will dormant seed in January.”source ↗
“Some spots are a little soggy and look bare. Will this fill in after a first mow or should I monitor for reseeding?”source ↗
“Is it worth it to do seed and topsoil today? Or will rain and winds later today and tomorrow will wash away all my work?”source ↗
Where this came up
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