How to fix bald spots in a high traffic lawn
Kids, large dogs, and mowing wet grass can tear up a lawn and leave bald spots completely down to the dirt. People try to restore the grass to its former glory by putting seeds in the bad spots, but get stuck wondering if they messed up by not adding fertilizer.
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.
- 1Giving in and seeding the invasive grass variety deliberately so it grows relentlesslyDid this help you?
- 2Sprigging rather than seeding to establish the grassDid this help you?
- 3Fertilizing heavily in summer to encourage aggressive spreadingDid this help you?
- 4Putting down grass seeds in the bald spots.Did this help you?
- 5Watering the new seeds twice a day.Did 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.
“I have 2 kids and a 150lb Great Dane that run all over this lawn tearing it up and making lots of bald spots.”source ↗
“I also constantly fight Bermuda as it is naturally everywhere.”source ↗
“Hired a gardener (first mistake, which has since been corrected) to help take care of it, and he destroyed it by mowing it when it was wet. Now it’s full of bald spots down to the dirt.”source ↗
“I put down seeds all over and in the bad spots last week in hopes of filling it back in to its former glory, but after finding this sub I’m wondering if I messed up?”source ↗
“Should I have put fertilizer on over the seeds? Can I do it now?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 174Why is my overseeding failing to grow?
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- 3How to level a yard after removing a tree without killing the grass