Why Your Grass is Not Growing in Spots (9 Tips for a Patchy Lawn)

Let’s face it, as homeowners, we all strive to have a lush, healthy green lawn. Many homeowners get the majority of the lawn nice and green, but they are left battling against the handful of patchy spots that just won’t budge. We can agree that none of us like a patchy lawn – bald spots are any homeowner’s nemesis! Here are a few common reasons why you have a patchy lawn.

Factors like heat, drought, over-or-underwatering, and excess shade cause spots with poorly growing grass. Compacted soil or soil with the wrong pH causes weed and fungal diseases, causing patchy lawns. Other factors like dog urine, foot traffic, and dull lawnmower blades also cause patchy lawns.

Grass needs the right conditions to thrive as all other plants do. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t understand all of the necessary requirements to keeping their grass lush. Don’t let these common problems get you down. We will discuss a few quick and easy tips on how to get green serenity back into your garden. Let’s dig into it. 

What causes a Patchy Lawn? 

Before we can revive and freshen up our lawns, we need to understand some of the most common causes of patchy lawns.

Heat or Drought 

Excessive heat or drought are common reasons for a patchy lawn. Extreme heat may burn your grass, and drought can kill the grass, leaving unattractive patches.

Over or under watering

Your grass needs the right amount of water to thrive. Overwatering can cause several problems, including drowning your grassroots, nutrient loss, and excessive weed growth. On the other hand, underwatering stunts grass growth, causing issues including yellow patches and fungal growth. Whether it be overwatering or underwatering, neither have desirable outcomes.

Too much shade

We all love a cool, shaded area in summer. However, grass needs four to six hours of unobstructed sunlight to thrive. So if you have a very shady garden, that may be why your lawn is patchy.

pH levels

Grass cannot grow in soil that has an incorrect pH, whether it is too acidic (low) or too alkaline (high). If you have acidic or alkaline soil, it may create patches in your lawn. Your lawn pH should be between 6-7. If it’s higher or lower, your grass will turn yellow or brown and die, causing open patches in your lawn. 

Compacted soil

Compacted soil inhibits essential nutrients and oxygen from reaching the grassroots, ultimately inhibiting the growth and even killing the grass, resulting in a patchy lawn. 

Fungal disease

Fungal disease is a common cause of patchy lawns. Watering your lawn at night often causes fungus to grow in your grass. Fungal diseases weaken your grass which later causes your grass to die, leaving you with an unhappy and unappealing patch lawn. 

Fertilizer burns and excess chemicals

Applying too much fertilizer on your lawn consequently burns your grassroots, killing it. Fertilizer burn is a prevalent cause of patches in the lawn. Spilling excess amounts of chemicals on your lawn can also cause bare patches where the chemical concentration is very high. 

Using improper fertilizer or not using fertilizer frequently enough can also inhibit grass growth. For example, a lack of phosphorus and nitrogen inhibits grass growth, whereas too much nitrogen harms the grass.

For more information on lawn burn, how to avoid it, and how to treat it, read our in-depth article on the dangers of overfertilizing your lawn.

Dog urine

Do you have dogs? Dog urine has excess nitrogen and salts that burn your grass causing yellow and brown patches on your lawn.

Foot traffic

Foot traffic causes damage to your lawn by blocking the grass growth causing dull, brown patches. Your pets and other animals roaming on your lawn can also cause patches due to digging or heavy foot traffic.

Weeds

Weeds use and deplete essential nutrients that the grass needs to grow; the soil becomes infertile and cannot offer adequate nutrients for the grass to flourish.

Thatch

Thatch is an accumulation of dead or decaying plants and tree leaves. Thatch blocks water and nutrients from absorbing into the soil and roots. Causing the plants begin to dry out, leading to brown spots on your lawn. 

Grubs

Grubs eat grass roots, causing the grass to die, which results in a patchy lawn. For more information on diagnosing and treating lawn grubs, read our in-depth article on the tell tale signs of lawn grubs and what to do about them.

Dull lawnmower blade

If your lawnmower blade is dull, the poor cuts on the grass can cause diseases and attract fungi. Cutting the grass too short can send the grassroots into shock, inhibiting growth and thin out the grass, causing patches over time.

9 Tips for a Patchy Lawn

Luckily it will only take a few simple steps to revive your lawn. Try these nine tips for a beautiful green lawn.

Tip 1: Test your soil pH

Test the pH of your soil in areas where your grass doesn’t want to grow properly. Inexpensive homeowner’s kits are a quick fix to find out if your pH is adequate for growing grass. These kits also give you an indication of the nutrient deficiencies in your soil. If your soil is too acidic, consider adding lime, and if your soil is too alkaline, consider adding organic mulches.

Tip 2: Dethatch your lawn

After testing your soil pH, dethatch your lawn to ensure that essential nutrients like oxygen and water get through to the roots. Next, rake your lawn to get rid of debris like leaves and dead grass.  

Dethatching your lawn removes the food source of the fungi that causes your soil to become hydrophobic. Therefore, dethatching your lawn is vital to keep the lawn healthy and lush.

For a deep dive on dethatching your lawn, read our in-depth article on how to prevent lawn thatching.

Tip 3: Aerate your lawn

If your soil is compacted, consider aeration. Aerate your soil via spiking. Aeration will allow water to soak up easier, providing more oxygen and nutrients to the soil.

Aerate your lawn every second year to keep it flourishing. 

Tip 4: Use Herbicide to Kill Weeds

Apply an herbicide to your lawn to prevent weeds from growing in your lawn in the future.

Tip 5: Reseed!

Once you have prepared your lawn, it is time to reseed your lawn. Reseeding your lawn properly is crucial if you want your lawn to look healthy and patch-free. First, divide your seed batch into two equal parts and seed one half vertically and the other horizontally. Spreading your seed vertically and horizontally will ensure that the seeds are evenly spread.

Purchase a good quality seed similar to the grass you currently have to prevent your grass from looking uneven or strange. 

Tip 6: Till

Ensure seed-to-soil contact by tilling your soil after seeding to ensure that your seeds are covered and that the seedlings absorb nutrients and water.

Tip 7: Fertilize

Fertilize your lawn approximately 6-8 weeks after seeding with a starter fertilizer to boost the germination process and to provide the grass seeds with the needed nutrients to grow. Fertilize your soil every two months for the first year and every six months afterward.

Tip 8: Water

If the seed dries, it dies! Irrigate your newly seeded patches two to three times daily for the first week to keep your soil moist and to keep your grass seeds cool enough to germinate properly. After the first week, water your lawn less frequently but deeply to ensure proper root development. Once you have established your lawn, deeply watering your lawn twice a week is sufficient. Wait for your new grass to grow at least 4 inches tall before mowing. 

Tip 9: Keep your dogs out:

Allocate a specific piece of your yard for your pets. For example, put up a fence to prevent dogs and other animals from urinating on your lawn. For more tips on dealing with dog urine prevention, read our full article on how to keep dog pee from killing your grass.

Wrapping Up

With a bit of aeration and dethatching, regular feeding, occasional seeding, and consistent watering, your lawn will be left looking as good as new. 

After you have revived your lawn, a bit of maintenance and love will go a far way. Your grass will thank you and you’ll have a lawn worth showing off for years to come.