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Over the years, the lawn can be visibly affected, especially if the soil is not prepared and cared for properly. We show practical methods for renewing the lawn.

Lawn damage can look very different: from large holes to molehills, dog holes to sparse areas or weedy lawn areas. If you want to repair your lawn to solve the individual problem, you should choose the right methods and materials. Otherwise, patching the lawn may remain ineffective. Fortunately, holes in the lawn and other damage can often be repaired without a complete new system. We present possible lawn damage and suitable solutions.

Mending or renewing the lawn?

Lawing a new lawn is time-consuming and expensive with professional help. The soil must first be prepared for a new sowing and then watered for several weeks. In addition, the area cannot be entered for a long period of time. However, a completely new lawn is not always necessary. Many damages can also be fixed with repairs.

Because new systems are more complex, repairs are often worthwhile

Tip: It is advisable to repair the lawn in the spring. Early fall is also suitable. The ground is sufficiently warm at these times and the air is slightly cooler so that the seed does not dry out as quickly.

What to do in the event of which type of damage?

  • Fill small holes in the lawn: They are caused by play activities, trampolines or soccer goals, burrowing dogs, weeds, soil compaction or extreme drought. If you want to repair individual and rather small holes in the lawn, it is worth filling the gaps with a lawn repair such as our Plantura lawn repair. The lawn repair mix is ideal for leveling holes in the lawn that are up to 50 cm in diameter. You can find out exactly how to do this further down in the article. If you have large holes in the lawn to patch, it is best to use a full lawn seed mix.
  • Repair burnt lawn: If the lawn loses its green color and becomes yellowish and dry, this can have various causes. Drought and heat initiate so-called heat dormancy in lawn grasses, from which they awaken again as soon as conditions improve. You can accept this natural process, but you can also prevent it through the annual use of potassium-rich autumn lawn fertilizers such as our Plantura organic autumn lawn fertilizer: Potassium ensures that lawn grasses are drought-tolerant. Proper watering of the lawn also helps prevent burns. Burnt-looking spots also appear when the lawn is over-fertilized - this can be remedied by thorough watering and switching to primarily organic lawn fertilizers.
If the lawn dries out in summer, that's no reason to panic
  • Sown a sparse lawn: If you can see the ground between the grasses in many places, this is a typical case for overseeding. To do this, use a high-quality overseeding such as our Plantura lawn overseeding. Reseeding ensures that the lawn becomes dense and carpet-like again. We will explain how to do this further down in the article.
    Important: Lawn reseeding is generally not suitable for repairing holes in the lawn, because it is a them for other grass mixtures. A special repair mix is used for bald spots.
  • Repair depressions in the lawn with sand: Depressions and depressions often occur if you have not waited long enough between digging and sowing the lawn for the soil to settle . The indentations are a nuisance later when mowing or can even become a tripping hazard.
    Small indentations up to 3 cm deep can be gradually repaired by adding a mixture of lawn sand and lawn soil or topsoil in a layer thickness of 1 cm in spring or autumn is distributed. This allows the lawn to grow through from below again. This process can be repeated 2 - 3 times, so that the sink has disappeared after 1.5 years at the latest.
    Deep sinks (> 3 cm), on the other hand, are filled directly with a mixture of lawn sand and lawn soil or good Topsoil filled, rolled and then seeded again.
    The use of lawn sand such as our Plantura lawn sand makes sense to prevent compaction on the refilled patches - because sand cannot be compressed due to its comparatively coarse grain size, so that the balanced depression is not can simply sink in again.
Uneven lawns can be leveled out gradually or all at once
  • If unevenness dominates the lawn area, for example because the ground in front of the lawn has not been leveled and leveled, repairing the lawn is no longer so easy to implement. Then laying out a new lawn can definitely make sense.
  • Weed growth and moss: If your lawn consists mainly of weeds or moss, it is often not worth patching the lawn either. If only small holes appear in the lawn when weeds are cut out, these can certainly be filled with a lawn repair. In the case of moss, the first thing to do is to identify the causes of its growth. You can easily find these in our special article on moss in the lawn. Scarifying and overseeding or - if there is hardly any lawn left - planting a new one is only worthwhile once the causes have been eliminated.
    Tip: Is shade the cause of moss in your lawn? Lawn? Then it is worth using a shade lawn mixture whose grasses are adapted to locations with less light. Our Plantura Shade Lawn has fine, glossy green foliage and grows well even in the sun, so it can be used in gardens with different lighting conditions.
  • Mole or vole hill: Voles can be baited with traps in an emergency, but moles are a protected species and may therefore only be driven away. There are a number of deterrents against both animals that are quite effective when used regularly. Repairing the damage that has occurred is only worthwhile if the burrower is no longer up to mischief.
Mounds of earth are not a pretty sight in the garden

Repairing and touching up lawns: options and instructions

In the following, we will introduce you to various ways in which you can successfully mend and repair your damaged lawn.

Repair a thinned lawn: Reseeding the lawn

A lawn reseeding is carried out when the existing lawn area is light because the undergrowth is missing. It ensures a denser turf again, which on the one hand is nicer to look at and on the other hand does not give weeds any space to germinate and grow. Overseeding contains only Lolium perenne (Perennial Ryegrass), because this keeps the lawn dense and able to regenerate. Unfortunately, Lolium perenne is a little sensitive to frost and therefore hibernates in winter-cold locationsalways off. Regular reseeding is therefore essential if the lawn is to remain dense. Our Plantura lawn reseeding contains three different, tested varieties of perennial ryegrass, which guarantees reliable emergence and good growth at different locations. In addition, the Plantura overseeding is a coat seed that can be distributed particularly evenly and dries out less quickly - this ensures trouble-free seed emergence.

Reseeding the lawn: step-by-step instructions

  1. Choose the right time: from mid-May to mid-June and September and October are best, as is the case with new lawns. The temperatures should be permanently above 12°C and the floor must be warmer than 8°C. Also keep in mind that the lawn should be protected for about three months after overseeding.
  2. Mow the existing lawn to 2-3 cm, which is quite deep.
  3. Remove stones, moss and thatch with a rake. Additional shallow scarifying or raking opens up the soil for better seed penetration.
  4. At this point, organic lawn fertilization of the lawn area is also a good idea, both to strengthen the existing lawn and to provide optimal care for the reseeding. A primarily organic lawn fertilizer such as our Plantura organic lawn fertilizer is recommended for this, as its delayed release does not impede the root development of young grasses.
  5. For optimal distribution of the lawn seed, we recommend a spreader, but you can also spread the seed by hand. In order for this to be evenly distributed, first distribute 10 g of seed per square meter in longitudinal strips and then the same amount in transverse strips. A total of 20 g per square meter should ultimately have been sown.
  6. Be sure to water the overseeding every day. This step is essential for a good result, as the seedlings will die quickly if they dry out. Already after 7 - 10 days you will see the first germinating grasses. From this point on, you should continue watering daily for about a month. After about three months, the next mainly organic care fertilization is on the agenda.
Depending on the use and location of the lawn, the right seed should be chosen

Repair turf tip: You can also proceed as described above when repairing turf if the turf has been in place for at least two years. Freshly laid turf may not yet be stablerooted and should not be worked too roughly.

Mending holes in the lawn: The lawn repair

A high-quality lawn patch such as our Plantura Lawn Repair is ideal for repairing individual holes and bald spots in the lawn. It features the perfect combination for patching up bare patches in lawns: an unbeatable blend of Lolium perenne (Perennial Ryegrass) and Festuca rubra Premium Lawn Seeds(red fescue) mixed with a portion of our primarily organic Planutra organic lawn fertilizer. In addition, the mixture represents an easily accessible phosphate source for the young grasses and contains water-storing germination substrate. The lawn paving closes holes quickly and competitively, so that no weeds emerge and the area is attractive again. The existing lawn then gradually grows back from the edges into the former hole, so that a uniform surface soon results.

To apply, first loosen the soil slightly at the bare spot and remove weeds and stones. Barren soils are improved before sowing with a lawn soil such as our Plantura organic lawn soil. Then apply about 150 g of lawn repair per square meter of the bald spot - also beyond the edges of the spot. Gently press the seeds to avoid blowing them away. Now water the seed thoroughly and keep it moist for up to a month after germination.

Tip: Improve the lawn with rolled turf or pieces of lawn
Sometimes you don't have to buy any seed at all. Small holes in the lawn can be repaired with leftover turf. Or you can dig out an excess piece of lawn at the edge of the lawn or at the transition to flower beds and use it to mend the hole.

When cutting the lawn edges, there are often pieces of grass that are good for patching

Spray Lawn Test

The so-called and often advertised spray lawn, which makes overseeding look so easy, unfortunately does not keep what it promises. In various forums there are reports on spray lawns that cast doubt on the value of this invention. In practical tests, some of these products turned out to be poorly functioning sprays that were difficult to dose and contained a high proportion of non-germinable seeds. It is often not even possible to read from the product descriptions which types and varieties of grass are involved, although successful reseeding of the lawn depends crucially on the right seed.

Creating an existing lawn:Without digging?

In many cases, the best way before laying a new lawn is to repair the lawn without digging it up.
But if the damage to your lawn is so severe that it is no longer worth repairing individual areas or overseeding it , there is often no way around a new system. This is the case, for example, when the soil is too poor or the whole area is dominated by weeds. A holey lunar landscape with a lot of bumps is usually fixed with a new lawn. This is the result of poor leveling in front of the lawn over the years.
If the lawn has to be repaired, it almost always makes sense to remove the old turf before digging it over. Only an open ground can be effectively freed from weeds, dug up and effectively improved with additives such as sand, compost or lawn soil. For smaller areas, drive a spade about 1 to 2 cm below the surface of the soil and scrape off all of the root thatch. For larger areas, a sod cutter is used for this step. This device works on the same mechanism as the machines that peel turf so that it can later be unrolled in a new location.

Unfortunately, removing the existing turf means a large loss of valuable soil for your garden

Tip: If weeds are the reason for the new planting, there are other ways to get rid of them besides digging. However, each method also destroys the lawn. In areas with heavy or deep-rooted weed infestation, flaming can be an ecological alternative to spraying the turf with pesticides. For taproot weeds, after flaming, till and wait a few weeks. If new weeds sprout, it is flamed again. Depending on the size of your area, laying down and weighing down black plastic sheeting can also kill any living plants.

Unfortunately, removing the existing turf means a large loss of valuable soil for your garden. To compensate for the loss of soil, it makes sense to bring in several cubic meters of topsoil on large lawns. High-quality lawn soil such as our low-peat Plantura organic lawn soil is used on small areas or in interior gardens with difficult access for trucks and create a lush green area. You can find our high-quality lawn seed mixtures in thePlantura shop. If you're unsure which lawn mix is right for your yard, this article on choosing a lawn type has all the information you need.

If you have to repair a lawn, it is often based on years of incorrect care. Lawn care is not that complicated. Find out everything you need to know about lawn care with our annual lawn care plan.

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Lawn