Unfortunately, if sections of your lawn have browned out and not yet recovered, it’s probably not coming back.
Lawns that are stressed because of intense summer heat or lack of water and nutrients usually turn brown. This happens because the grass goes dormant and is trying to protect itself from further damage. However, if stressful conditions were the only reason, the lawn would have come back to life as soon as the weather cooled. If it didn’t, it’s most likely because of another reason, like an insect infestation or a fungal disease, which won’t repair itself.
Repairing a damaged lawn
The good news is that your lawn can be repaired and will return to its beautiful, lush green!
In some cases, applying the correct type of soil and then overseeding the area can repair it. Another process called slit-seeding can also help. Slit-seeding is when the ground is slit open with a special piece of equipment, and grass seed is planted into the open areas. It’s then covered to help keep wildlife (especially birds) from eating the seed or being washed away by the melting snow. The seed remains dormant until the soil temperatures rise (around March). Then as the spring rains begin, the grass starts to sprout.
One of the ways we can repair a damaged lawn is through slit-seeding. A special machine slits the turf, allowing grass seed to be dropped into the soil to germinate.
When slit-seeding is most effective
Ideally, slit-seeding is done in the fall. Planting new grass seed in the spring means you can’t apply pre-emergent preventers, like crabgrass or weed killer. If you do, it will kill the seed. So, waiting to slit-seed in the spring means you’ll need to skip applying the preventers to your lawn. This means you will miss that crucial window of opportunity to apply weed control before the summer months.
Another reason to consider slit-seeding in the fall is that the ground is very wet and saturated from the rains in the spring. Running the equipment over the turf will cause ruts and make it almost impossible to split open the soil cleanly.
However, regardless of the time of year, we can always offer solutions to help your grass stay and remain beautiful and healthy throughout the seasons.
If you have any questions related to lawn care and maintenance, please feel free to contact us.
