How to Repair Bare Patches

A beautiful looking lawn is uniform, all the grass has the same growing habit and it adds great aesthetic value to the house. 

If a few bare patches have crept in to your lawn as a result of damage from heat, insects or even the kids it is important to have them cover over as soon as possible.

Weeds are very easily dispersed and are amazingly tenacious. Once there is a bare patch in your lawn this can be a way in and then they start to spread. So it's important to stop this before it happens. A dense growth habit helps in outperforming weeds, so an oversow is crucial.

When Australia is lucky enough to get some rainfall, the water either enters our lawn or runs off it into our stormwater systems leading to dams and beaches. Patchy lawns allow for runoff to carries sediments (soil) into these environmentally important areas. These soils can damage these ecosystems particularly if they carry nutrients.

If you have a kikuyu lawn, then oversow any bare patches with Munns Professional Pure Kikuyu and if you have a couch lawn, oversow with Munns Professional Couch Blend.
 
If you have a lawn that grows up right, like rye and fescue lawns, then oversow with Munns Professional Sun & Shade or Munns Professional Quick Fix.

Don't forget to mix your choice of lawn seed with Munns Professional Buffalo and all laws starter fertiliser. This will encourage the seed to germinate & grow green & strong, not weak & thin.

For Buffalo lawns it is best not to contaminate the lawn with other lawn seed, for this we recommend teasing the soil to loosen (add soil if it is not healthy), add some Munns Professional Buffalo and all laws starter fertiliser to the soil and the area surrounding the patch and rake through. This will help encourage the lawn to grow into this area. To help speed it up you can cut off runners and replant, just make sure to keep the water up to them.

Always follow the directions on the packaging for oversowing or view our video of Kim with tips on how to do this. 

Start by raking the soil in straight lines from end to end - creating shallow furrows. In a large wheelbarrow, mix your choice of lawn seed with Munns Professional Buffalo & All Lawns Starter Fertiliser.

Evenly distribute all the mixture over the entire area. Lightly rake the soil in the opposite direction to the furrows to cover the seeds and ensure an even spread.

Throughout the germination period – lasting from around one week to a month depending on seed variety – the top 1cm of the soil should be kept moist at all times with a fine spray of the garden hose. This may mean watering 5-8 times a day in drier areas. 

If you've forgotten to add a starter fertiliser at planting time, then apply Munns Professional Lift Off Lawn Fertiliser, which will help strengthen the roots.