If your lawn is plagued by unsightly bare patches, one gardening expert has revealed a four-step technique he claims will have your garden looking gloriously lush and green in no time.
Lifelong gardener Tom Strowgler took to TikTok to outline his “quick and simple approach”. He began by stressing the importance of “disturbing” the topsoil with a trowel, before dampening it with a hosepipe to make it “sticky”. Tom then scattered quality grass seeds across the entire affected area. He advised: “They will stick to the soil and then quilt them with some top soil or lawn dressing, which will snuggle the seeds in between the layers.”
To finish the job off, Tom recommended keeping the area moist and “happy”.
Patting the topsoil, he concluded: “You will have germination within weeks, repairing the bare patches on your lawn. I do love a lush green healthy lawn all year round.”
Responding to the helpful clip, one TikTok user asked: “Does this work on dog urine patches?” To which Tom advised: “If it’s a one-off patch then this should work. If not, then you may need to lift the ground soil and replace it with topsoil. The acid can stay in the soil and prevent germination. So replacing it is important.”
Elsewhere, another viewer admitted they’d been having a tough time with their lawn thanks to local wildlife. They joked: “The birds love it when I do this… not many seeds left.” To address this problem, Tom recommended: “Perhaps a quilt of topsoil and a netting to cover it whilst it germinates.”
A third person highlighted a similar concern: “For us, it’s not the birds so much as the problem… it’s the ants! They collect all the seeds and I always find piles of them near their holes between the driveway pavers.”
“Ants taking grass seed away?” Tom pondered. “Maybe place a fleece over the grass seed and secure it down. Maybe that’ll help.”
While a fourth TikTok user then enquired: “Would this work if it’s in a new-build garden? I understand the soil is contaminated and don’t know if I need to completely redo.” Tom pointed out: “It should, but if the soil is contaminated then this could impact success.”
According to the RHS, there are numerous possible explanations for why bare patches might develop – ranging from physical damage to fungal diseases and drought.
“It can be tricky to diagnose just by appearance, so instead it’s best to consider which causes may apply to your lawn,” the organisation states online.
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The RHS continues: “Lawns often start to look tatty or patchy after a summer of regular use or spells of hot, dry weather. Frosty or soggy winters can also take their toll, especially if the lawn is walked on a lot. Perhaps your lawn has some dips or bumps that make mowing tricky, or sparse areas around the edges where border plants overhang it.
“Repairing issues such as these will help to stop unwanted weeds colonising bare areas and smarten up the lawn’s overall appearance. Spring and autumn are the ideal times to repair a lawn, when the weather is damp and cool. The lawn is most likely to recover well in these conditions.
“If your lawn is in a really poor state though, you may need to consider re-laying or re-seeding it entirely, rather than just patching it up.”