For those fans of both a well-maintained lawn and football, ideally a game of football would happen in the field down the street. But, after taking the steps to create the perfect lawn (perhaps you read our e-book “Giving Your Lawn the Home Field Advantage”?) it may be impossible for some to resist playing on it. If this is the case at your house then you have likely seen a concerning amount of wear and tear. The wear and tear will be worse if the inspiration to play has come when the lawn is wet or frozen, and therefore more vulnerable to damage.
If it turns out that your new lawn is irresistible to the football fans in your home below are some things you can do to repair the damage.
Up the Maintenance Routine
The best option for repairing lawn damage is to contact your professional lawn maintenance team and have them assess and repair your lawn. They will be able to take into consideration the current state of the lawn and what it will need to get back to perfection. Whether you are working with the pros or doing it yourself, repairing the lawn will likely require more watering and fertilizer which in turn will require more mowing.
Patch
A little patch work is a good solution if the damage is only in a few small areas. Here are the steps to take when performing lawn surgery:
- Cut out the damaged areas in a square shape.
- Fill it in with a piece of turf of the same size and shape. This may be newly purchased turf or you can find a piece of your lawn to cut-away that will go unnoticed (generally these pieces will be from a hidden edge of a garden bed).
- Press the new turf down. If the damage has occurred in a very dry area then water it before you lay the new turf down.
- Seal up any cracks or spaces with a sandy topsoil mix.
- Water well.
- Place seed on the soil where there are visible gaps and gently tamp down.
Re-Seed
If the grass has taken a beating all over then a very simple solution is just to re-seed over your entire existing lawn. The seed will take better, and be healthier if you top dress your lawn first. Top dressing for lawns is available from a local garden or landscape supplier. Here are the steps:
- Shovel the topsoil onto the lawn in small piles spaced about a foot or two apart.
- Using a hard rake, rake the topsoil over the entire lawn evenly. Without disturbing the roots of your existing grass, rake the soil in until it is no longer visible. Once it is well raked-in the lawn will appear slightly darker in color.
- Use a lawn seeder, or broadcast seed by hand across the entire lawn. If you think there will be more football happening on your lawn, choose a hardy seed mix, such as one that has up to 60% ryegrass in it.
- Keep the lawn moist until after the seed has sprouted and set down roots (between 10 days and 2 weeks).
Start Again
In cases of extreme damage your lawn may require a re-start. This can happen a few ways. The first involves a lot of digging up of sod and tilling over of the earth below, then adding topsoil and re-seeding or re-sodding with new turf. The second possibility is to have the entire lawn covered in plastic long enough for the existing grass to die off and then re-seeding and re-sodding. If a complete re-start is necessary then your best bet is to work with professionals to ensure you choose the most effective method.
Want to learn how to get NFL turf in your backyard? Click below to download our free e-book!
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