Dead Grass solutions?

[Raekwon]

Ok so I have to replace a small area of grass at my condo because we use it for our dog. What should i dod to prepare the soil before laying new sod so it doesn't just die and what can I do to prevent the deadspots?

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

Ok so I have to replace a small area of grass at my condo because we use it for our dog. What should i dod to prepare the soil before laying new sod so it doesn't just die and what can I do to prevent the deadspots?

The only thing to do is soak the dirt to dilute the nitrogen after the dead grass is removed add soil/compost as needed and sod or seed. To prevent dead spots there's two things. If you dump water on the spot right after the dog goes, it will have a fertilizing effect and green up the spot or you can train your dog to pee on someone else's grass.

[Old Yeller]

If only I could train my dog to pee in even distributed patterns.

"No! You were supposed to go in grid section C-6 today, not D-5, bad dog!"

[Raekwon]

lol, thats awesome. I dont care if it grows faster in certain spots thats the landscapers issue, dead grass is mine.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

How did you seed it? Did you mix the seed with soil? How often do you water it?

If you just put the seed on top and never water it. It will never grow.

I put down the lawn seed, and in hindsight I don't think I put down enough, and I raked it into the soil. I watered twice per day for about 2 or 3 days, and then it rained for for a week, we had warmth for a day and it rained or was overcast for the next week or so. The grass is growing now that it has had some warm days, but it is quite sparse, and we still haven't had a lot of warmth in Lethbridge yet.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Rathji

While this might work, if your seeds decide to not get disturbed or blown away, the almost equivalent cost and effort of putting sod in for almost instant results is well worth it.

Unless you have a bunch of seed already, it isn't worth the time or money you would put into it.

to some extent i agree - but if you can keep the mixture moist for a week it will usually not blow away.

i would also say that will this method can be a little more expensive than some sod, i bag of peat, grass seed and topsoil is easily transportable, and you can keep it for a couple of years so if you need to fix more spots then you have the stuff.