Lawn Repair For Ruts and Small Holes In Yard | Bioadvanced (2024)
Lawns with lumps, ruts and low spots are not only unpleasant to look at, they are also a safety hazard. Uneven ground underfoot is treacherous for walking, mowing and playing.
Many situations cause lawns to become uneven – some are preventable, others are not. The good news is that you can easily fix these problem areas in lawns. Learn common causes of lumpy lawns and how to make them smooth again.
Common Causes of Uneven Lawns
Mowing:If you follow the same pattern every time you mow, eventually you will compact the soil beneath the mower wheels, creating ruts.
Wet soil:When soil is wet and mushy, add a heavy or rolling object – such as children on bikes, a wheelbarrow or a lawnmower – and you get ruts. This is one reason it is vital to avoid mowing when soil is wet. You might get away with it in well-drained areas, but in low spots where water gathers, you risk digging permanent ruts.
Heavy equipment:Maybe you had trees pruned or mulch delivered. The wheels alone wreak havoc with a lawn, forming ruts. If the equipment extends hydraulic platforms for stability, you will also wind up with compacted soil that forms low spots.
Critters, pets and kids:When holes appear in a lawn and there's loose soil scattered around the hole, the culprit could be local critters, the family dog or children.
Tree stumps:Having a tree removed and the stump ground creates a low spot in the lawn. Any remaining underground wood eventually rots. At that point, the ground can suddenly collapse, creating a sinkhole-like depression.
Buried debris:When a hole appears in a lawn and there is no loose soil as evidence of digging, the most likely cause is soil subsidence. Buried trash that finally rots or decomposed tree roots can cause soil collapse.
Timing The best time to repair ruts and holes in the lawn is when grass is growing most strongly. That means late spring (before the onset of hot weather) for warm-season grasses and early fall for cool-season grasses. For small areas, you can also tackle cool-season grass repair in mid- to late spring.
Soil mix
To fill in lawn ruts and holes, blend planting soil with sand and/or compost. Usually blending equal parts of each material forms a mix that allows grass to root effectively through the mix into existing soil. Check with your local extension agent or garden center for specific soil recommendations for your area.
Ruts
If grass is still present in the rut, pry up the grass with a digging fork. If ruts are shallow, lifting the turf so it is 1-2 inches above the surrounding grade may be sufficient. Give it time to see if it settles evenly with surrounding turf. Otherwise, treat it as a low spot (see below).
For ruts deeper than 4 inches, use an edger and slice the grass in the center of the rut, then lift it and fold it up and back so it is resting on surrounding lawn. Loosen soil in the rut, adding more as needed to bring it 1-2 inches above the surrounding grade. Flip the turf back into place, water and wait for it to settle. Take care not to scalp this higher section of lawn when you mow.
If there is no grass present in the rut, loosen soil before adding more soil and seeding. Stick a digging fork into soil beside the rut at a 45-degree angle so the fork's tines are beneath the rut. Gently lever soil up by pushing down on the handle. Fill the rut with your soil mix, sow grass seed, and water.
How to Fill Low Spots In Lawn
When you are dealing with a low spot more than an inch lower than surrounding grass, lift any sod that is still present. Fill in the hole in lawn with soil, mounding it about 1 inch higher than the surrounding grade. Replace the grass, pat it lightly into place, and water. The grass should eventually settle into place. If there is no sod present, sow grass seed on open soil.
Big Holes
For large holes deeper than 24 inches, if turf is still present, remove it and set it aside to replant later. Fill the hole with broken bricks or large stones and cover with soil, bring the soil level to 1 to 2 inches above the surrounding grade. Set saved sod into place and sow additional grass seed as needed to fill in holes in grass.
A rut is a depression or groove worn into a road or path by the travel of wheels or skis. Ruts can be formed by wear, as from studded snow tires common in cold climate areas, or they can form through the deformation of the asphalt concrete, pavement or subbase material.
and holes, blend planting soil with sand and/or compost. Usually blending equal parts of each material forms a mix that allows grass to root effectively through the mix into existing soil. Check with your local extension agent or garden center for specific soil recommendations for your area.
Using an edger, remove the grass in the center of your rut, lifting it up and setting aside. Then, loosen the soil in the rut and add in more soil if needed to bring it one to two inches above neighboring grass. Gently place the turf back into its original spot, give it a good drink, and wait for it to level.
You can use topsoil, potting soil, or even compost. Avoid using sand, as it won't pack well and can wash away easily. Once enough soil is added to fill the hole, use a tamper or your foot to compress it.
The most common types of animals that dig holes in yards are skunks, groundhogs, moles, pocket gophers, voles, raccoons, wasps, and earthworms, among others. If burrowing animals are destroying your yard, the first step is identifying which kind of animal is responsible for the damage.
You can easily make your own lawn patching soil by mixing sand and dry topsoil in equal parts of half-and-half, spreading the leveling mix into low-lying areas of the lawn. Some people also use compost, which is great for enriching the soil. Only add one-half inch (1.5 cm.)
In most cases, mowing ruts will self-correct within 30 to 60 days. While this may feel like a long time to wait, your lawn will benefit from being allowed to self-correct. Keep in mind, that the whole reason mowing ruts were created was because your lawn needed to be mowed for its health and vitality.
Prepare a 50/50 mix of dry topsoil and fine sand in a wheelbarrow. Make sure that the mixture is dry before continuing. Use a shovel to scoop up mixture and fill in low areas of the lawn. Only fill in half-an-inch at a time.
Examine any burrows or nests in your yard to identify the intruding animals. The shape of the burrow's entrance can help differentiate between the diggers. Commonly found burrows and nests include: A few small holes less than 3 inches in diameter could belong to chipmunks, voles, Norway rats, or snakes.
Earthworms, especially the European night crawler, can make fairly large holes in the ground. You may find 1-inch high piles of small, granular pellets of soil surrounding a pencil sized hole. These granular pellets are worm castings. These are common in spring and fall when soils are moist and temperatures are warm.
If you find small holes in your garden, about the size of a golf ball, the likelihood is you have a vole. You may find shallow surface tunnels in your lawn, along the edges and under trees.
Signs of larval feeding damage often first appear as small irregular yellow or brown patches. There will often be a brown spot up to 50mm across with a hole in the middle where the Lawn Grubs hide during the day.
And, if you are like most folks, turning your winter-beaten lawn into a Spring showplace is near the top of the list of things to do. And, while your lawn will, with a bit of TLC and fertilizer, recover nicely in Spring, Fall is actually the very best time to repair damage and equip your lawn for the rigors of winter.
Can I Just Throw Grass Seed on Bare Spots? Throwing grass seed onto bare spots will result in little-to-no germination and will not help to repair lawn spots. If you want to fix patches on grass, you need to properly prepare the bare spots before laying down the seed.
Laying sod is the quickest technique for lawn repair to patch a dead or damaged turf area. You can lay it any time during the season. Prepare the soil the same way you would for patching with seed. Keep the area an inch or so below grade so the new grass will be level with the lawn.
What is Aeration? Aeration involves perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn. The main reason for aerating is to alleviate soil compaction.
One way to identify a squirrel intrusion is from the holes they leave when digging for food in yards and gardens. Squirrels leave holes that are consistently two inches in diameter, shallow, and have little to no surrounding soil. These types of holes are specific to squirrels and differentiate them from other rodents.
Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy
Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
