#lawnhack: How to deal with patches of your lawn killed by dogs
Cobie’s first selfie … taken at the scene of the on-going crime – ‘scorch’ patches in our lawn!
You’ve got two options with dog urine. Either deal with it as happens – by pouring water over the area they’ve urinated on as soon as they’ve done it, or fix it afterwards, when the grass lets you know where they did it.
Ironically dog wee isn’t bad for lawns – it’s actually a fertilizer – but it’s the concentration not the chemical that’s killing your lawn.
And bitches cause worse issues than dogs – not because there’s anything wrong, purely because the guys spread it around to mark territory, while the ladies are more efficient in putting it all in once place. So dilute it – and your grass may even thrive – as it’ll be more like a fertilizer than a toxin.
So if you’re dealing with it once you’ve got a scorch mark… here’s how to do it
1) Mow - to stop competition from the healthier grass
2) Clear-out the dead – using a lawn rake to remove the thatch (that’s the dead stuff!)
3) Make some holes – using a screw driver or something sharp. This gives the seed a chance to root in soil, rather than on top of it. Which means it has more chance of staying moist and not getting eaten by birds.
4) Make a seed mix - equal parts of seed, sand and compost. Better than just seed, because this gives it nourishment and something to work with all in one. And scatter it in the holes.
5) Water it, and keep it moist.
… and let it grow! Let it grow! (#Lorax!)
Do carry-on mowing while it establishes to help keep that competition from the bigger grasses down, just try to keep the mower wheels off this patch so you don’t squash the emerging seedlings until they’re more robust.
Muirgheas
Secret Gardener
Great advice! Need to keep on top of this weekly :-)
We do - you mow, I'll patch fix! Deal?
Living in America as a kid I found it strange when people let their dogs pee and poop in their yard. Running around barefoot I was always on the side of caution not to step in any. Some of the yards were just disgusting as people wouldn't clean it up for a week or so. These were normal well-paid middle class Americans, but when it came to dogs few walked them, or even cared. In Germany everyone takes their dog to the nearest field, forest, or park.
Yeah, I get what you mean. I live bare-foot from Feb to Nov in the UK if I can, and always careful where I step. But we walk Cobie to local parks and woods every day - and she gets a village walk most mornings too, but you can't always time that around her meals - so when she's gotta go, she's gotta go! haha... least this way we can still enjoy a lawn AND enjoy our dog (who we're very smitten with!)
Wow. This is great. I need to do this soon.
I don't know your climate or your grass type, but in the UK it can be done pretty much anytime that temperatures are above 6C (42f- ish)... so you may have a bit of time in hand, if 'soon' is too pressing! haha
I'm going to have to wait until it's after the 4th. WE have a cookout and lot of people are on the grass.
The whole lawn may need help after that, then. Good luck!
Yeah. that's why i'm not to worried about it at the moment. :)
great work! keep it up!
Thanks - loving it here so far! So supportive.