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How to revive patchy grass?

Have just moved into our new house and the lawn is quite patchy. As you can see a nice green area (also not sure what type of grass this is?), and other areas very patchy. The grass was a little long upon moving in so when we mowed it, that could have been a cause; we keep the mower on 3. Any tips on how we fix this area? We have pets so needs to be pet friendly (they go to the toilet on the tanbark area so I know it's not a pet cause). Advice needed thank you

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Remarka6le

Congrats on the new place. Patchy lawns are incredibly common after a move, especially if the grass was a bit long and then cut back straight away. A couple of things that really helped me fix this exact issue on my own lawn:

1. Raise the mowing height, cutting too much off in one go stresses the grass and exposes soil. I would bump it up a notch or two and only take the top third off each mow until it thickens back up.

2. Aerate the patchy areas using a garden fork or aerator and punch holes every 10 to 15 cm in the thin areas. This lets air, water, and nutrients get back to the roots and makes a massive difference.

3. The toilet paper trick (honestly, it works) This sounds odd, but I used it on my own lawn and it was genuinely amazing. Soak plain toilet paper (no perfumes or additives) and seeds of your choice in a bucket of water until it breaks down into a slurry. Spread this over the bare or thin patches after aerating. It helps keep moisture in, protects the soil surface, and encourages runners to spread back over the area.

4. Water deeply, not often, like a good soak a couple of times a week rather than light daily watering. This encourages deeper roots and stronger grass.

5. Be patient, avoid heavy foot traffic on the thin areas while it recovers.

JacobZ

Hi @Emily17,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

It is brilliant to see that @Remarka6le has already jumped in with some fantastic advice and ideas. My thoughts are along much the same lines, and there isn't too much else I can add.

I am not 100% certain, but I suspect you have buffalo grass based on what I can see. If you could remove some grass and place it against a backdrop such as concrete, I should be able to identify it a bit better.

As he mentioned, cutting too much height off the grass in one go can cause stress, which is likely the cause of the brown patches. Grass blades produce energy through photosynthesis, and cutting off too much leaf area at once reduces the plant’s ability to feed itself. This can weaken the root system, slow recovery, and make the lawn more vulnerable to heat, drought, weeds, and disease. Gradual mowing allows the grass to stay healthy, maintain strong roots, and recover quickly while keeping consistent growth and colour. Most lawn specialists recommend removing no more than one-third of the height of the grass in any one session of mowing. As Remarka6le mentioned, for this reason, it is likely best to bump the height of your mowing up a little until the grass recovers, thickens and greens up. You can then reduce the height gradually, with more frequent mowing, allowing 3-5 days in between for recovery.

Aerating those brown patches with a garden fork or aerator is another important step. It will relieve compaction, improve air, water and nutrient movement to the roots, and encourage deeper, stronger growth. This would be the best thing you can do right now to help those patches bounce back. Check out How To Aerate Your Lawn for some guidance on this process.

Outside of this, regular deep watering and an application of a fertiliser will greatly help. If your lawn is buffalo like I suspect, you will have to double-check that any products applied to it specifically mention being suitable with buffalo, as not all products are. This Scotts Lawn Builder 8kg Buffalo Slow Release Lawn Fertiliser would be a good option. Check out How To Use Lawn Fertiliser for some further guidance.

You might also like to check out some of the articles in the Lawn section of our D.I.Y. advice pages. This article on How To Care For Your Lawn In Summer has great tips for this time of year.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob

Emily17

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/61425#Comment_61425

Hi Jacob,

Thank you to you and @Remarka6le for the great advice much appreciated 👍

I've posted a photo of the grass to see if it is buffalo? I suspect it is.

I do have a questions regarding aerating - I've read the article you tagged and it mentions doing it other seasons. Is this something I can start now on cooler days or do I need to wait till Autumn?

I'd rather get started as soon as possible to avoid it getting worse.

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/93218#Comment_93218

Hi @Emily17,

Yes, I'd agree that that is buffalo.

There would be absolutely no issues aerating the soil at any time of the year; it just tends to have the most effect in the early spring or autumn, as mentioned in the article, because that is when the temperatures are warm, but not too hot, and your grass is at its most active in terms of growth. There is no need to wait until autumn, you can aerate your lawn right away.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

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