Fall Lawn Care: 6 Steps To Repair Your Lawn 

Feeling a little blue about your lawn’s lack of green in late summer? I’m with you my friends, and now is the best time to fix’er up. Summer has been merciless in my backyard; the lawn developed browned-out patches which look spotty and drab (above). After several local experts came out for an inspection, their theory is the grass might have developed a fungal issue over the winter, which in-turn created a less than aesthetic growing situation through the summer. There might be a fungus among us, but I have learned how to apply soil and seed to repair a lawn in fall and want to teach you all the techniques. My goals for the lawn include using an organic product so that children and pets can play on my lawn without worry of harmful chemicals and Kellogg Garden Products are organic and listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).

Fall is one of the best times to repair a grassy lawn because you will not have to water the lawn as much once the weather starts to cool. Fixing the lawn is easy with an application of Kellogg Garden Organics Topper Soil for Lawns, Sod & Seed and a few simple planting steps. Topdressing your lawn with a natural and organic product can help your grass grow greener and denser.

Kellogg Garden Organics Seeding Soil Chart

1.5 CF – 75 sq ft sod or seed, 150 sq ft overseeding, 75 sq ft seasonal feeding

2.0 CF – 100 sq ft sod or seed, 200 sq ft overseeding, 100 sq ft seasonal feeding

2.5 CF – 125 sq ft sod or seed, 250 sq ft overseeding, 125 sq ft seasonal feeding

One of the most important reasons to select Kellogg Garden Organics Topper Soil for Lawns, Sod & Seed is because of the amazing natural combination of ingredients contained in every bag. Each bag of Kellogg Garden Organics Topper Soil for Lawns, Sod & Seed contains 2 ½ cubic feet of aged recycled forest products, composted dairy manure, composted poultry manure, dehydrated poultry manure, hydrolyzed feather meal. Below is a quick guide on how to apply soil and seed to repair a lawn in fall.  More importantly this soil is enriched with starter fertilizer that helps seeds germinate fast so that you can grow a thicker, greener lawn lickety-split before winter sets in for the season. This makes the soil an exceptional topping and is 100% satisfaction guaranteed by Kellogg Garden Organics.

How to Apply Soil to Repair a Lawn in the Fall

Step 1

Mow lawn at a lower setting of your mower so that the lawn is two inches or less in height.  Go over the area that needs to be replanted twice if necessary, bagging clippings or raking clippings up afterward.

Step 2

After mowing the grass short, dethatch lawn or rake thatch out by hand with a stiff iron rake in order to get as much dead or flattened grass as possible out of the lawn. Remove any weeds or roots that are in the grass.

Step 3

Place Kellogg Garden Organics Topper Soil for Lawns, Sod & Seed on top of mowed grass. Spread out evenly across the lawn to be about ¼” to ½” deep. Make sure the area is raked smooth.

Step 4

Water the soil for 15 minutes with a sprinkling system so that the grass is thoroughly soaked. This will help the seed adhere to the soil.

Step 5

Lay seed over the damp soil according to package directions. In this case, I am using Eco Lawn, which is a special drought-tolerant grass which requires minimal mowing and maintenance compared to traditional grass and is perfect for an organic gardening situation as it needs far less watering, mowing, and fertilizer. An optional step would be to roll over the soil and seed with a roller if you have access to this tool so that you push the grass seed firmly into the soil.

Step 6

Water the soil for approximately 30 minutes per morning or the length of time it takes to moisten the soil down one inch with a sprinkling system. If it is particularly hot and dry, water a second time around 3 PM. Never water after 5 pm because standing water can cause puddling overnight and that can create conditions for fungal growth. In Northern climates, you should only need to water like this for one month. However, for hot and drought inclined climates you might have to water daily for considerably longer in order to establish grass in extreme conditions.

Fixing your lawn in the fall is a simple process with Kellogg Garden Organics Topper Soil for Lawns, Sod & Seed and a good grass seed. The above topdressing process took me about an hour to complete, which is much faster than weeding the rest of my garden. My quick guide on how to apply soil and seed to repair a lawn in fall will make it an easy fall project. Happy Organic Gardening from the Kellogg Garden Products family!

About the Author:

Shawna Coronado is a successful author, blogger, photographer, and media host who focuses on wellness by teaching green lifestyle living, organic gardening, and anti-inflammatory culinary. Most recently Shawna has written the books, “Grow a Living Wall” and “101 Organic Gardening Hacks”. Shawna campaigns for social and community good – her garden, food, and eco-adventures have been featured in many media venues including television news programming, radio broadcasting, and PBS television. You can learn more about Shawna at www.shawnacoronado.com.

Special thank you to Eco-Lawn for the grass seed and Rosie’s Workwear for the super cool bib overalls that helped build this great sponsored Kellogg Garden Products post.