Nothing is more frustrating than taking care of a lawn, only to find that it's dying. Brown grass, thinning or bald patches and places that are completely dead can be incredibly aggravating. Reviving a lawn takes special care. With some good planning and the right tools, your lawn can look green once again.
Packed soil that does not breathe can cause a lawn to lose grass. Aerating your lawn will allow water to access the ground easier and help the grass expand. Use a hand aerator, a tool that has prongs at the bottom that takes chunks of soil out of the ground, for small areas, or rent a power aerator if the entire lawn must be treated. Always mark any obstacles such as sprinklers before the aeration process.
If your lawn has never been aerated and the grass is thin, rent a gas-propelled power rake to pull up dead grass and prepare the lawn for fertilizer or a new spread of grass seed. A power rake will work best when used on a lawn free of excessive hills and is fairly flat. If there are bare spots in the lawn that the power rake cannot be passed over, prepare it for seed by plunging a flat-head shovel into the soil about 1/4 inch deep.
Reseeding the lawn requires you to first aerate and power-rake the lawn. Once this is done, grass seed can be planted. If you are planting cool seed grass, such as Kentucky bluegrass, aerate the lawn and reseed four weeks before the trees lose their leaves in fall. If you are planting a summer grass such as zoysia grass, do this in late spring.
Use a good fertilizer in the spring after your have mowed the lawn twice. Know the type of grass in your lawn before you purchase a fertilizer. Check the bag to make sure it is made for your specific variety. Use a slow-release fertilizer so that you only need to apply twice a season.
Thatch is a breakdown of organic materials on a lawn that leaves a thin layer of material over the soil. It causes grass to grow poorly. This is often caused by overwatering and using fertilizer not made for your grass variety. Break down thatch by spreading a thatch decomposer mix, bought from a garden supplier, using a rotary spreader.