UH OH! Repairing “Fun” Damage

It’s time for ALL the Summer Fun! BBQ’s, sparklers, cookouts…That also means there will be inflatable pools, slip n’ slides, sprinklers, and tons of extra foot traffic! There’s nothing worse than not only having an event hangover, but also looking out on your lawn the day after and seeing all the crushed grass, new muddy spots, and worn paths where none existed previously! 

First, always know that Virginia Lawn Service, Inc. is here to help you doctor up your lawn after a slip n’ slide mishap! We can do a continued maintenance to (a) make sure that it can withstand that amount of use, and (b) repair any deep ruts or truly uprooted/dead areas. 

However, here are some things that YOU can do to protect and revive your lawn.

When it comes to damage prevention:

• Ideally, you’ll want to move slip n’ slides, pools, splash pads, etc everyday or every other day in order to not crush or drown the grass and to make sure that it gets sun and can dry out. Also, don’t use anything in your slip n’ slide mix that will “burn” your grass.
• Make sure that there are well-marked paths that are laid out with slate, bricks, pavers, gravel, even wood! This will keep people from walking through spaces where you’re trying to save the grass. Having a hard-scaped patio to keep people from wandering the lawn is also ideal.
• Put lighter colored tarps under pools, bounce houses, and all that jazz. Lighter colored tarps will stop too much sun-absorption and will keep the grass from becoming water-logged. You can also use astroturf! 

When it comes to damage repair:

• Reseed, reseed, reseed! Turn the earth with a hand tiller, sprinkle it with a little compost, then add an appropriate seed blend. Cover with a thin dirt layer. 
• Water it frequently. Hot summer sun can burn the roots of new grass if not kept cool and hydrated.
• Consider adding sand to patches that were extremely watery. It will assist with drainage. 
• Have some topsoil or fill dirt handy to backfill any low spots that appeared during your events. 
• Do you have a “sod guy”? Might be time to call them! You could always just use the brown pool spot as a hot air balloon landing pad or whatever else you come up with!

Prevention is the best cure! However, call on the friendly staff at Virginia Lawn Service, Inc. to tackle any lawn repair you might need this summer! Happy 4th of July!