Lawn Renovation & Reseeding in Sarasota, FL

Lawn renovation and reseeding is for Sarasota yards that still have grass, just not enough of it. Thin areas under trees, bare spots from mole crickets, ruts from a contractor's truck, or a lawn that browned out during the dry spring and never fully came back can usually be repaired without starting over. We assess what is causing the damage, fix that where we can, and then reseed or overseed with hydroseed so the new grass comes in with the old.

First, which grass is it?

This is the most important question for lawn repair around here. If the lawn is bahiagrass, it can be overseeded and patched from seed. If it is St. Augustinegrass, it cannot: UF/IFAS says St. Augustine is started only from sod, plugs or sprigs, never seed. Bare areas in a St. Augustine lawn are repaired with plugs, sprigs or sod pieces, kept moist with several light waterings a day until runners spread. We do not hydroseed bahia into a St. Augustine lawn, because the two would look patchy together. We will identify your grass on the first visit and recommend the right fix.

Finding the cause

Reseeding without fixing the cause only means paying twice. The common problems we see:

• Mole crickets. UF/IFAS calls them the most serious insect threat to bahiagrass. They tunnel through the soil and damage roots, causing the grass to wilt quickly. A soap flush, about 1 to 2 ounces of lemon-scented dish detergent in 2 gallons of water over 2 square feet, will bring them to the surface if they are present.
• Drought dormancy. Bahia goes brown and dormant in long dry spells and usually recovers when rain returns. Before reseeding a brown lawn in spring, we check whether the crowns are alive.
• Compaction. Foot traffic, parking and equipment pack the sand so roots cannot go down.
• Shade. Grass thins under dense tree canopy. Where shade is the cause, reseeding alone will not hold, and a groundcover or a trimmed canopy may be the better answer.
• Wrong mowing. Bahia should be mowed at 3 to 4 inches, with a sharp rotary blade.

Overseeding a thin bahia lawn

For a lawn that is thin overall but not bare, we mow it short, rake or verticut to open the surface, aerate if the soil is compacted, and then spray seed with a light mulch layer. The hydroseed mulch matters on sand: it keeps the seed damp between waterings and holds it in place among the existing grass. Using scarified seed, which UF/IFAS notes has been treated for faster germination, helps when it is available.

Full renovation

When weeds outnumber the grass, or the lawn is more bare than covered, patching stops being worth it. Renovation means removing what is there, correcting grade and soil, and seeding a new lawn. UF/IFAS notes that perennial weeds such as bermudagrass and torpedograss should be controlled during site preparation, which may take several treatments, or they will come straight back through the new seeding.

Timing a repair in Sarasota

Bahia grows fastest in warm weather, so April through September gives the quickest fill. From June 1 through September 30, Sarasota County bans fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus, so a summer repair gets no N or P, and the first feeding waits until fall. A new seeding should not be fertilized for its first 30 to 60 days anyway. Repairs in the cooler, drier months work if irrigation is reliable, and they are a good way to have a lawn filled in before the summer storms. Get a free estimate