As much as we love our dogs, there's no denying that seeing yellow patches in your perfectly manicured lawn can feel slightly heartbreaking. But fear not, there's a simple 'lawn paste' to fix the problem.
We stumbled across this top tip from house-proud, professional gardener Ish, who is also a fellow dog owner, so he understands the importance of maintaining healthy grass if you have pets.
We love his simple yet highly effective gardening tips shared on Instagram @gardening.with.ish. From his expert advice on reusing old compost to reviving dry potted plants during the heatwave, he is always on hand to share his knowledge to help keep our gardens thriving.
Easy way to fix yellow lawn patches fast
Referring to the task of taking out the yellow patches in his lawn, Ish begins: "Let's not beat around the bush, I know exactly what has caused this, they have four legs, and they go woof – but I love them so much, so it's not the end of the world. To start off, I'm going to scratch the surface and take away any of the dead grass and loosen up the soil."
"What I'm going to do to repair the patch is to make something I call a lawn paste," he explains while taking some multipurpose compost and soaking it through with water to ensure it's drenched. He then mixes some grass seed directly on top of the compost to mix it together.
Explaining the benefits of his unique method, he adds, "The reason I like to make a lawn paste is that the compost will retain the moisture," he explains. This will help germinate the grass seed quicker.
He then notes how grass seed only really needs a few centimetres to grow, "sometimes even surface level, but that means the slower bits will grow through, meaning you will have a strong overseeded lawn."
"Now that I've made my lawn paste, all I need to do is smush it on top. The nice thing about doing it this way is that it always works perfectly level with your existing grass.
A post shared by Ish Kamran (@gardening.with.ish)
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Having lawn seeds around your dogs is not ideal, if they ingest them or get them stuck in their paws, so Ish suggests adding some netting over the top to offer a layer of protection while it beds in. "It should be repaired in about two weeks," Ish reassures us.
And that's it, a quick fix that you can do all summer long to fix any unwanted yellow patches. High concentrations of nitrogen in dog urine are what kill the grass, leaving it more susceptible to breakage and yellowing – so this may mean you need to repeat the process.
We were actually lucky enough to meet Ish in person at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and he was every bit as lovely as we had hoped, having watched his videos for an age. He was more than happy to offer us advice and help with all our gardening questions, so watch this space for further fixes and plant advice your way.
