We moved into our home two years ago and no matter how much fertilizer and seed I put on this strip around my back porch, grass will not grow. I’ve actually been able to get it to start growing but then it quickly stops after several weeks and dies. Everywhere else I’ve seeded in the backyard has grown without issue. With today’s snow, I noticed that the same strip that won’t allow grass to grow won’t allow snow to stick to it. Any thoughts or similar experience?
by carrlos27
23 Comments
Looks like permanent shade from the overhang. I am dealing with the same thing on the north side of my house.
Do you or the previous owner throw salt down to de-ice the concrete?
I also wonder if there is a pitched roof just overhead here? Maybe rain and whatnot runs off and disturbs the dirt, interrupting growth?
How much dirt is there? Meaning are there rocks or concrete below it?
A few thoughts. As mentioned, is the soil contaminated. You could try digging out this strip to a few inches and replace. How deep is the soil at these points? Grass needs a certain depth so you may need more soil. That area is likely to need more water. When the concrete heats, perhaps it is drying out the soil quicker.
Shade, clay hard dirt, salting concrete, concrete burning the grass from absorbing heat in the summer. Lots of things going against you here unfortunately. Some types of grass, like fine fescue, do better in shade if you really want to try again.
Good chance that the concrete footing extends out further beneath the soil than on the surface. That’s how mine is anyway
Heat from the concrete.
Yeah… comments got this. It’s salt runoff, concrete footing type of stuff. It is also super weird this area and your patio don’t have snow, other than salt, which kills everything growing, for a VERY long time
It doesn’t grow grass… or snow for that matter! Salt is my guess!
Just put down some decorative rock there. That will give somewhere for runoff water to go without creating a mudpit.
I’ll throw another idea out there – your shade structure is dripping there, flooding/ washing away the dirt when it rains?
1) If you put seed there, and watered it carefully, consistently (this is harder than you might think unless you’re a grass nerd), but the seeds germinated and then immediately died, it’s likely contaminated. Dig out this area probably a 8-10″ down and add new soil.
2) If grass grew, got kind of tall, and then died only in that area, there are likely two possibilities:
3a) There are rocks or concrete under the soil that is not allowing the grass roots to mature and grow fully. This also really hurts grass that is under heat stress. Same solution as #1.
3b) This area gets lots of reflected sunlight and heat from the concrete and/or a window. Concrete is commonly very hot and grass next to it needs a lot of extra water because the soil temperature is much warmer. I have also seen reflected sun from siding and windows create very unusual dry spots – I think based on your photo this is probably not the case but it’s worth considering. Again, unless you’re a grass nerd you may think you’re watering your grass plenty, when in fact it needs a lot more water.
#2 can be a lot easier to spot if you know how to identify grass that is under heat/water stress. Once you see it, it’s obvious and you cannot unsee it. It’s such a small area that I think you can just dig it out and pour in new dirt in an hour. Maybe need a hammer to chip out concrete.
The dirt is likely melting the snow because it has good contact with the ground, which is much warmer. On the grass, the blades are much colder and hold air which insulates the snow.
Zoysia. Use sod; be patient.
Does the porch roof have a couple feet of over hang? Perhaps it’s covered from getting any rain.
No gutters or salt is my guess.
I had a spot like that, ended up having concrete underneath from the pour.
I have a spot just like this. It’s from the roof overhanging preventing water from hitting that area.
Salt
I’m thinking because of the overhang, no rain! I never plant anything under an overhang for that reason, plants will die from lack of rain. Think about putting in sod and watering it daily for a few weeks. The grass will offer some shade and keep the soil moist under it
do you have an awning over the swing allowing drain/snow to run off. if so there is too much water coming down in that area. i put some sponging type “pavers ” in that are to absorb the water.
Dig down 8 to 10 inches. If it is rocky or full of concrete, grass wont grow, it needs 6 inches of real soil. Very likely it is filled just below the top inch of soil with concrete screed/gravel from building the house/pad. It it is actual granular soil, dig it up and replace with other fill dirt or sand mixed 50/50 with compost (this will be good for southern/warm grasses)
It doesn’t grow snow either