My guess would be the additional heat from the concrete on two sides of it.
dj_cole
You might check if there’s some concrete under there. I had a spot in my yard where the grass always had trouble growing, also close to a sidewalk. It turned out there was a blob of cementer maybe….2 inches under the grass. It looked like maybe they were ending a pour and moved it off to the side out of the way. I cleared out the cement, filled in with topsoil and the grass grew fine after that.
Successful-Okra3058
Needs extra water there because of the heat radiating from the concrete. If you have irrigation, make sure the water is adequately reaching this spot and add some extra time.
MermaidGunner
My back yard does it also. Heat, sun and lack of rain.
United-War4561
Maybe reseed it this fall with some Heat and Drought seed . Jonathan green makes one not sure what grass your lawn is. Aerate and remove dead grass and debris add a few inches of compost and quality soil.
Whisker-biscuitt
May not make a huge difference, but I’ve been using a soil penetrant, EZ Wet to be exact. Doesn’t take much, teaspoon in a hose end sprayer, then I water deep afterwards. Really helps water move through the soil better and also hangs onto the water more. Works great in garden, various outdoor flowers, and indoor plants too!
4u2nv2019
I personally would hollow tine that area. Apply wetting agent (Johnson’s baby wash) and fill with fresh soil and over seed. And compost on top. Compost will help retain moisture in that area
elimcjah
Guessing that sprinkler head is shooting far but barely misting the ground right in front of. Had same problem 2 years ago. Replaced the head with one that shoots far stream and close spray. That corner dries out the fastest. For sure the concrete heat causes it to dry out, but it’s not just heat. That corner needs a more water than the rest of your yard.
Beck2637
Definitely more heat being surrounded by concrete is tough. There’s also a chance some waste concrete was poured under the grass.
SirJasper6969
Next to my driveway, the builders buried all their extra gravel with about 6 inches of soil. had better results when I finally dug it all out.
Big77Ben2
I have a few spots like this. Probably not complete water coverage combined with some compacted soil and maybe added heat from the concrete. There’s a few spots that I’ll hand water every so often to make sure they get a good soaking.
Expensive_Waltz_9969
Sounds counterintuitive, but make sure your sprinklers are overshooting the grass boundary a little bit and watering the concrete. Concrete is porous and absorbs the water, which makes for a cooling effect during peak summer. I have the same issue and it has been corrected since I increased flow to the sprinkler heads and started hitting the concrete with some water twice a week.
BoringBeat5276
Yard still looks good. Way better than mine
Still_Temperature_57
Heat radiation from concrete
Not enough water
Soil compaction
Think it’s #1
Enchilada0374
Have this issue too. Thought about burying a weeping hose along concrete edge to keep it moist. Not sure if that’d work
OtherCertain-Remote
The sidewalks are hot but the corner is really hot. That corner is getting hammered.
neverenough69ing
Rocks underneath I would bet. Typically overflows from base material for driveway and sidewalk during construction
Melodic-Classic391
Dogs. I had this problem too
BallsAndWalrus
As others noted heat from the concrete could be your main culprit. The yard could certainly use a tree or two for shade. Will help your grass and house stay cool with shade!
Deep_Elderberry_6277
We had this issue with our yard for years and it was way more work to keep up with, so we tore out about 24” around the edge and planted plants to help mitigate the heat from the concrete away from the grass and it added some additional depth to the front yard.
Visible_Noise1850
She cookin’ bro.
freddiemercuryisgay
Are you salting your sidewalk in the winter?
splintersmaster
Like others have said additional heat is one. Corners like that also get more foot traffic so it’s probably a bit more compacted in that area making it even more susceptible.
If you don’t, start to aerate and maybe mix in some heavy traffic/heat tolerant seed in that area.
Zealousideal_Diver77
I’m in northern UT as well I have the same problem in my backyard. The lowest corner gets lots of water but concrete on 2 sides and it struggles. Actually all along one concrete side because it is in the sun all day. Mine is kbg it isn’t dead just dormant but I have to water that corner alot or even give some shade.
Probably the most likely answer.
030H_Stiltskin
Also check to see how deep the soil is there since it’s close to the sidewalk. I had a spot in my yard by the street that died every year. Finally dug it up this year and found the soil was only about 3-4 inches deep and underneath was nothing but drainage stone. Before we bought our house a water pipe and broke in that spot and after they repaired in they filled the entire area in with drainage rock and just a little bit of soil on top. The soil dries very quickly and the grass dies. There is a chance you may have excess stone in that corner from when they laid the stone and tamped it before pouring the concrete for the sidewalk.
DIY_CHRIS
You can manually water that corner to provide extra over the warmer months.
basement-thug
When I water mine I set the sprinkler where it ends up watering across the sidewalk to the curb, so that those far edges aren’t at the very end of the throw, which gets less water. Yeah, I’m watering the sidewalk, and don’t care.
801intheAM
Billbug grubs. Can you tug and pull the dead stuff up easily? Billbugs have been the bane of my summers for years. I’ve tried everything and cannot get rid of them. My lawn looks great until about June…then it looks like dog shit until early September when the grubs hatch and stop feeding. Look them up. Everybody around me who has these dead spots usually have signs of grub infestation.
lennym73
Probably where a pile of rock was dumped during the construction. A little dirt got put on top and then sodded.
Swamplust
Try a u series nozzle on that sprinkler head.
bakler5
How do you know it gets enough water?
garulousmonkey
Two reasons it dies.
People likely cutting the corner.
Double dose of heat from two sides of concrete.
GrandIguana1990
I’m curious if it’s a sprinkler coverage issue.
Riversmooth
Concrete heats it up. Just run a hose and sprinkler there now and then to help it out
Ashamed-Status-9668
You might want to consider using a proper edger(rent, pay someone, buy) to get a nice deep edge against the concrete. This will help with heat transfer a bit.
I’m guessing you may want to get more water here either with another sprinkler head or hand watering.
36 Comments
My guess would be the additional heat from the concrete on two sides of it.
You might check if there’s some concrete under there. I had a spot in my yard where the grass always had trouble growing, also close to a sidewalk. It turned out there was a blob of cementer maybe….2 inches under the grass. It looked like maybe they were ending a pour and moved it off to the side out of the way. I cleared out the cement, filled in with topsoil and the grass grew fine after that.
Needs extra water there because of the heat radiating from the concrete. If you have irrigation, make sure the water is adequately reaching this spot and add some extra time.
My back yard does it also. Heat, sun and lack of rain.
Maybe reseed it this fall with some Heat and Drought seed . Jonathan green makes one not sure what grass your lawn is. Aerate and remove dead grass and debris add a few inches of compost and quality soil.
May not make a huge difference, but I’ve been using a soil penetrant, EZ Wet to be exact. Doesn’t take much, teaspoon in a hose end sprayer, then I water deep afterwards. Really helps water move through the soil better and also hangs onto the water more. Works great in garden, various outdoor flowers, and indoor plants too!
I personally would hollow tine that area. Apply wetting agent (Johnson’s baby wash) and fill with fresh soil and over seed. And compost on top. Compost will help retain moisture in that area
Guessing that sprinkler head is shooting far but barely misting the ground right in front of. Had same problem 2 years ago. Replaced the head with one that shoots far stream and close spray. That corner dries out the fastest. For sure the concrete heat causes it to dry out, but it’s not just heat. That corner needs a more water than the rest of your yard.
Definitely more heat being surrounded by concrete is tough. There’s also a chance some waste concrete was poured under the grass.
Next to my driveway, the builders buried all their extra gravel with about 6 inches of soil. had better results when I finally dug it all out.
I have a few spots like this. Probably not complete water coverage combined with some compacted soil and maybe added heat from the concrete. There’s a few spots that I’ll hand water every so often to make sure they get a good soaking.
Sounds counterintuitive, but make sure your sprinklers are overshooting the grass boundary a little bit and watering the concrete. Concrete is porous and absorbs the water, which makes for a cooling effect during peak summer. I have the same issue and it has been corrected since I increased flow to the sprinkler heads and started hitting the concrete with some water twice a week.
Yard still looks good. Way better than mine
Heat radiation from concrete
Not enough water
Soil compaction
Think it’s #1
Have this issue too. Thought about burying a weeping hose along concrete edge to keep it moist. Not sure if that’d work
The sidewalks are hot but the corner is really hot. That corner is getting hammered.
Rocks underneath I would bet. Typically overflows from base material for driveway and sidewalk during construction
Dogs. I had this problem too
As others noted heat from the concrete could be your main culprit. The yard could certainly use a tree or two for shade. Will help your grass and house stay cool with shade!
We had this issue with our yard for years and it was way more work to keep up with, so we tore out about 24” around the edge and planted plants to help mitigate the heat from the concrete away from the grass and it added some additional depth to the front yard.
She cookin’ bro.
Are you salting your sidewalk in the winter?
Like others have said additional heat is one. Corners like that also get more foot traffic so it’s probably a bit more compacted in that area making it even more susceptible.
If you don’t, start to aerate and maybe mix in some heavy traffic/heat tolerant seed in that area.
I’m in northern UT as well I have the same problem in my backyard. The lowest corner gets lots of water but concrete on 2 sides and it struggles. Actually all along one concrete side because it is in the sun all day. Mine is kbg it isn’t dead just dormant but I have to water that corner alot or even give some shade.
Probably the most likely answer.
Also check to see how deep the soil is there since it’s close to the sidewalk. I had a spot in my yard by the street that died every year. Finally dug it up this year and found the soil was only about 3-4 inches deep and underneath was nothing but drainage stone. Before we bought our house a water pipe and broke in that spot and after they repaired in they filled the entire area in with drainage rock and just a little bit of soil on top. The soil dries very quickly and the grass dies. There is a chance you may have excess stone in that corner from when they laid the stone and tamped it before pouring the concrete for the sidewalk.
You can manually water that corner to provide extra over the warmer months.
When I water mine I set the sprinkler where it ends up watering across the sidewalk to the curb, so that those far edges aren’t at the very end of the throw, which gets less water. Yeah, I’m watering the sidewalk, and don’t care.
Billbug grubs. Can you tug and pull the dead stuff up easily? Billbugs have been the bane of my summers for years. I’ve tried everything and cannot get rid of them. My lawn looks great until about June…then it looks like dog shit until early September when the grubs hatch and stop feeding. Look them up. Everybody around me who has these dead spots usually have signs of grub infestation.
Probably where a pile of rock was dumped during the construction. A little dirt got put on top and then sodded.
Try a u series nozzle on that sprinkler head.
How do you know it gets enough water?
Two reasons it dies.
People likely cutting the corner.
Double dose of heat from two sides of concrete.
I’m curious if it’s a sprinkler coverage issue.
Concrete heats it up. Just run a hose and sprinkler there now and then to help it out
You might want to consider using a proper edger(rent, pay someone, buy) to get a nice deep edge against the concrete. This will help with heat transfer a bit.
I’m guessing you may want to get more water here either with another sprinkler head or hand watering.
Someone pet is pissing on your lawn