Protect your lawn during outdoor events by mowing taller and not watering before the event, creating pathways and using temporary protections. You can also rake the soil to revive your lawn after the event.
To guarantee your lawn will withstand the foot traffic from your guests and enjoy your event without worrying about your lawn, start preparing before the event, and take measures after your party or barbecue to recover your grass.
Before the Event: Prepare Your Lawn
Strengthen Your Lawn in Advance
Preparing your lawn for an outdoor event starts with maintaining a healthy turf that can easily recover from traffic. Take these measures to prepare your lawn for your guests:
- Mow taller within the mowing height range for your grass type. Longer grass blades create deeper roots and can recover more quickly from the foot traffic of an outdoor event. Remember never to cut more than 1/3 of your grass’s total height in one mow. See our guide on How to Mow a Lawn the Right Way for more information.
- Stop watering 2 to 3 days before the event. A wet lawn can make your soil muddy and cause compaction problems due to the foot traffic. Additionally, making sure your lawn is dry before your event prevents muddy shoes for you and your guests.
Note: Take the opportunity to also protect your guests against pesky mosquitos. Take a look at our guide on How to Get Rid of Mosquitoes in Your Yard to learn different ways to keep these uninvited guests out of your party.
| If you are in a hurry to prepare for your event, contact a LawnStarter lawn care pro to save you the time and hassle. Our customers spend an average of $48 for our lawn mowing services. |
Strategically Plan Space
Designate spaces that you plan to use and isolate vulnerable areas you want to protect:
- Create activity zones: Make use of the space by setting up different areas for each activity. That way, you’ll distribute the traffic better. If you’re hosting a barbecue, for example, spread tables and chairs on your outdoor patio so your guests can sit in a different area from where you are cooking.
- Protect vulnerable areas: If you have vulnerable areas that are supposed to remain untouched, such as a pollinator garden or cultivated veggies, protect the area by putting up a sign, plaque, or some type of fencing around it.
- Use lightweight furniture and decorations: Count on chairs and tables made of plastic or other lightweight materials to help prevent pressure spots on your lawn.
The same applies to your decor: Choose freestanding, lightweight decorations — items that you can hang on your trees or fencing and easily remove after your event (balloons, flags, string lights).
Consider Temporary Surface Protection
There are multiple options for temporary surfaces you can use to create walkways or set up your activity zones:
- Waterproof tarps
- Plastic pallets
- Old carpets
- Portable outdoor tiles
- Ground protection mats
For the areas where you won’t lay a temporary surface, you can spread organic mulch or stepping stones to protect the grass around them. Such materials will help distribute the weight and protect your soil from compaction.
During the Event: Take Active Measures
Set up Smart Stations
Try setting up activity areas throughout the yard so foot traffic is dispersed. Make separate stations for:
- Cooking food
- Eating food
- Dancing
- Sitting back and socializing
- Kids’ playground
Create Clear Traffic Patterns
By creating clear traffic patterns you can direct foot traffic away from the areas you intend to preserve. Lay down rocks, plywood, old carpets or ground protection mats to create temporary walkways that will help direct your guests and prevent them from walking all over your grass.
Manage Immediate Issues
If you’re planning on hosting multiple events, one followed by another, you can prevent pressure spots and compacted soil by rotating your setup. Change the location of your chairs and tables by moving them to areas you didn’t use before so the grass under these items can rest.
For occasional alcoholic beverages spills, try to address it right away. Rinse the area with water to dilute the alcohol. If you can’t water that spot during the event, you can do it right after your guests leave.
After the Event: Recovery Care
Clean Up
The first step is to clean up after the event. Remove leftover food, paper towels, and any kitchen items. If you have a compost bin, you can throw some of the food scraps there and later use the finished compost to fertilize your lawn.
Address Soil Compaction
To relieve soil compaction, lightly rake the lawn after your party to lift up matted grass and relieve compaction. If you haven’t already, take this opportunity to aerate your lawn if you have warm-season grass (as summer is the best time to aerate warm-season lawns). If you have cool-season grass, wait until the fall to aerate.
Restore Damaged Areas
If you had alcoholic beverage spills and didn’t have the opportunity to rinse immediately, remove stubborn surface stains after the event by giving the area a good rinse with a hose. If guests spilled alcohol on the lawn, you can turn on your sprinklers for about 10 minutes to dilute it.
For damaged areas with bare spots, it might be time to overseed the lawn:
- Rake the area lightly to remove the dead grass and improve contact between the seed and the soil.
- Spread organic matter to improve the soil structure (compost or topsoil).
- Reseed small spots by hand or use a fertilizer spreader for larger areas to ensure even distribution.
- Water daily until you see the new seeds sprouting.
See our article on How to Care for New Grass for more information.
Fertilize
After you overseed your lawn, you can apply a starter fertilizer to improve the germination process and get your lawn back in shape quickly. If you didn’t have the need to overseed, you can apply a regular slow-release nitrogen fertilizer to strengthen your turf.
Also, remember to fertilize at least once a year. Fertilizing your lawn is a very important step to strengthen your grass, as it adds the necessary nitrogen and other nutrients required to keep your turf in good shape and capable of recovering from damage.
Water
Get back to your regular watering schedule (unless you overseeded, in which case you’ll need to water more frequently). The best time to water your lawn is between 5 a.m and 9 a.m. Aim to water your lawn with around 1 inch of water per week. You can do 2 weekly watering sessions of 30 minutes each using 1/2 inch of water, and you’re all set.
FAQ
You can mow your lawn 1 to 2 days before the event. That way your lawn will be aesthetically pleasing to receive your guests.
Wait at least 2 weeks after laying new sod (or until the sod has rooted) before hosting an outdoor event.
Yes, there are certain types of grasses that are more resistant to traffic than others. The best grasses for high-traffic areas are:
• Perennial ryegrass
• Zoysiagrass
• Kentucky bluegrass
• Tall fescue
• Bermudagrass
When to Call a Pro
Whether you’d like help preparing your lawn for an event or repairing it after an outdoor party, you can count on one of our local lawn care pros. With LawnStarter you can have fun with your guests and loved ones without worrying about your grass — leave that part to us.
Main Image Credit: kosoff / Adobe Stock
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