In this Miracle Gro Patch Magic review, I put the product to the test to find out whether it works and therefore if it’s worth the money.
What is Miracle Gro Patch Magic?
Patch Magic is pitched as a kind of miracle products to fix patch lawns in areas where grass struggles to grow.
It contains;
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- Grass seed, a blend of Dwarf Perennial Ryegrass and fine Fescues.
- Coir, made from the fibrous husks of coconuts which retains water and expands to surround the grass seed in a moist protective layer to encourage germination.
- Fertiliser, again to encourage germination.
- A binder, which helps prevent the seed from washing away in heavy rain.
As a result of its contents, Miracle Gro says it’ll germinate is as little as 4 days (depending on conditions) and grow grass twice as thick as even the best grass seed with half the water.
If that claim wasn’t bold enough, they even say Patch Magic will grow anywhere. Even on concrete.
So the question is, with all their claims, does it work and is it worth using on your lawns at home?
How I Conducted My Patch Magic Review
He’s a quick explanation of how I conducted this review of Miracle Gro’s Patch Magic.
Choose The Perfect Test Lawn
For the purposes of this review, I chose a lawn which was full of bald patches;
As you can see, this lawn has plenty of patches which look much worse on closer inspection;
It’s also a north-facing lawn so the right half of it sits in shadow for most of the day while the left half sits in the sun.
This can present a challenging situation when growing new grass from seed. One side is cool and damp while the other is much warmer and dryer so germination rates from one side to the other can vary widely.
Test The Whole Lawn, Not Just Patches
Rather than simply sprinkle a bit of Patch Magic on a bald area and just test that, I decided to apply it to the whole lawn.
I did this for three reasons;
- To keep a uniformed look across the whole lawn. If I simply test the patches, chances are the lawn would look patchy when they grow back.
- I wanted to see how well it performed in the shadowy areas compared to the bright areas.
- A test on a larger scale is more conclusive than a small scale test.
A Four-Week Timescale
Despite Miracle Gro’s claims that Patch Magic germinates in as little as four days, this really does depend on the weather, temperature etc.
I really wanted to give it a chance to germinate and start growing.
In order to do this, I ran my test for 4 weeks.
My Patch Magic Test, Step-by-Step
For this test, I bought seven, 3.6kg bags of Patch Magic.
As a professional greenkeeper, I’ve never used it before so I wasn’t sure how much I’d need, despite the packet saying 3.6kg is enough for 16m2 of patches.
For this case, it was better to have too much than not enough!
Following the Instructions
In terms of carrying out my test, I simply followed the instructions on the back of the packet;
Step 1: Rake to Remove Dead Grass, Loosen Soil and Soak with Water
In my case, there wasn’t any dead grass in the lawn, just bald patches.
That said, I still raked the whole lawn to loosen the soil before turning the sprinklers on for 10 minutes or so;
Step 2: Apply the Patch Magic
With the lawn watered, I applied the Patch Magic over the whole lawn.
Because I was applying it to the whole lawn, I did it in the same way I’d top dress. So I spread over the lawn and spread it out with the back of a landscaping rake.
Doing it in this way meant I used three of my seven bags. I did expect to use more than normal doing it this way.
If you’re using it to purely fill in patches, I’d say 3.6kg would easily cover 16m2.
Step 3: Water Again
With the Patch Magic spread evenly over the lawn, I watered it again so the coir turned dark brown.
As it absorbed the water, it swelled
Step 4: Keep it Watered
Miracle Gro have made using Patch Magic really simple.
The aim of the game is to keep the coir a dark brown colour. As it dries out, it turns a lighter brown, in which case, you need to water again.
And that’s it all there is to it.
How Well Did Patch Magic Work?
So did it work?
And what do the results look like?
One Week In: The First Signs of Germination
I have to admit, I didn’t see germination after 4 days as it says on the packaging.
That said, when I ran my test, the days were hot and dry which isn’t ideal so I watered the lawn for 10 minutes every morning and evening.
After 7 days, however, I did see the first signs of germination which was encouraging. And it did make a visible difference to the appearance of the whole lawn.
(I cut the grass before taking this picture as long grass can disguise the patches).
You can see the patches are starting to fill in slightly.
Of course, it’s not perfect yet but at this point, there’s three weeks to go.
Two Weeks In:
I put Miracle-gro patch magic down, 3.5 Kg on a variety of bare soil patches, been watering via sprinkler 4 times a day, in this lovely weather. It is now 8 days, and not a sign of germination. I also put down some bare grass seed on patches, and covered with very wet potting mixture, which started to germinate in 6 days. I have used 6 six 3.5Kg sacks over the last 20 months or so, it is a slow germinator, no matter what the love. Once it gets cracking, it is vibrant and helthy.