There are three main methods of renewing a lawn: seed, sod, and plugs. If you've already tried grass seed and don't want to invest in entirely new sod, plugs could be the right solution for you. When paired with the right lawn fertilizer and lawn care, plugs can quickly grow into a healthy, thick lawn.

What Is a Grass Plug?

Grass plugs are small portions of living grass that are inserted directly into your lawn. If you've ever seen grass slowly grow over a bare spot, you'll understand why. The goal of a grass plug is to place some grass directly into the areas of your lawn that's bare. From there, the grass plug will continue to spread and propagate, and eventually, the plugs will grow into an entire lawn surface.

What Are the Advantages of a Grass Plug?

When you grow grass from seed, you need to wait for that grass to germinate and grow. This can take a very long time. Grass plugs come already grown and ready to spread, which means they generally take a shorter amount of time to fill in the bare spots. 

Compared to sod, grass plugs are far less expensive. And since they take purchase by spreading rather than growing from the top down, grass plugs are more likely to grow hardy, thick grass. Grass installed via sod may take longer to situate.

If part of your lawn is healthy, you can even make your own plugs. You can use a special tool to remove plugs from the healthy parts of your yard and insert it into the other parts of your yard.

What Are the Disadvantages of a Grass Plug?

Grass plugs do need to grow out from a central point, so depending on how many plugs you install, it may take some time for the ground to be covered. Sod operates much faster, while grass seed will at least grow at the same rate across your lawn. Grass plugs may look unsightly while they grow and you will have a significant portion of bare spots on your lawn until they've filled in.

If you're doing it yourself, plugs are also more labor intensive than either seeding the lawn or rolling down sod. This is because each plug usually needs to be individually planted, which can take a significant amount of time and effort.

Grass plugs can be used on everything from bare, patchy grass to completely empty lawns, it really just depends on how long you're willing to wait and how much work you're willing to do. Your local lawn care store can give you more information.