Laying New Turf

The prospect of a laying a new lawn can be daunting. Aside from the physical aspect of the work (digging up your existing lawn, laying the new turf) turf is a living organism, and many of us suspect that we have the very opposite of ‘green fingers' and will ruin the result within days! In fact, with a little preparation, laying new turf for your garden can be done quickly and with great results.

Delivered in rolls that are evenly sized to make the task of laying it in any shaped garden much easier, turf will be delivered to your home by any online retailer or local garden centre. Alternatively, if you have access to a van or light truck, you could even pick it up yourself from a stockist.

Before beginning to lay the new turf, you must first remove the existing layer if there is one and remove weeds and other plants that are in the soil. Digging down to around 15cm (6 inches) should ensure that existing turf, roots, seeds and any weeds are removed. Turf grows better in soil that is prepared to encourage deep and rapid rooting. Physically, this is probably the hardest part. Earth is heavy to dig up and remove. Using a skip or garden bags to dispose of the old soil is a good idea if you want to avoid creating mountains of dirt in a corner of the garden, so make sure you are prepared to move the waste before you begin. A large garden can easily create a few tonnes of unwanted soil and plants!

As mentioned, turf is alive and must be laid within a day of delivery. It needs water, sunlight and nutrients to grow. The grass takes nutrients and water from the ground so the quality of the soil does affect the quality of the lawn. Using a rake and a pair of gardening gloves (for safety), you can remove any stones and roots if your existing soil is easy to break up. If your soil is poor then you should buy good quality topsoil. Spread it evenly with a rake over the area you are going to lay the turf, a day or so before the turf arrives.

You should initially lay the turf along a straight edge, butting each piece closely to the previous piece. Further rows should be staggered in a brickwork style or arrangement. Placing planks on newly laid turf gives you a way to walk along newly laid turf without displacing it, and also gives you a place to kneel down in order to work on the joins without causing any damage to the new lawn.

Using a rake head, you can lightly firm down the pieces of turf into the soil beneath, ensuring a good contact between the turves and soil. This process is known as 'tamping' and helps to establish the roots of the turf - ensuring the best chance that it will grow successfully. When joining the pieces of the lawn push them into place - pulling the turves can stretch them out of shape and damage the 'sward' (the density of the grass). If you find that there are cracks between the rolls, you can always fill them in with a bit of loose topsoil. If you need to cut your turf to shape - irregularly shaped lawns are commonplace these days - then simply use a suitable knife or half-moon shaped cutting spade.

After you have laid your lawn, it is important to water the grass frequently for the first 2-3 weeks. If you're unsure whether the turf is moist enough, simply lift the corners and make sure that the water has percolated through to the roots.

The most important aspect of your lawn's appearance - aside from the quality of turf or lawn seed you have chosen to use - is the way in which it is mown. Although the height to which you mow is to your own personal preference, it is generally recommended that it is around 20-25mm in depth.

The top, darker green blades are resistant to the sunlight but the leaves near to the soil are prone to scorching if they are exposed. Therefore it is important that once you have established a certain height that you mow as close to this level as possible each time you mow. Turfis a living organism, and will become accustomed to growing to a certain height. Cut too deepy, and the sensitive lower blades can become exposed to the sunlight - leading to scorching, and possibly even killing some of the grass.

Because the colour of the grass will vary between the tip and the root, establishing an even mowing height will ensure a uniform appearance and make your lawn as beautiful as possible all year round.

Grass grows at an uneven pace, dependent on the amount of water it gets, the time of year and the amount of nutrients it is receiving. It is best to try to mow your lawn as often as is needed, without setting yourself a strict, timed schedule. A simple glance should establish whether your lawn is in need of a trim.

If you are using a decent quality modern lawnmower that leaves behind only a relatively small amount of clippings, you can leave these behind. As they break down into the soil, they give the roots valuable nourishment and should not merely be swept up in the interests of tidiness.

Through the winter we tend to forget the garden to a certain extent but as the spring looms we must see and attend to the damage and neglect that winter has caused. As the grass starts to grow again we need to think about and may even have to start to mow the lawn straight away. We must be careful not to overstress the lawn, It is very important in early spring that you set the mowing height quite high, this means taking no more that one quarter of the length of the plant off. There is the old adage of a little and often and this approach is better for the springtime lawn care. As spring progresses the grass will grow faster so an increase in the mowing frequency will be necessary as well as a gradual reduction of the height of cut, this should both protect the turf and also give a good finish to lawn.