Laying A New Lawn

If you're creating a new garden from scratch, part of your spring lawn care programme may be to lay a new area of turf or even create a whole new lawn

. Spring is the best time to do this as it allows the turf to establish itself before facing any risk of drought conditions later in the summer, whilst avoiding the damage a late frost can do to tender grass. So if you're planning on laying a new lawn, here are a few tips on how to do it successfully.

Preparing the lawn area is key.

You will need to prepare the ground for your new lawn carefully before you buy your turf. Just like planting any other seedlings, the better the base the more your lawn will thrive. If you have clay soil and suffer from waterlogging on the lowest part of the lawn after heavy rain, soakaway will allow excess rainwater to run off the lawn. Standing water on a lawn surface will suffocate and drown your grass, leaving you with barren areas that turn into mudbaths as soon as it starts to rain again! Make sure that you back fill with small rubble and stones and top off the soakaway with topsoil. You can then turf over the top of this area if necessary.

Levelling the ground. One of the most important jobs before laying your new turf is to make sure that the plot is flat and even. If you have an uneven surface with bumps and dips you'll end up cutting the raised areas too closely and leaving long uncut grass in the dips when mowing. It will also mean that, particularly if you have a clay soil, drainage and puddling could be a recurring problem later on.

Compaction can inhibit new lawn growth. Heavy traffic can compact the lawn soil, which will restrict the root growth of new grass. To give your new lawn the best possible chance of survival, make sure that the soil underneath is level but not too compacted to allow the roots to establish quickly. You will need to 'tread' the soil before laying the turf on top, but this only flattens the top few millimetres and doesn't compact the soil deeper down.

What makes for perfect lawn turf? Garden centres often only get a delivery of turf once or twice a week, so phone ahead and find out when the new delivery will be coming in. Turf that has been sitting in a garden centre for several days can begin to yellow and die off. So when you buy your turf, check its condition by unrolling a couple of turfs to ensure that you are not buying substandard grass. If you grasp a turf at one end and give it a shake, it should hold together firmly. If it breaks apart it means that the roots may not be sufficiently strong or are already starting to die. Make sure that you have measured your new plot carefully and buy enough turf to cover the area completely (plus a little extra for wastage).

Getting started with the new lawn. Once you're plot is ready and you have your turf, work methodically starting from one corner of the plot. When you position the next turf, lift both ends and tuck them in together to prevent the turfs separating and leaving gaps if the lawn dries out. Once you have laid your first row, tap the surface of the grass gently with a rake to remove any air pockets under the turf and allow it to sit level on the topsoil.

When you start on your next row, lay the turf in alternating positions (rather like bricks in a wall) so that any joins in the previous row don't line up with joinds in the next new row. Continue to lay the turf until your plot is covered and then trim the edges if necessary to tidy up. If you need to walk on the grass whilst laying the lawn, use scaffolding boards to avoid damaging the delicate grass. Make sure that you water the grass thoroughly and try to avoid walking on it for a few days to let the grass establish strong roots. It can take only a couple of weeks of ideal weather before the grass may need its first cut.

by: Mark Bartley

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