Garden design, garden planning, garden layout, planting plants and planting schemes

A New Lawn with roll turf

Posted on January 25th, 2009

Fed up with the constant battling of trying to defeat weeds in a patchy lawn? Well, you’d be surprised how quickly a jaded weedy patch can be replaced by a glorious eye catching lush green lawn, that not only makes the garden beautiful but perhaps even bigger. For professional tips on how to achieve the perfect finish, read on.

When it comes to replacement, the three key decisions relate to timing, when can the work be undertaken? Which will give better results seeded or roll turf and finally cost, what is the most cost effective way of replacing an old lawn? First of all, a new lawn especially a roll turf lawn can be installed pretty much any time of the year except of course during very cold and/or wet spells. On the other hand, a seeded lawn is best done during April-October, when the ground conditions are drier and soil temperatures are a little warmer. The ground preparations for both methods is identical. The new lawn requires good ground preparation. A seeded solution will take longer to develop and if the ground preparation have not been carefully completed, weeds are likely to appear very soon and prove to be tough competitors with the new grass shoots compete for valuable soil moisture and nutrients. The time and effort involved from seeding to lawn becoming established can be several months before a firm, hard wearing attractive surface is achieved. Roll turf on the other hand can become very established within a matter of only a few weeks, and within a month should be well able to withstand all the rough and tumble of children playing football etc. But for many people the main reason for preferring roll turf to seed is very clear. Roll turf have the distinct advantage of having the ‘finished look’ when completed. The only aftercare during the initial weeks involves keeping the grass moist but this will also apply to a seeded area.

If you wish to replace/install a new lawn, here are a few useful tips:

• Remove existing lawn (Tip: prior to commencement of works, spray old grass with a systemic weedkiller) in a small area, a flat spade should be adequate, for larger areas, consider hiring a sod cutter machine

• Dig or rotovate the soil to at least the depth of a spade, 12”/300mm

• Remove all stones, builders debris etc

• Apply a good fertiliser (e.g. pre-turfing feed) to area by raking into the soil

• Rake the area to produce an even smooth level and a fine tilth finish to surface

• Water the area well and allow it to settle

• Prior to installing the new lawn, ensure the are is generally dry.

Installing the new Lawn

Ideally new roll turf should be installed as soon as possible after delivery, if for any reason, this is not possible, roll turf may be rolled out onto a flat surface and if kept moist, can be stored in this fashion for up to 48 hours. Under no circumstances are the individual sods to be left rolled up for an extended period as new grass will quickly deteriorate and turn yellow.

• Begin by the laying the sod along the longest straight line, and ensure that subsequent lines are staggered, i.e. row 1 starts with a full roll length, row 2 starts with a half roll length and roll 3 starts with a full row length

• Push edges together and ensure all joints are well butted, a sharp knife will be required to cut sods ( I find an Old Bread Knife ideal). Avoid any small cuts as these will tend to be poor at retaining moisture and will dry out very quickly. Instead adjust lengths of last two rolls so that the end piece is not narrower than 12”/300mm wide

• Avoid during installation walking on the new turf, use wide boards or plywood sheeting

• After installation is completed, water well and continue daily until approx 2 weeks by which time the new sods should have become well knitted and rooted in the ground

Aftercare for the new Lawn

To retain the vivid green lush look of a new lawn and good healthy grass growth:

• Continue feeding the lawn every six weeks during the growing season (April-October) and do not forget to apply a winter feed later in year (which is a specially formulated feed to ensure strong root development)

• It is very important during the initial few months that the new lawn does not dry out, so if necessary water regularly

• Do not allow the grass become too long and generally avoid cutting the new lawn shorter than 2”/50mm. Frequent cutting (except during wet spells) is ideal to maintaining a beautiful finish.