Laying turf for an average-size garden can be a day's job in most cases. If you have a large area, or want to split the job up, you can spend one day preparing the surface and the second day laying the turf.
Some of the most popular questions that our garden turf experts are asked include ‘how do I lay turf?’ and ‘when should I lay turf?’. In true H&GC style, we have taken to the time to create our very own turf laying guide:
Laying turf
Laying turf can be a relatively simple operation, albeit a little hard work.In a nutshell, the simple ‘how to’ steps of laying turf are;
- Remove large stones, weeds and other debris.
- Rotavate to loosen soil up, rake and again remove weeds, stones etc.
- Move soil about to level the site if necessary. Rake smooth.
- Firm soil down, shuffle over the ground with both feet together, make sure the whole area has been compacted this way.
- A fertiliser can be applied at this point if desired. A general one such as Gromore or blood, fish and bone. Make sure you rake it in well to the soil before the turves are laid, then water well and leave overnight before laying turves
- Lay turves (green side up), stagger joins, take care not to stretch turves. Turves can be left for 2 or 3 days still rolled up if absolutely necessary, but should ideally be laid the same day that they are lifted
- Firm turves down, give a really good soak.
Stay off the grass for at least two weeks, longer if possible. Water well every 2-3 days during dry spells.
When to Lay Turf
Turf can be laid at any time of year in the UK, some times are better than others however:
- Winter - Avoid frosty days, in fact you probably won't get it delivered as the turf merchants won't lift it then. Growth is very slow and you'll need to stay off it for much longer than the usual 2 weeks - how long? - depends on the temperature, if it's below 5C (41F) then there is no growth at all and those days don't count. I'd say about 2 months to be safe which doesn't matter probably if you don't have pets, but does if you do.
- Spring - Ideal time, early spring is better than late spring. Watch out for dry periods later on and water as appropriate.
- Summer - Best avoided if possible. Dry periods spell problems or much effort and a high water bill. High temperatures means that the grass stops growing.
- Autumn - Best of all. Cooler days but not too cool means the grass grows well, usually dampish so less need to water and the grass is less likely to be walked on.
Based on information supplied by:
Anglian Gardener
