How To Lay Lawn Turf

Here is how to order and lay lawn turf:

Order your turf only after you have completed all the preparations. Arrange for your turf to arrive no more than 1 day before you plan to lay it. When it arrives, if the weather is hot and dry, soak the outside of the pallet with water, making sure to apply plenty water to the ends of rolls that are showing. You should order an appropriate pre-turfing fertiliser with your turf.

How to lay turf:

Stage 1:
Sprinkle pre-turfing fertiliser evenly over the area. Rake lightly to incorporate it and give the finished smooth surface.

Stage 2:
It is time to lay the turf. You can either lay turf whilst standing on the prepared ground or whilst standing on laid turf with the use of boards to prevent marking your new lawn. If you stand on the soil, give each new row a light rake to remove your foot marks.

Stage 3:
Start from a long straight edge and roll out a turf. DO NOT stretch the turf or you will get shrinkage later. If you are happy with the angle of your first turf, roll out the next one. Push the starting edge of the second turf hard against the first one, making sure to butt all joins up tightly. Do not have turf overlapping on top of already laid turf. You can use the back of the rake to pull the turf tightly together.

Stage 4:
You do not need to roll or tamp the turf at this stage except at the joins or edges. However if you have a very light roller this can be used to increase the turf to soil contact. Make sure and manually flatten the very start (centre) of the roll of turf (where the harvesting machine first turned the turf) As it is always misshapen.

Stage 5:
If you have gaps created through poor cutting or uneven turf sizes, you can blend the edges closer together by manually stretching, almost tearing the edges. (like flattening out dough). The turf will contract back a bit but you do improve the join. If the gaps are too big for that, use a Stanley knife to cut slivers from your off cuts of turf and squeeze these into the join. Remember wherever you do that type of join, will need extra water to aid recovery.

Stage 6:
Here's a little secret used by turf laying professionals to increase the "wow" factor on a new lawn. Roll out your alternate rows in opposite directions. This gives a good striped "just mown" appearance. Do not use small cuttings at edges of lawn. Use them in the middle.

Stage 7:
It is best to do your edges last, leave enough turf overlapping your proposed edge, that once you are done, you can lay a hose or rope on the edge and use an edging iron to shape your turf. This can be left quite rough, you can smooth this off easier when the turf has rooted in a couple of weeks.

Stage 8:
When you are done, unless a good amount of rain is forecast, you must water the grass. If you can't apply water due to hosepipe bans or water meters, then leave turf laying to the autumn/winter season This must be a very good soak, it may take several hours of sprinkler to put on enough. This must be repeated regularly for 1 month.

That's you done.

Angus Cheyne is a land based scientist specialising in laying and maintaining lawn turf.

See his work at http://www.turfandstuff.com/index.php and http://www.lawnwizard.co.uk.