A lawn in the making....

[JenniC]

Trees all felled, light at last and hard landscaping materials in skip. Now after eight years without grass I am preparing for a lawn .. So to all you keen gardeners out there any tips on when to lay turf (Internet has so many different opinions ), do's and dont's and tips for a nice lawn to be proud of would be really welcomed

[Boris+]

No tips on the lawn itself - but what about a letter to Santa for one of those robo-mowers?

em

[Jan Rosser]

Perhaps the Garden Doctor (qbman1) could help you out Jenni

[JenniC]

No tips on the lawn itself - but what about a letter to Santa for one of those robo-mowers?

em

Good idea but got one already...... called Steve.. My OH

[david63]

How about Astraturf??

[GillD46]

We pay a company to come every three months to feed appropriate to the season, apply weed killer, scarify and aerate our front and back lawns. It's not a lot of money and keeps them in excellent condition - still have to do the mowing though!

[JenniC]

How about Astraturf??

This is a serious topic boss... No hi-jacking please

[david63]

How about Astraturf??

This is a serious topic boss... No hi-jacking please

That was a serious answer

[Cockers43]

Back to the original subject.....

I don't think it matters when you lay it.

39 years and 11 months ago (2 weeks after my daughter was born) I laid a lawn in icy conditions. Every turf was frozen as were my hands. It turned out to be one of the best lawns I've ever had!

Just get good quality (this means green) turf and start with a flat surface. Make sure all the turfs are very close to one another.

Its not the laying though its the looking after.

[Jan Rosser]

We pay a company to come every three months to feed appropriate to the season, apply weed killer, scarify and aerate our front and back lawns. It's not a lot of money and keeps them in excellent condition - still have to do the mowing though!

Same here Gill - a firm comes to carry out weeding and feeding and any other necessary treatment about four times a year but mowing is down to me - certainly helps to keep me fit

As for that AstroTurf - I should imagine there is maintenance with that too - probably have to vacuum it

[Quizzical Bob]

The most important thing is... drainage!

[Quizzical Bob]

Or try these people:

http://www.n49.ca/biz/instant-lawns/on/ ... /id/32318/

[Stephen]

Trees all felled, light at last and hard landscaping materials in skip. Now after eight years without grass I am preparing for a lawn .. So to all you keen gardeners out there any tips on when to lay turf (Internet has so many different opinions ), do's and dont's and tips for a nice lawn to be proud of would be really welcomed

If it were me I would now wait until the spring to lay turf, when any frosts have passed and the ground is starting to warm up which will encourage root growth. Don't skimp on cheap turf from your local D.I.Y store either, buy quality turf from a reputable local turf farm. Once the turf is laid make sure you water it regularly, and once established which will be after it's first year feed the lawn twice a year. I feed ours in March and September using J R Bowers lawn sand which greens the lawn up lovely and kills of any moss. I spread this thinly by hand but you can get spreaders to do the job as well, depending on your lawn size. Of course there are several other weed and feed products out there for you to choose from.

[rita17]

We have recently had a new lawn after having our drive relaid. My husband seeded it and after just 6 weeks it was looking great. Don't know how this would work at this time of year though.

[Manoverboard]

Springtime is best ... and after it has been laid it is important to water and roller it daily for a compact and level lawn.

If you are thinking of using Green Thumb then forget it, they used to be excellent but their products have gone downhill ... comment based on several properties over a 20 year period.

[Jean W]

MOB - I second that about Greenthumb

[david63]

Sorry but I have to disagree about GreenThumb - never known lawns look as good

[Not so ancient mariner]

Trees all felled, light at last and hard landscaping materials in skip. Now after eight years without grass I am preparing for a lawn .. So to all you keen gardeners out there any tips on when to lay turf (Internet has so many different opinions ), do's and dont's and tips for a nice lawn to be proud of would be really welcomed

I agree with Stephen. Frosts could occur at any time now, so waiting until spring before starting would be my plan.

I have no experience of GreenThumb, so can't comment there, but would stress the importance of 'Green side up' when laying the turf!

[Manoverboard]

Sorry but I have to disagree about GreenThumb - never known lawns look as good

After nearly 10 years of treatments our lawns still looked ' before ' in any advert ...

The umpteen operatives that came and went over the years seemed to dash about as fast as possible and after the first year or two their results were very poor in spite of me requesting politely from time to time that I would very much like my lawns to look as good as my neighbour's given that he does sod all to his.

I do my own now and after a couple of treatments, and whizzabouts with my new scarifier, the lawns look fantastic again ... so how come they couldn't do the same ?

It presumably depends on the Franchisee but that shouldn't be the case.

[Stephen]

Trees all felled, light at last and hard landscaping materials in skip. Now after eight years without grass I am preparing for a lawn .. So to all you keen gardeners out there any tips on when to lay turf (Internet has so many different opinions ), do's and dont's and tips for a nice lawn to be proud of would be really welcomed

I agree with Stephen. Frosts could occur at any time now, so waiting until spring before starting would be my plan.

I have no experience of GreenThumb, so can't comment there, but would stress the importance of 'Green side up' when laying the turf!

LOL

[Stephen]

Sorry but I have to disagree about GreenThumb - never known lawns look as good

After nearly 10 years of treatments our lawns still looked ' before ' in any advert ...

The umpteen operatives that came and went over the years seemed to dash about as fast as possible and after the first year or two their results were very poor in spite of me requesting politely from time to time that I would very much like my lawns to look as good as my neighbour's given that he does sod all to his.

I do my own now and after a couple of treatments, and whizzabouts with my new scarifier, the lawns look fantastic again ... so how come they couldn't do the same ?

It presumably depends on the Franchisee but that shouldn't be the case.

I wouldn't have waited that long Moby to give them the elbow if I hadn't got good results. if things had not improved after three or four treatments then my thought would be 'they're taking the pi**' and would be told politely not to return.

I have always treated my own lawn. I don't use over priced treatments either. I weed it by hand and treat it with a lawn sand (J Arthur Bowers) which I get from B&Q.

[JenniC]

Glad you all stressed the importance of "green side up" as may have got that wrong Will read through all the tips - thanks all

[Onelife]

Hi jenni,

I’m presuming you’re laying the turf yourselves? If this is the case you will probably have to wait until early May before you can lay turf as they don’t start lifting turf until about this time of the year.

Not sure how much area we are talking about here but make sure you “heel in” the soil before raking over the surface. If you have a larger area to cover it might be a good idea to hire a roller “and a strong man to pull it”. Make sure you leave a couple of inches of raked topsoil before laying turf.

Keep it well watered and shoot any dogs/cats you find leaving their business on it

............

You could consider seeding it...far cheaper and you can choose the right type of seed/grass that is suited to your soil type... and location.

Regards

Keith