Guide to Laying Your New Lawn

Laying purpose-grown cultivated turf will enable you to enjoy a fine lawn of instant beauty and maturity without the inconvenience, wastage or delays associated with seeding. To ensure that the turf you buy and lay is of the highest quality, always insist on lawn turf produced by Easylawn who are members of the Turfgrass Growers Association (TGA), which has a quality assurance policy.

To help ensure optimum results and a quality finish to your new lawn, Easylawn recommends that you follow the guidelines given below.

Please remember that turf consists of a mass of living, breathing plants. Appling appropriate care and attention to your new lawn will enable it to grow to its full potential and provide you with many years of enjoyment.

Ground Preparation

Proper ground preparation is essential for the establishment and future well being of your new lawn. Inadequately prepared ground will never produce the best results.

Existing turf should be removed by slicing beneath the grass with a spade or, for larger areas, consider hiring in a purpose-designed turf cutter. Your local TGA turf supplier should be able to help.

The soil needs to be turned over thoroughly to a depth of 15cm using a spade or a powered cultivator.

Clear the area of stones, weeds, old turf and other debris.

Raking

The ground should be raked to produce a smooth, level surface. Lightly roll or tread the surface by foot to reveal any soft patches which can than be raked level. This process should continue until the whole area is evenly firm and level. The surface should be firm but not compacted. You are now ready to lay turf.

Ordering

Measure the proposed lawn area accurately in square meters or square yards.

Turf is supplied in compact rolls for easy handling and laying. As Easylawn turf is always harvested to order, it is recommended that you give us as much notice as possible of the required delivery date.

When ordering you will need to supply Easylawn with the amount of turf you require, the delivery address, contact name, telephone number and required delivery date.

Please fill in all of the details asked for by the on-line ordering service or phone the office on 01432 850 850, who will be happy to take your orders.

Laying the turf

Never walk directly on the prepared soil or newly-laid turf. Use boards or planks to work from and walk on.

Start by unrolling one strip of turf around the perimeter of the lawn. Avoid using small pieces at the edge as these can dry out and perish. Ensure that the underside of the new turf has full contact with the soil below.

Lay the next strip along the longest straight run and continue to work across the lawn, strip by strip, producing a pattern similar to brickwork.

Butt adjoining edges and ends against each other, but avoid stretching the turf. Overlapping pieces and ends of rows should be cut off neatly with a sharp knife or half-moon lawn edger.

Watering

Between March and October, newly laid turf should be watered thoroughly within half an hour of installation.

This watering should be repeated at least once a day until the roots are well established. As a guide, at least two hours per day of constant watering is essential across the whole lawn area. The hotter, drier and windier the weather, the more water will be needed. Water immediately and profusely on any sign of the turf drying out e.g. gaps, lifting, browning and curling.

Feeding

As a rule of thumb, a balanced fertiliser should contain a balanced amount of Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P) and Potash (K) should be applied every four to six weeks during the growing season. Always follow the manufacturers' recommendations with regard to the quantity, timing and method of applications. A policy of "little but often" will help maintain your lawn in peak condition.

Mowing

Resist the temptation to make the initial cut until your new lawn has rooted, this can be easily checked by lifting a corner of a strip of turf to see if the roots are attached to the soil below.

For the first mowing, set the lawn mower to its highest setting to avoid stressing the grass. Mow regularly, each time removing no more than one-third of the grass height. When the lawn is fully established, the height of the cut can be reduced gradually to an optimum height of between 15mm and 35mm. Take care to avoid scalping.

Turf must be laid as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours of delivery. In hot weather, keep delivered turf in the shade. It is advisable to prepare the ground advance of the turf arriving to avoid hold-ups due to bad weather.