Dear Sven

I'm itching to get out in the garden and lay some new turf - how soon can I do this? The garden has been prepared and is nice and level. I'm also after some tips on how to look after it once it's laid.

Thanks,

David

Our Gardens Expert replies:

Hello David,

The good news is March is a great time to start laying a new lawn. The soil is warming up and if you just look around life is bursting up all over the place. The biggest enemies to a new lawn are frozen ground, drought and waterlogging. During the winter months the ground may well become frozen which firstly means the roots cannot penetrate and also there will be no water available (it's frozen!) Or the ground will be too waterlogged and the lawn will suffer. During the height of summer things are just too hot and even with constant watering (if you are allowed with all the hosepipe bans) the turf will just end up shrinking and dying.
So the ideal times to lay a new turf are spring and autumn.

You say you have done all the prep work, so simply roll out the 'sods' using a board to walk on. Try and 'knit' or 'pinch' all the edges together and remember to alternate the joins like on a brick wall. The important thing when it is laid is to keep it well watered. You will have to judge how often by how much it rains, but make sure it gets some water everyday until it has established (two to four weeks). Also make sure you don't walk on it for at least three to four weeks.

A question I often get is when to cut a new lawn. After about four to six weeks the lawn will really start to go for it, so give it a light trim on a high setting. Then once it needs another cut do so again at a lower setting and once it has really established go for a lower setting again.

Finally you will often read that a spring feed is key to a lush lawn. I would disagree with this! Spring feeds generally contain nitrogen which promotes leafy growth, but the better option is an autumn feed which will promote root growth, health roots = a healthy lawn.
Hope this helps and good luck!

Sven