Turf!

[robjf]

Good morning!

At som point this weekend I want to lay turf on our garden. The ground is prepared, just need to get the turf!

I'm thinking of getting it from Homebase or B and Q but at £3 a roll I wonder if there are better places to get it? I have had a brief look online to see where I can get it locally but mostly returned national suppliers who won't deliver on the days I have off! Any ideas?

Also do you have any tips for laying turf? I've never done it before!

Thanks.

Rob

 

[burns]

Garden centre? The yellow pages?

 

[schnipps]

If you have never done it before how do you know the ground is prepared , i have layed it on patches to fix my lawn but never a full lawn thats a big job.

 

[Hank_Marvin]

I'd get it from a local supplier, more then likely much better quality and probly in better condition.

Stagger your joins otherwise it will look silly. And when you join a new roll to a roll you just layed, place the new roll slightly overlapping the layed rolll and cut, you will get perfect joins then, a little waste but its how it's done.

Once layed don't forget to water it regulary till it's rooted in.

 

[Disco Boy]

Try and find a place local to you.

 

[robjf]

By 'prepared' I mean it is a flat area of mud! I know its a big job but why not! The previous tenants left the garden in a tip, we've put in loads of nice plants, a veg patch and it just needs a lawn to finish it off!

I think I've found a lawn supplier which looks a whole lot cheaper than B & Q, about 1.70 per metre. Not bad. I hope I don't mess this up!

 

[Hank_Marvin]

You want to get it level as you can, keep breaking it up, raking it till it is

 

[robjf]

Ok can do that. Should I water the ground and add any fertilizer before laying the turf?

 

[DiCe!]

If you do make sure its even! when parents got theirs done the landscaper ran out of fertailiser half way down the garden....so now half of ti grows quick and half slow! and as said make sure its level EVERYWHERE

 

[martinturner]

I lawned my back garden a year ago; much easier than you think to be honest. The key is in the preparation. Make sure everything is turned over properly and any sign of weeds, roots etc, get rid as they will come back to bite you otherwise. Grass is pretty forgiving and whilst the experts harp on about how good the soil has to be, it can generally grow anywhere. I would not buy from a DIY store for the main reason that you don't know how long its been sitting there. Ideally you want good quality turf that was taken up very recently, DIY shops often have it sitting there for ages and then fire a hose over it to make it look fresh. I live in Bristol and looked online and found a farm in Devon which sold turf and who also delivered. The difference was amazing, this stuff was so much fresher (just how it looked and felt and also the colour) than what I had seen at the DIY shop. It actually was very comparably priced and it was delivered, so no messy car for me. As stated earlier, remember to stagger each piece!!! A big kitchen knife was what I used to cut the grass.

Lastly, although this probably should have come first, I personally would wait until after the summer as I personally would not lay grass during a warm spell. Once its down you need a massive amount of water; I had to water mine daily for an hour or so each day for the first week. The coupled with lots of rain meant it took really quickly; given how hot it is going to be over the next week or so, I personally would hold off. That said, there may be others who have laid grass during a warm sunny period, but I was advised against doing so.

 

[j.col]

I'd get it from a local supplier, more then likely much better quality and probly in better condition.

Stagger your joins otherwise it will look silly. And when you join a new roll to a roll you just layed, place the new roll slightly overlapping the layed rolll and cut, you will get perfect joins then, a little waste but its how it's done.

Once layed don't forget to water it regulary till it's rooted in.

this is very good advice.
its like laying wooden flooring, lay a row, then use the offcut of that row to start the next row, therfore staggering the joints

get the yellow pages and have a look for turf suppliers.
most do different grades,
cheapest i would avoid.
the middle one is usually the best for domestic gardens that has kids pets etc.. going onto it.
the best is for ornamental gardens, it is a very fine (thin) bladed grass, its the best but it does not like heavy traffic

iirc i paid about 2.20 per square yard. last year for ther medium grade.
also always allow 10% extra

also buy a sprinkler.
the best time to water the lawn will be any evening after 7, water the lawn for at least 1-2hrs every night.
let it grow to about 3" high before cutting.
there is loads of turf laying guides on google

also iirc we have a landscaper on this forum, he is called koooweeeee, might be worth dropping him a trust email

 

[robjf]

Just ordered some for delivery on Saturday. 40 quid for 20 metres premium turf. Cut the same day. No doubt a damn site better than B and Q!

I'd better start reading up on turf laying! Thanks for all the tips so far.

 

[j.col]

Just ordered some for delivery on Saturday. 40 quid for 20 metres premium turf. Cut the same day. No doubt a damn site better than B and Q!

I'd better start reading up on turf laying! Thanks for all the tips so far.

thats a pretty good deal
B&Q is overpriced and not that good imo

 

[platypus]

I would indeed wait until after summer as it's going to be too hot now to lay turf. You'll get a lot of scorching if you water it at the rate you need too.

 

[cork-spotters]

Well water it late in the evening, maybe 30mins to an hour before sunset. This will minimise scorching.

 

[MuttsNutts]

A long shot but some farmers tend to sell Turf as a side line to there normal business of farming, a few near me do it, it's cheaper & better quality as they tend to dig it up to order so it's fresh out the ground, rather than it being on the shelf if you will at HomeBase or B&Q.

I know my dad used one of them a few years ago saved about £60 and all his neighbours comment on how good his lawn looks.... thing is farmers dont tend to advertise in Yellow pages etc, more like local papers or sign's outside or nearby there Farms..... It all depends where you live...

Good Luck

 

[robjf]

Finished it, will be keeping it well watered!

About 2-3 weeks ago this garden was nothing but mud, it's getting there!

 

[Maximum Triceratops]

That turf cost you £40 ? just calculating the approx cost for mine based on that, quite cheap realy and looks nice.

 

[robjf]

Got 4 rolls left over aswell! Pretty pleased with the result. Now just relaxing with a couple of beers in the sun. Excellent.

It cost me £36 for 20 sq. yards. With 4 left over, I've used £30 worth of turf.

 

[Cuchulain]

Turfing is easy, one of the few garden jobs I can manage. We had to dig up 6 inch concrete to get turf down in our old place, took a couple of day's to get it up and into a skip, then spent another couple of day's getting all the stones out and the ground level.

Actually laying the turf took less than 2 hours (3 of us doing it), it looked great for about a month before the dandelions found it.