Gardeners question time!!! When should I turf?

matt100 · 26 Jul 2006 at 14:02

I've finally got the funds together to turf my frankly embarrasing garden.

It ain't small and its going to cost me iro £2k so the last thing I want to do is pick the wrong time of year and have it die on me because I very much doubt patrick and patrick ltd will give a stuff.

So, do I do it now and risk it drying out? (no hosepipe ban here but also I have no sprinkler)
Do I do in in the autumn when its nice and wet but risk it freezing and dying?
Do I wait until spring which seems safest to me...

Or is it pretty unlikely to die either way?

Gilly · 26 Jul 2006 at 14:04

Early spring is generally the best time - or so we were told when our garden was being laid.

Coolasmoo · 26 Jul 2006 at 14:32

We just had a new lawn laid about 2 months ago,

Its well established now, but for the first few weeks, i had to water it every night.

Bear this in mind if you have any hose pipe bans or anything in your area.

The_blue · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:04

Just seed it, takes about 4 weeks to look like turf and would cost about 30 quid!!

Its the same prep work you'd need to turf it. and if your willing to wait till spring then 4 weeks to grow seed wouldn't bother you.

Gilly · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:06

Depends on your soil, but very rarely does a seeded garden look as good as a laid one. Even if you manage to keep birds away from your freshly seeded earth

"andy" · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:08

astro turf tbh. thats what ill be getting lol .

cutting the grass is one of those jobs that just doesnt want to be done

Coolasmoo · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:32

andy8271 said:
astro turf tbh. thats what ill be getting lol .

cutting the grass is one of those jobs that just doesnt want to be done

I actually looked into getting artificial grass before i turfed.

The price on some of the stuff isnt too bad, but you cant beat natural grass if its in agood condition.

robbiemc · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:39

I caught an interview with a lawn expert on Breakfast news this morning and although I didn't see the whole piece, I did catch the part where he said 'If you're going to lay a new lawn, don't do it now; it's too hot'.

Why don't you call a few other places and get their prices/recommendations?

matt100 · 26 Jul 2006 at 15:59

Oh I will, I'm just never convinced by the recommendation of someone trying to sell me something, frankly I've told so many blatent lies in the pursuit of sales in the past that I know to take it all with a shovelfull of salt

Dave M · 26 Jul 2006 at 16:05

When laying turf you need the roots to grow from the tiny bit of soil down into your (carefully prepared) soil. Obviously winter isn't such a good time for this as plants don't grow much.

Spring would be your best bet as it's wet - you'll probably still need to water though so get a sprinkler or a comfy seat

Prepare that soil very carefully - it needs to be a fine loam to get good results, no lumps, no bumps and preferably dug in well with fertilizer.

My advice after having turf would be to seed though. Unless your paying through the nose for turf of a guaranteed grass variety in which case your paying for what your getting. Standard cheap turf will not have good lawn grass in it.

singist · 26 Jul 2006 at 16:06

Early Autumn or Spring is the normal time; as advised, too hot/dry at the moment.

Make sure the preparation is good and it'll look great.

matt100 · 26 Jul 2006 at 16:14

frankly my kids will probably trash it anyway so I'mnot too concerned about it looking good but the man assured me in his ruddy coutry accent that he would "kill everything" and then "flatten it.. arrrr" and then make sure it "looked bootiful".

And I see no reason to doubt him, I had a builder turn up in a merc to quote me once so I sent him packing, this chap turned up in a trashed landrover defender with a dog in the back so he seems kosher

I'm making light of it, I expect spring is the time to go for it then... bummer. Embarrasing garden for another 6 months.