Need to correctly prepare garden to lay a new lawn

Hi Everyone

I've decided to take up gardening and I'd like to lay a nice new lawn in the next few months. Below are some pictures of the garden from which I've removed some yellow stones which have been there for about 10 years. I'd like to have it all turfed with probably a patch on the left where the sun shines the most for planting vegetables and some flowers. Garden faces south. The planks are there for walking so will be removed with everything else. Neighbours on the right and left have their gardens concreted.

The garden slopes a bit on the right. Do I remove stones, level it all,rake it and flatten it.






I'd appreciate advice on preparing correctly to get the best lawn growing here
Thanks for all the advice

Anthony

 

Hi

Welcome to the forum at least you know how to load up a picture that very useful on here.

You have a few weeks to prepare the soil ready for turf or seed in spring not long to go .

I should imagine after all that time under paving the soil will be very compacted , if me I would double dig the area , you start by digging a trench the width and depth of the spade and put this the opposite side of the garden then you turn the soil into the trench but at the same time you are creating a new one once you have filled in the first one do the same until you come to the last one and the originalk soil that you took out first that will go in the final trench .

By doing this it will open up the soil to let air and light in.


I think this is enough to go on for now .

Spruce

 

Great Thanks Spruce, I think I've got the idea about turning the soil over, the garden slopes to the right shall I make it level as I go along?

After turning the soil, do I need to compact it for the lawn.

 

Welcome to GC Anthony.

Just to add to what Spruce has said......is it a natural slope, in other words do your neighbours gardens either side slope away as well? If so I'd go with the natural slope for drainage. Do you know what type of soil you have? If it's heavy clay it would be best to get some sand or gravel dug into it to help drainage after digging it over.

When you are ready to turf rake the soil over to break down any lumps and make it even, then walk over it in a kind of shuffle just to firm it down, but don't stamp it down, you'll just be compacting it again. Then rake again gently on the surface to fill any dips or remove any lumps and it should be ready for turfing.

 

Worth considering Seed. Cheaper than Turf and much more environmentally friendly than scraping off an inch or two of prime fenland topsoil and carting it across the country With seed you can also choose whether you want bowling-green, or football kick-about quality, and if you have any shaded areas you can put a shade-tolerant mix in that bit

Preparation for Seed or Turf is the same. Seed slightly better in the Autumn as the grass germinates at a time that weeds are shutting down for the winter, and by Spring it is well enough established to need little watering in the first Summer, but a new lawn (Turf or Seed) laid in the Spring will need watering during the first summer. You just won;t be able to use any selective lawn weed killers on a new seed lawn for (I think) 6 months, so any weeds you will have to live with until then, or remove by hand. Might not be many if the ground has been under paving labs for years ...

The RHS says:

• The site should be dug or rotovated to a depth of 20-25cm (8-10in).
• Dig in some well-rotted manure or other organic matter (especially on a sandy soil) to hold moisture. Make sure it is well-rotted, as un-rotted organic matter will cause the soil surface to sink unevenly as it decays.
• After cultivation leave for several days to settle - the longer the better, ideally five to six weeks or more.
• Before the next stage of preparation, remove any weeds that have germinated. Hand-removal is best, or use a contact weedkiller. Do not use a residual weedkiller, as it will prevent the grass from establishing.
• To get the level surface that is crucial for the best lawns, tread the area several times in different directions and then rake several times also in different directions.
• Apply and rake in 70g per sq m (2oz per sq yd) of general purpose fertilise

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=410

After initial soil digging, and basic levelling (after leaving the ground to get some air in, and settle, after digging) then if you have a ladder (if not borrow one!) then tie a rope to the rungs at each end and "tow" it front-to-back of the garden, and side-to-side, to smooth out any humps and hollows. If the ladder skates across the surface put some blocks on it to weigh it down. Wait until the weather is dry enough that you can walk on it without it sticking to your boots - don't attempt any soil preparation (other than initial digging) if the ground is the least bit wet.

Rolawn are, probably, the Premier turf providers, and this article is useful about site preparation (but as I said, its pretty much the same for Turf or Seed)

http://www.rolawn.co.uk/turf-how-to-lay.html

Seed sellers that I have used:

http://www.bostonseeds.com/products/1/Grass-Seeds/1/Lawn-Seeds/ their "
Economy Grass Seed" is fine.

http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/shop/grass-seed - I used their Classic Lawn seed

Don't buy Bowling Green / Fine Lawn grass unless you have properly researched what it entails first! (If it contains Perennial Rye Grass it is NOT a Bowling Green quality grass, and will be suitable for a normal lawn)

 

@Anthony321

have we scared you off yet

How you getting on with the new lawn prep

 

I expect that 99% of the nation presume that Turf can just be laid on the ground and will make a nice lawn ... if only that were so!

 

looking forward to turning over soil soon, and level the garden slightly, just need to do some other bits in the garden before beginning prep for lawn. will post a pic of prep when done...

 

Hi

Do I need to lay some manure or other fertiliser into the trench?

 

Don't dig too deep for grass. If you loosen the soil too much, it will sink over time with use, and end up bumpy. I wouldn't bother with manure for a lawn. I think it will make the ground too soft. That said, if the soil is poor, or has poor structure, some spent mushroom compost mixed into the top couple of inches would do it the world of good. Its cheap too.

Don't make the mistake I made. I did mine in a hurray. I took possession of my house one May, and wanted a lawn by summer for little lad, so I didn't spend enough time firming and levelling after digging it over and enriching it. Its good enough, but it did sink in places, and now I have to top dress with sand every now and then to try to even out some of the little dips in the lawn.

 

thanks for advice above, this is how it looks at the moment, shall i do the next ones shallower, say half a spade?

 

Looks about right to me. You going to chuck the soil form the next row into that trench - is that the plan?

(T'is what I would do )

 

Yes thats right, I've got some stones around the centre probably from some ballast. Can that be put into the bottom of the next trench or will it cause a problem? Thanks

 

Looks like nice soil. You should have seen mine when I moved here. About 1cm of top soil, in places, then just solid red clay.

 

Do you need the stones for something else? A soakaway perhaps? if not chuck them in the bottom, hopefully it is deep enough so that they won't find their way to the surface and into the mower! I am assuming you have got "a few" rather than "truckloads" ?