New to Lawns

hi all , i already have posted a few pictures of my garden and the project it is, in a different thread, and i am fencing it this weekend when that is done i will be wanting to level and lawn my garden, however through the mud and mess the majority of green i see seems to be weeds,
Now my plan was to rotivate and weed kill as i level the ground, in the ground there is everything from brick to glass to plastic from the previous owners, would this be the correct first step in preparing my lawn? i will be turfing for speed and convenience and then treating the turf to keep it growing well. it may seem like I'm biting off more than i can chew with a fence and a lawn in a weekend which you would presume correct I'm more just trying to positively plan my steps for the summer

Please advise if possible

Thanks again

 

Any reason why the lawn has to be laid this weekend? What are the weeds you're dealing with? How big is the area?

Ideally if you're rotovating and leveling you'd spray first, wait for die back then rake off. Repeat process until no more perennial weeds are showing then rotovate/pick detritus, improve soil and rake to level. Then make sure the surface is firm (not compact) and ready to take turf > then turf.

Depending on the weeds you could be biting yourself on the harris attempting it in one day without dealing with them properly first.

Whatever you do speak to the turf grower or supplier now and find out what grass varieties, and at what ratio, are in the turf that you're getting in case you need to buy seed further down the line.

 

Sorry I didn't make myself clear I'm fencing this weekend but want to start prepping the lawn area so no turf this weekend I'd like to have it turfed by the end of June and what you say about the weeds makes sense so if I start killing the weeds this weekend and keep treating til they are gone would probably be best? Is there a weed kill you'd recommend that won't damage the soil or turf in the future? Thanks again

 

That's cool. 'fence and a lawn in a weekend' had me wondering!

For domestic products take a look at Weedol Rootkill or similar, follow the application guide and you're good to go. There are plenty of other herbicides available just check that they're systemic, total and non residual and you'll be fine.

 

Glyphosate bomb. Kill everything. Repeat if necessary. I had to do it twice.

Rake dead stuff and rake some more. Hard work

Rotovate. Unearth all kinds of rubbish

Level and roll.

fertilise and lay sod.

Water or Rain. Job well done.

 

glyphosate bomb done and everything is starting to die! next up is raking however the other day we had a downpour and lot of water stays on top of the soil although not massively clay until about 300mm deep is there anything i can do when i rotovate to increase drainage so i don't have areas with sitting water after the rain and damaging my grass when its in?

 

rotovate sharp sand into your soil to amend it and help drainage.