Telephone 020 8363 1383 - THOMPSONS OF CREWS HILL, LINDALE NURSERY, CATTLEGATE ROAD, CREWS HILL, ENFIELD, EN2 9DP

Turf Instructions

TURF IS A LIVING PRODUCT AND SHOULD BE LAID WITHIN 12 HOURS OF DELIVERY
ONCE LAID IT SHOULD BE WATERED IMMEDIATELY

Fuels

Turf is a mass of living plants which requires a certain amount of care and maintenance to ensure it establishes well and continues to produce a good lawn.  It should be remembered that a lawn is constantly in a state of change, responding to many external influences, such as; the weather, soil conditions, watering, mowing, feeding and other environmental factors.  Our turf is supplied to order, ensuring optimum freshness.  All the necessary groundwork must been completed as below.  Turf should only be purchased or delivered on the day you wish to lay it. 

PREPARATION

Good preparation is vital to ensure that your new lawn establishes well and continues to thrive.  Existing turf should be removed by cutting into small manageable pieces and lifting just under the turf with a shovel.  The soil should then be cultivated (turned over) to a depth between 15cm-30cm (6” – 1’).  This can be done by either digging over the area by hand or using a rotavator (for very best results dig over by hand to a fork or spade’s depth and then rotavate).  If you know the ground is inclined to hold water this is a good opportunity to incorporate sharp sand or grit to assist with drainage.  While digging, remove any debris, large stones and any weed roots.  The ground should now be levelled.  Best results are achieved by treading and raking (small steps over the whole area to firm any soft patches and remove any air pockets and then rake to produce a level surface), or it may be LIGHTLY rolled and then raked.  This can be done several times.   If, at this point, your soil is not at the right level you can add more soil to the required depth, i.e. Root Zone or Rich Soil, and then repeat the treading/raking process.  The ground should now be firm but NOT compact and should be flat and even.

FERTILIZER

It is beneficial that a pre turf fertilizer be applied during the final raking.  Follow manufacturer’s application instructions.

LAYING TURF

Start laying at the farthest point to avoid walking on newly laid turf.  Lay the first row along the longest straight line.  Work backwards across the lawn staggering the joints in each row, like brickwork.  Butt and push edges and ends against each other but do not stretch the turf.  Use a sharp knife (an old bread knife is ideal) or a half moon spade to cut the end of a row.  Firm the turf in by treading lightly, to ensure that the backing has full contact with the prepared soil.

WATERING

Newly laid turf must be watered within ½ an hour of installation.  Make sure the turf has a really good soaking, and that the water has penetrated the turf and seeped into the soil below (lift a corner of turf to check this).  This watering must be repeated until the turf has established which can take up to 4 weeks in moderate weather conditions, and considerably longer in extreme heat.  Weather conditions will dictate the frequency of watering.  If laid in hot, dry conditions new turf MUST be watered at least twice a day.  The only way to ensure sufficient water is applied is to invest in an oscillating sprinkler.   If there are any signs of turf drying out, water it IMMEDIATELY.

MOWING

The grass leaves will continue to grow once the turf has been laid, despite the fact that there is very little root to supply water and nutrients.  This growth will contribute to the loss of water from the turf surface.  Generally it is not good to let the grass grow too long as this leads to weak growth which in turn invites attack by fungal diseases and allows weeds to establish.  Ideally you should keep off the grass for the first few weeks (it will be necessary at times to water etc.) until it has rooted into the soil. However, in certain weather conditions it may be essential to mow your grass as soon as 5 days after installation, and possibly need to be repeated every few days, i.e. twice a week.   As soon as the grass reaches a height of 50mm (2”) you should remove about ⅓ of the growth.  Set the height of the mower at around 30mm - 35mm (1¼” - 1½”).  The best type of mower is a rotary bladed mower.  Ensure that the blades are kept sharp.    Once established the grass height can be reduced to your ideal level.  Optimum heights are between 15mm and 35mm (¾” - 1½”).

FEEDING

Feeding in the first 8 weeks will not be necessary, particularly if a pre-turf fertilizer has been applied.  We do not recommend using any treatment on your new lawn for at least 3 months.