Lawn care

 

Lawn Care

How to look after your turf and lawn

Mowing new turf New turf should not be mown until it has rooted, so do check this has occurred by gently lifting up a corner to see whether the roots have attached to the soil. If you’re satisfied that the turf has established properly, then you can go ahead and mow your new lawn – but do ensure that your lawn mower is set to the highest setting, as cutting the grass too closely too early will hamper its growth and appearance. You should mow newly laid turf regularly, but don’t remove more than a third of the grass height each time – the optimum height of between 15mm-35mm can be achieved once your new lawn has established itself properly.

Lawn fertilisers Provided you applied a pre-turf fertiliser in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, your new lawn won’t require any additional feeding during the first two months after the turf has been laid.

After that, we recommend that you choose a proprietary brand of lawn feed that’s suited to the needs of your soil type and also your personal preference regarding application – reluctant gardeners might benefit from a ‘once a year’ product, while gardening enthusiasts are more likely to want to match their lawn’s requirements more closely, and put together a programme of feeding to ensure optimum nutrition and appearance. As a rule of thumb, sandy soils require a richer formula than clay soils, for the simple reason that the nutrients are more easily washed through the soil, away from the grass’s roots.

Watering newly laid turf

You must water your new turf within half an hour of installation. Give it a good soaking, checking that the water has seeped right through to the soil below. Watering must be repeated until the turf has established; how often you need to do this will depend on the weather conditions.