Turfing

Laying A New Lawn

Turfing a new lawn is a Service which Fiesta Garden Services specialises in.

Fiesta Garden services were contacted by a client who had just moved into a new build house. They wanted a new lawn in the rear garden which covered an area of approximately forty square metres.

After raking the ground to pick out the large stones in the soil, the area to be turfed was leveled.

Once the ground had been raked several times and leveled it was raked using a grass rake. By using a fine rake, means that small stones are brought to the surface of the soil.

Once an area of soil was finely raked the ground was ready for the first few rows of turf.

Tamping down the ground compacts the soil that’s has been loosened by all the raking.

The first rows of turf are layed with each one being tamped as it is put down. A fine rake is done around the area as each turf is layed ready for the next turf.

As the turfs are being tamped down, the rows are kept straight and in line using a long steel bar. The bar is moved along as each turf is layed.

The lawn is now finished and needs to be well watered everyday for about a week to insure that the roots of the turf start to grow into the ground. 

The client wanted a border left between the fence and the lawn on one side and also at one end of the lawn.

A week after the turf was put down Fiesta Garden Services returned to check that everything was how it should be. The client also asked if a small picket fence could be erected where the newly created borders were.

Fiesta Garden Services was contacted by Covo Homes Ltd, a building company based in Portsmouth who specialise in renovating houses. The job specification was to lay a new lawn over the bulk of the back garden of a house that was being renovated in Locksway Road Portsmouth.

When doing larger gardens Fiesta Garden Services would normally rotavate the ground. This brings the stones and debris to the surface and helps to level any unevenness in the ground where the turf is to be layed.

Digging over the ground produced a large amount of stones which would impede the growth of the turf, if they are not removed.

Once the garden had been dug and all the larger stones were removed, the garden was raked several times. It was then tamped down to compact the soil ready for the turf to be laid.

Once the ground had been raked, leveled and compacted, the turf was put down.

Fiesta Garden Services have found that tamping down has far better results than simply using a garden roller.    

Now the lawn is completed another light tamp down on the turf is done to help flatten any small pieces of turf or dirt that maybe sticking up.

Once the lawn has been completed it’s extremely important to water the newly layed turf thoroughly. Making sure this is done for several days, to help the newly laid turf take root to the ground under it.

It is very important especially if the weather is dry and hot, to water the new lawn thoroughly every day for the first week. Watering the garden thoroughly will help the roots from the turf to penetrate the soil.