This time of year your lawn may be looking a little dry and sad... but don't despair, Dandy's have a simple guide for laying a new turf and looking after your existing lawn.
Laying a new lawn...
If you are picking up fresh lawn turf or having it delivered from Dandy's roll it out straight away or at least within the hour. If you leave it rolled up it will start to cook and you'll end up with dried out, brittle and maybe even completely dead turf.
Keep it well watered. Usually twice a day for the first week or so; once in the morning and once in the evening.
Plan ahead. Try to get your ground prepared a day or two before you collect or have your turf delivered. Ideally you want to get it laid and watered straight away so don't leave it rolled up, cooking, while you are spreading and levelling topsoil.
If you are picking up fresh lawn turf or having it delivered from Dandy's roll it out straight away or at least within the hour. If you leave it rolled up it will start to cook and you'll end up with dried out, brittle and maybe even completely dead turf.
Keep it well watered. Usually twice a day for the first week or so; once in the morning and once in the evening.
Plan ahead. Try to get your ground prepared a day or two before you collect or have your turf delivered. Ideally you want to get it laid and watered straight away so don't leave it rolled up, cooking, while you are spreading and levelling topsoil.
General Guidance...
WATERING - Super important this time of year!
New turf needs to be rolled out/laid and watered within a max period of 1 hour - particularly if you are purchasing in the dryer, hotter summer months.
Usually new turf will need to be watered twice a day for the first week, two or three times a week for the following fortnight and then, if it has started to root in sufficiently you can drop to once a week or so. During heat waves or extreme hot weather you will need to keep on top of your watering every morning and late afternoon religiously until the weather breaks or cools off.
TIP: Don't water too late in the day as in the evening water can cling to leaf blades and cause disease. A very wet lawn overnight can cause fungus to grow.
Obviously these guidelines are weather dependant, during the summer/hot weather you will need to water in the morning and evening everyday.
During spring and autumn you should refrain from overwatering and you should not need to water your lawn at all during a typical winter season.
If you are mowing your lawn then you should likely be watering it too (usually once a week for an established lawn between the months of June to September but ultimately always weather and climate dependant).
You need to ensure you are watering the roots and not just the blades of grass; to do this you will need to dig a small hole to see how long the roots are and ensure that enough moisture is getting to them. Turf grows quickly so you should check root length regularly - the soil should be moist and cool, not soaking or completely dried out.
PESTS, WEEDS ETC.
Turf is a living thing and so it is unfortunately susceptible to pests and disease and in order to thrive it requires a good maintenance scheme and proper aftercare.
If mushrooms pop up on your new lawn don't worry. Mushrooms love dark, humid areas and the gap between your new turf and the topsoil is perfect for them to thrive. Once your lawn is established enough to be cut you can see them off with your lawnmower.
Weeds are a fact of life and if you've got good topsoil and quality turf then you may find some weeds popping up here and there; if weeds won't grow then nothing will, so you can take the appearance of the odd dandelion as a sign that you're doing a good job.
All of Dandy's products are natural and organic so although we supply weed free goods, we don't chemically treat anything. It's up to you how you see the weeds off but we prefer to pull them and let the grass re-grow or just see them off with the mower. If you do buy weed killer then make sure you do the proper research and follow the directions supplied with it to the letter. You can of course buy sterilised weed-free topsoil and treated turf but you might also have garden visitors in the shape of insects and birds dropping seeds here and there too so ultimately, it won't be sterile forever!
MOWING
Don't mow your lawn until it is properly rooted in, usually around three to four weeks or two to three in hotter weather if well watered - check by pulling back a corner of turf; if it's rooted in you won't be able to without some real force and you'll feel the roots tearing if you do manage it.
Only mow when the grass is completely dry and do so with nice sharp mowing blades, only taking off around a third of the height of the blades of grass and make sure that you collect and remove the clippings to prevent them from smothering your growing lawn.
