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What fertiliser for soil of new lawn?

men8ifrmen8ifr Posts: 6
in Plants
Thought I would start as a new topic rather than this point getting lost in my other threads.. 

Is it worth adding fertiliser if I'm rotovating the soil prior to laying a new lawn? Wouldn't the deeper soil likely have lots of nutrients anyway?

Whatever is suggested needs to be quite economical as funds are not so high and the garden is quite large. 

One option I may have is there are stables nearby, would manure be a good option? I have a trailer so quite possibly could get large quantities free.. The only think I wonder would this cause the lawn to dip/sag as it degrades, also if it is mixed in while rotovating I guess most of the grass will not be in contact with it? 

Posts

  • StevedaylillyStevedaylilly Posts: 1,102
    edited April 2020
    Just good top soil would be sufficient to lay a new lawn, but it all depends on the type of soil you have in your garden. Sandy soil then some soil conditioner or well rooted manure would be beneficial to beef it up. If your fortunate that you have humus rich soil then you don’t need to add anything. Clay then add some grit and manure to the soil to open it up.
    I would also throw down some Growmore fertiliser before laying your lawn just to give it a good boost and induce a growing spurt 
    Lastly, ensure that your remove any large stones and other debris from your rotovated soil before laying your lawn 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi @men8ifr - I think adding manure would be difficult if you plan on turfing soon. The ground will need firming up to prevent the lumps and bumps, and that's more tricky if you have sandy soil. You'd probably need to wait a while to let it settle properly.
    As @Stevedaylilly says - if the soil is half decent, you don't really need anything, but a general slow release food is good, done several weeks before laying turf. B,F&Bone is also good, or just Bonemeal alone, as it helps promote root growth. Raking and levelling thoroughly, and the firming, before turfing is the best prep. 
    Bear in mind that if you've had no rain for a while, when it arrives, the ground will settle quite a bit too, so you may find you'll need to do a bit of repair work later.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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