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Just another new lawn guy..

amateurImmyamateurImmy Posts: 10
edited May 2022 in Problem solving
Hi everyone, you must get sick of new lawn newbies popping up then disappearing 😅! I’m hoping to stick around though to nurture my growing interest in gardening.

New build house with typical heavy soil which has reasonable top layer drainage since rotovating. There was still a reasonable amount of stones through the top soil with a best endeveours approach in raking off pre-turfing.

Almost £1000 paid @ £10 p/m2 to an average local landscaper, but we were keen to get it down before summer especially since I’ve a toddler itching to get out in the garden!

They prepped and levelled with a good layer of sharp sand before turfing and it looked really good once completed. I shared a lot of concern and worry about the prep required after reading up online, but they assured me the lawn would take having done hundreds of these lawns.

Came back 3 days later to sprinkle a little fertiliser at my request due to concern about soil quality.

It’s only been a week, but I can now already see the white roots coming through which I guess is a good sign 😄. It is however looking a little brown within the texture, some spots are also shedding very easily to become bare or thin. Joints are a little brown too. Grass has been kept pretty moist with recent heavy rainfall here in Glasgow too.

Is this to be expected following turfing? Will it likely improve anytime soon? Is there anything I should do to help it along?

I’ll try to give regular updates and hopefully I can move on to landscaping and planting discussions!
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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Newly laid lawns need a lot of water  :)
    Have you been using a sprinkler or just relying on the rainfall ?
  • BigladBiglad Posts: 3,265
    I've just had one laid as well. I reckon they need more water than you might think. 
    East Lancs
  • amateurImmyamateurImmy Posts: 10
    I watered a lot using a sprinkler over the first few days as the landscapers advised to keep it heavily watered. I then got a little paranoid after noticing some wet patches getting wafer thin and tearing, so I reigned back the watering over the past few days so not to over water with clay soil in mind. Manually hosing over the lawn for 30-45mins and gauging frequency by gut and rainfall since Wed.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Yes, more water - if you've got the drying winds that we have here it'll need loads even if it's not sunny or not particularly warm. The water needs to soak right through the turf and into the soil underneath.
    It's possible that the edges got a bit dry between harvesting and laying, because they're exposed at the sides of the rolls. The grass should fill in once it's got its roots down and started growing. In the meantime try to stay off it as much as possible, just the minimum you need to place and reposition the sprinkler.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You'd need around 45 mins for a quarter of that area. Yes - we've had plenty of rain, but not enough for a new lawn with the wind factor added into that.
    Not sure whereabouts you are exactly, but where I am, we've had near gale force winds over the last few days. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • amateurImmyamateurImmy Posts: 10
    Glasgow South here, we’ve had strong wind too.

    Ok, I’ve got the sprinkler back on as we speak and will revert to a good evening and morning soak 🚿
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    One or other will do @amateurImmy. A good long spell for the whole area once a day.  :)
    It's been a fairly average month for rain, but the wind dries out a lawn quite quickly - and yours also looks quite short, and the site's quite open  [gaps in fences] so that can make a big difference.   :)
    Give it a couple of weeks and it'll be fine  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • amateurImmyamateurImmy Posts: 10
    Good feedback from everyone, thanks. I might like it here, even though I’m getting mocked for my maturing new dad hobbies.

    SE garden so it gets a lot of sunshine which is good. I should worry less as the front lawns and common areas have established well with little interference. I just don’t want to potentially water-log the roots given the heavier soil.

    Looking forward to buying a manual push mower with roller and really becoming the weird lawn neighbour.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    amateurImmy said:


    Looking forward to buying a manual push mower with roller and really becoming the weird lawn neighbour.
     :D 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • amateurImmyamateurImmy Posts: 10


    Update. I think the lawn is doing reasonably well, I notice improvement and hope you agree?

    I’m noticing a lot of seed heads, is this likely from the lawn grass or Annual Meadow Grass. Should I do anything or leave until first cut? Are these seeds considered sterile?

    I was doing a little research so I’ve some technical questions. The turf mixture is 80% Perennial Ryegrass and 20% Strong Creeping Red Fescue. 

    Am I right in saying that it doesn’t propagate via Rhizomes or even Stolons thus unlikely to spread or fill out quickly in which case I’ll need to do this manually in areas?


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