The baby will do less damage than the dog - well for a while anyway!
Not worthwhile spending a fortune on expensive turf either while children are going to be using it. You can still have a nice lawn without spending loads- a feed in spring and keeping it regularly mown will be fine until you reclaim it for yourself and have your velvety green sward
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If you can bear to be without a lawn for a ittle while, it's much cheaper to do it with seed - by the time baby is running about you can have a lovely soft green sward.
But good luck, whichever method you choose and keep us posted - we've all been there!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
last year we put a lot of effort into our very small lawn,( 40ft x 15 ft ). Well dug over, remains of Tarmac car park dug up, and loads of topsoil. Good quality Rolawn was laid, but soon started to look thin. It was well watered, we are retired so no kids ( or dogs ) using it. It is now as bad or worse than before we started. Husband thinking of sand and fine grit mix on top of remaining lawn, no weeds as Greenthumb look after it, then topsoil and more Rolawn. Do you think this would work .
we laid a turf path last year .. very well.. BUT then my hubby cut it to soon ripping the grass out ..... so i got a professional turfier to relay .... all he has done is exactly that straight over the old ... no preparation.... will it take if we water regularly and don't cut
It is all about the preparation with lawns, if you turf over rubbish soil, expect rubbish results. Consider this.. for optimal lawn conditions the roots of the lawn will extend 6 to 8 inch, so to be on the safe side, especially with heavy clay/stoney soils think 10". If you have had a lawn returfed only for it to fail, typically the soil is too shallow for the roots, sticking half inch to an inch on top and returfing isn't going to do anything aside from fail again.. Dig the plot, typically to a depth of 8-10inch, remove any rocks above an inch or so, add sharp sand, add more sharp sand, add even more and mix it in thoroughly, rake to level and a decent tilth, then lay lawn using boards. Keep watered for 6 weeks, don't mow for 8-10, first cut should be highest, leave a couple of days, then cut same height, then following day one step lower, keep watering. When you start cutting, a feed once a week. Ideally this will produce what you require, but due to soil conditions and more importantly light as in shade, you will have mixed results. Obviously if you have mad free draining soil add a little organic stuff rather than sand, like I said, lawns aren't something that can just be 'done' and there it is forever, it's a labour of love that requires constant attention, even worse if you have no kids/pets and want an ultrafine lawn with high fescue because it's to be looked at not walked on!!!
if you lay new turf over old turf, if you water well it will root and grow. .No real problem with this if you do basic maintenance ( spiking raking fertilising etc at a later stage ) but maybe the level of the new surface may be higher. Over time the underneath of the new turf may become quite compact with thatch as the old turf dies off. Best to skim off the old turf first and slap down the new stuff. good luck
As a consequence of my lawn resembling a paddy field I had land drains installed last September. Despite the incessant rain during the Winter the cure has worked.
Unfortunately the people who did the job left the lawn in a mess so they suggested putting down 2" of topsoil hoping that the old grass would grow through.
Despite the drainage issues my lawn was reasonably good
I cannot see many new green shoots as yet and I wonder if I added another 2 inches of topsoil and laid new turf would be it be a success?
Posts
The baby will do less damage than the dog - well for a while anyway!
Not worthwhile spending a fortune on expensive turf either while children are going to be using it. You can still have a nice lawn without spending loads- a feed in spring and keeping it regularly mown will be fine until you reclaim it for yourself and have your velvety green sward
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
If you can bear to be without a lawn for a ittle while, it's much cheaper to do it with seed - by the time baby is running about you can have a lovely soft green sward.
But good luck, whichever method you choose and keep us posted - we've all been there!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi
last year we put a lot of effort into our very small lawn,( 40ft x 15 ft ). Well dug over, remains of Tarmac car park dug up, and loads of topsoil. Good quality Rolawn was laid, but soon started to look thin. It was well watered, we are retired so no kids ( or dogs ) using it. It is now as bad or worse than before we started. Husband thinking of sand and fine grit mix on top of remaining lawn, no weeds as Greenthumb look after it, then topsoil and more Rolawn. Do you think this would work .
many thanks
we laid a turf path last year .. very well.. BUT then my hubby cut it to soon ripping the grass out ..... so i got a professional turfier to relay .... all he has done is exactly that straight over the old ... no preparation.... will it take if we water regularly and don't cut
It is all about the preparation with lawns, if you turf over rubbish soil, expect rubbish results. Consider this.. for optimal lawn conditions the roots of the lawn will extend 6 to 8 inch, so to be on the safe side, especially with heavy clay/stoney soils think 10". If you have had a lawn returfed only for it to fail, typically the soil is too shallow for the roots, sticking half inch to an inch on top and returfing isn't going to do anything aside from fail again.. Dig the plot, typically to a depth of 8-10inch, remove any rocks above an inch or so, add sharp sand, add more sharp sand, add even more and mix it in thoroughly, rake to level and a decent tilth, then lay lawn using boards. Keep watered for 6 weeks, don't mow for 8-10, first cut should be highest, leave a couple of days, then cut same height, then following day one step lower, keep watering. When you start cutting, a feed once a week. Ideally this will produce what you require, but due to soil conditions and more importantly light as in shade, you will have mixed results. Obviously if you have mad free draining soil add a little organic stuff rather than sand, like I said, lawns aren't something that can just be 'done' and there it is forever, it's a labour of love that requires constant attention, even worse if you have no kids/pets and want an ultrafine lawn with high fescue because it's to be looked at not walked on!!!
if you lay new turf over old turf, if you water well it will root and grow. .No real problem with this if you do basic maintenance ( spiking raking fertilising etc at a later stage ) but maybe the level of the new surface may be higher. Over time the underneath of the new turf may become quite compact with thatch as the old turf dies off. Best to skim off the old turf first and slap down the new stuff. good luck
As a consequence of my lawn resembling a paddy field I had land drains installed last September. Despite the incessant rain during the Winter the cure has worked.
Unfortunately the people who did the job left the lawn in a mess so they suggested putting down 2" of topsoil hoping that the old grass would grow through.
Despite the drainage issues my lawn was reasonably good
I cannot see many new green shoots as yet and I wonder if I added another 2 inches of topsoil and laid new turf would be it be a success?
I would have tgought that two inches of soil on tge old grass will have finished it off.
On the other hand, it will give you a base for new turf.
I personally agree with scot