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Laying a new turf over two weekends

NickBNickB Posts: 15
in Garden design

Good Morning,

 I am planning on rotavating my garden on Saturday to break up the clay soil that I have. Then I was going to rotavate some pea gravel into the Earth to help with drainage.

Ideally, I will then lay some compost on top of the gravel and lay the lawn. But the chances of me doing all of this over one weekend are slim. So, my question is, once I rotavate in the gravel, should I cover the land until I’m ready to turf it? If so, what should I cover it with? I’m just thinking about the British weather and what a lot of rainfall (that we are subject to in Manchester) will do if I have to spread the job over 2 weekends.

Thanks in advance.

 Nick

Posts

  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    You'll need to prepare the soil and leave it to settle for at least a week before laying turf

    I simply do the digging etc, then gently walk up and down the area , firming the soil with my heels- you don't want to jump up and down causing compaction.

    Quick rake over the surface to remove foot prints and leave to settle.
  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    And remember that the bare soil will suddenly attract every cat in a 50 mile radius , so you might wanna cover the soil.

    But that's not critical
  • NickBNickB Posts: 15

    Hi Darren,

    So would you advise rotavate in the gravel this weekend and lay the top soil this weekend and then return next weekend with the turf?

    Thanks

  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    How much topsoil? You dont want a lot, just a thin layer to get the grass rooting, but not too deep as to discourage the grass from sending down deeper roots into the subsoil. Think I used about 1 cm depth of compost .

    Id' do all the soil stuff in one weekend. And lay turf the following weekend .
  • NickBNickB Posts: 15

    Thanks Darren.

    On a quick side note, I was all set to use pea gravel, but on another forum, someone suggested sharp sand. Would you advise one rather than the other?

  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    I'd prefer sharp sand.
  • NickBNickB Posts: 15

    And do I just rotavate that in the exact same way I would with pea gravel?

    Thanks

  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    Yes, cultivate it into the subsoil, then heel in the area.

    There's videos on YouTube I think.
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