New turf laid in September - good time to do this?

[doglover]

Since moving, we have 'tamed' part of our garden but still have areas which look pretty unsightly.

My dh has suggested that we turf these sections and then decide in a few years what our long-term plans are for the garden.

I understand that September is a good month to lay new turf? We were going to get an odd-job man to dig over the area - it's under established trees and has poor soil - and then put the turf on top. Is it really that easy? Do we need to do anything else? (Obviously , we may need to water it if we have a dry autumn).

Any other thoughts or tips?

[doglover]

Excellent info! Many thanks!

[beachesandbuckets]

Ps we didn't use any weed killer or fertiliser, didn't occur to me as the whole lawn was ripped up and replaced.

[beachesandbuckets]

We moved into a house last year and the lawn was terrible. We had a one man gardener (found in local paper) come in to sort out the lawn last September, he was ace. He removed the old turf which some sort of turfing machine (not very technical term I know!) and laid some new top soil to even out the lawn. He then laid good quality turf (apparently there are all sorts and its worth investing in some good stuff). Whole job took a day or so. He arranged a small skip and the soil/turf delivery.

September is a good month apparently (according to him) though can't remember the reasons why now!

Be aware you have to water the new turf every night for a month to ensure it takes and knits together. Our water bill (we are on a meter) was huge afterwards, we wish we had invested in a water butt (about 30 quid from Homebase) to use free rainwater on it, so wld recommend you do that.

Lawn looks beautiful now, and we are often complimented on it by visitors, its dh's pride and joy - saddos I know but this is our first house that we own!

Good luck x

[doglover]

Very useful. Many thanks for the information.

[Thesunrising]

We did our lawn about three weeks ago and it's doing ok so far. If the soil is poor it's worth getting a dumpy bag of top soil from the turf people (lots of companies do both) to get a couple of inches of depth of good soil and a bang of their recommended fertiliser which goes on before you unroll the turves. We've had a few bald patches appear so it's worth seeing if your turf supplier can also provide spare seed of the same variety in case you get any spots that need filling out.

[QuintessentialOldDear]

I dont know if this is the right time of year or not.

We skimmed the old grass off, along with weeds (liberal use of weedkiller a few weeks before), laid good quality top soil, and then the turf.

Best to speak to the garden center and let them advice you.