New turf lawn doesn't seem to be draining very well

[Hollyhocks7]

We had a new turf lawn laid in September onto well prepared soil, before the turf went down the topsoil seemed to drain perfectly well ( we had a rainy spell during that period). However the lawn is now very squelchy under foot and I have noticed that some blades of grass are looking rather yellow. Also the soil in the flower bed has grown a light moss on the surface. Does this mean the area is not draining well and can anything be done about it? We are not on a clay soil. Would be grateful if anyone has any insights! Thanks

I don't think this helps you at all but my Mature lawn is v squelchy anytime there's a heavy rain period. The ground just gets saturated. I thought this was normal? ?

You can 'spike' it all over with a big fork, or a hollow tine aerator (though you are unlikely to have one of those) but it might be worth getting one if it is going to be permanent problem.

Is the flower bed the same new topsoil, or (more likely) is it just the existing garden soil? How long have you had the garden?

'Scuffle' the soil surface with a long-handled fork or tiller - Wolf are ideal, as you only need two or three handles, and all the tool heads lock on. (They are pricey, but about the best tools you can get.)

Keep off the lawn and soil as much as possible, to avoid compacting.

Thanks very much for the advice. Yes, the flowerbeds contain the same soil as what the turf sits on. I will try aerating it and scuffling the soil. ( is that just shuffling the soil about a bit?)

We've only had the garden since the Summer. We had a patio lifted and new soil put down and then turf in September.

What kind of grass did you plant? Drought resistant strains have deeper roots and tend to drain water away from the surface better. And obviously the more established the root structure in general the better the drainage.

So as the grass roots become better established might the draining improve?

I don't know what type of grass it is - it was laid by a garden contractor

It should drain better as it establishes, but some grass just naturally has very shallow roots so doesn't do much for surface water draining. You can always reseed with drought resistant grass seed if it's still a problem next year?

Thank you, this is very helpful. And do you think grass grown from seed is better than trying to get turf to establish itself well?

It shouldn't be if the soil was prepared properly before the turf was laid. Reseeding is just easier than returfing if you have most of a lawn already in place and you just need to tweak it, in your case for a bit of drainage.

If you've turfed where a patio used to be then the ground underneath could be compacted. Follow Ferguson's advice and aerate the soil - even pushing in a fork and lifting slightly will help. Don't walk on it yet if it's really squelchy though. Is there moss in the lawn?

No, there's no moss on the lawn.