Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
How to prepare your site for turf
To provide your new lawn the best environment to thrive in, follow these steps to prepare your site.
Don't wait until your turf delivery arrives, ensure your site is ready so that your turf can be installed as soon as it arrives.
Clean up area and remove all previous grasses
Once you have finished all of your other gardening work and are ready to finish your project by laying turf, you can begin preparing your new lawn area by cleaning up the area and removing any previously growing vegetation and grasses. It is best to not lay your new grass on top of old grass to avoid future weed problems.
Physically remove as much as you can. You can use the help of chemicals containing Glyphosate (look for Glyphosate listed as the active ingredient on the chemical label) up to 7 days prior to commencing your soil preparation to ensure the grasses have died.
Some weeds can be stubborn so you may want to start cleaning up your area well before you hope to install your new turf to ensure your area is free from weeds before installation.
Prepare and work your soil
For your lawn to thrive it needs at least 100mm of soil that its roots can grow into. If your soil is dense clay or a hard surface you will need to loose up this soil with a rotary hoe or tiller.
Depending on your soil type, you may need to bring in good quality turf sandy loam underlay (approx. 60% sand, 40% loam as a guide). Speak to your local garden and soil supplier as they will be familiar with soil types in your area.
We do recommend applying a slow release fertiliser combined with soil moisture retention product such as Lawn Solutions "Lawn Launcher" and rake this into the soil prior to laying your turf.
Rake and level your soil
Level your soil to ensure that the surface is level with no divots or lumps. Spending extra time now will give your lawn the best chance of being smooth with an even mowing surface.
Ensure the right depth
This should be done while raking and levelling your soil. Depending on the variety of turf that you have chosen you will need to ensure sufficient height from your soil level to where your finished surface level will sit. For TifTuf and Eureka Kikuyu grass you should allow 23-30mm below the concrete path or garden edge. For Sir Walter you should allow 40mm for the height of your lawn.
