Laying garden turf is a do-it-yourself project, it can be challenging. But, what are the benefits of using garden turf? With so many people looking for a way to get their gardens looking great, it's only natural that there would be a lot of questions about how to lay garden turf.
It doesn't matter if you're doing this for the first time or you've laid turf before; these tips will help you make your lawn look its best!
When it comes to replacing your lawn with something more modern and eye-pleasing, a lot of people assume that planting grass is the only option.
There is, however, a second choice: synthetic lawn. Unlike real grass, fake turf doesn’t need to be watered, mowed, and maintained. It’s also cheaper and requires less maintenance than grass, so once you’ve purchased your fake lawn you’ll save a lot of time and money.
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Garden turf is a well-known garden product used to make attractive, functional and easy to maintain gardens.
Although it may look like a simple lawn, garden turf is in fact a complex and high quality product. It is used for a variety of applications, including small gardens, playgrounds, industrial and commercial areas, and many more.
Many homeowners might think about installing a garden in their backyard. The beauty of a garden is that it becomes an appealing place for you to relax and enjoy your time, and it can also return you to your childhood days.
But if you don't get the turf just right, you can find yourself struggling with that most notorious of problems, the brown patch.
Soil preparation is the first step in laying a new, usable lawn. Prepare your soil by digging up a section about two feet wide and three to four inches deep with either a spade or shovel (depending on how large the area will be).
If you have an existing lawn that needs replacing as well, then dig out just enough of it so that there's at least six inches worth of dirt left between where your old turf was and where you'll lay down the new one.
It helps if you water this newly dug-up earth before proceeding further because dry soil can crack when walked upon too soon after being unearthed; for many people who are creating their own garden turfs from scratch, running hose water over the soil for no less than ten minutes will do the trick.
Next, mix in a compost of garden dirt and fertilizer to make your new lawn more hospitable to life, and then fill up any space between where you dug it out with water so that this fresh earth is saturated enough to work with during the next steps.
After waiting six hours for your newly mixed in sod to settle gently down into its own place on top of this moistened mud or else watering again if necessary, you should be good to go from there.
Your newspaper spread underneath can also serve as an indicator: If it starts sinking after you apply pressure across its surface without breaking through any paper, then congrats! You've reached the point where old sod needs to be dealt with.
This is a tedious process but well worth it in the end because new turf will do wonders for how many problems are hidden beneath those thick blades of grass that's been left unmaintained and untouched too long.
Sod is usually a roll of turf that has been dehydrated and cut into manageable squares.
Cut the sod in half so you have two pieces roughly 24"x12". Place one piece on top of your garden bed, laying it out evenly with all four corners meeting up to create a rectangle shape.
Use stakes or rocks at each corner for support as well as any other areas where you might need extra help keeping the grass down when fully laid out (i.e., near fences).
Carefully lift off this first layer of sod from its edges before placing it on top of another section--this will allow you to lay the second square along side the first without having them overlap too much and give an unprofessional appearance once finished.
Use the same process as before to lay out your second piece of sod, overlapping it with the first layer by about three inches and then staking or weighing down any pieces that need help staying flat. You should now have a rectangle shape made up of two layers of grass side-by-side.
Cut off any excess sod from around this area so you can easily measure how long you'll want each row to be on one end--you may find it easiest to use string for this step if needed (or simply make calculations in your head).
Once you've cut all sides smoothly, start measuring with a line where every other square will go across horizontally until you reach the last section on either end which will be shorter.
Place a line of sod down, and then measure how long it is. Then continue on by laying sod pieces the length you just measured until you reach the end of that row--you should now have two rows ready to be laid! Lay one more layer as before across your first to complete your yard.
After placing your sod, water it thoroughly for about an hour to get the roots wet enough that they grow into and through the soil in search of nutrients and oxygen.
After laying down turf on a slope, apply mulch or hay around the edges to hold back erosion. Also, be sure not to use any fertilizer until after you are done with edging so as not to burn new grasses due to over-saturation of nitrogen.
Once finished edge-ing your garden bed, fertilize according to instructions on the package label while also applying slow-release organic fertilizer throughout the mulched area every four weeks during periods when there is moisture present on top of the soil (usually between two hours).
Some people prefer this method because it's less expensive and can be done with the help of family members.
The key is to stay on top of your schedule and prepare in advance for any potential weather or other issues that might arise during installation day.
