Frequently asked questions
Help! My new turf is turning yellow and dying
Once installed, new turf should be watered thoroughly, especially around the joints, which tend to dry out more quickly than the rest of the roll. Turf can tolerate a bit of drying out but even short periods of drought will causing it to lose density, colour and become thin. If you're watering it throughly and it's still looking damaged, try spiking it. There's a possibility it has not been tamped in properly, so the water may not be going all the way down to the roots.
What can I do with dug-up turf?
Newly dug-up turf can be composted into excellent topsoil, but you need to be patient as this can take up to two years. The easiest thing to do is to stack the turf, grass-side down, and cover with tarpauling for a year or two, until the grass has rotted. Alternatively, use old turf as a mulch in a vegetable bed – lay it upside down over the earth and cut a planting hole into it. This should suppress weeds around the plant while conserving soil moisture, while slowly breaking down into top soil.
Help! My new turf is sinking!
Turf should always be laid on well-prepared soil that has been levelled and firmed beforehand. If this is not done then the soil can develop depressions as it settles, which can make the lawn look unsightly. To remedy small depressions, wait until the turf has started to grow and then slowly fill up the depressions with sieved topsoil, letting the grass grow through the soil before adding more, until the lawn is level. For larger patches, pull back the roll of turf over the depression, add more topsoil until the soil is level, then firm and replace the turf, watering thoroughly.