You may just need some professional advice on what you need to do before laying your lawn. Our trained staff at Buchanan Turf & Lee Rowan’s can help you through these initial stages. Tap into our wealth of knowledge and DIY, or alternately get us to do it for you !!

Just like your house is only as good as its foundations, your lawn is only as good as its base. Before laying your lawn you should ensure that your soil base is free of weeds, any old grass, stones and debris. The texture of the soil should be crumbly, so you may need to rotary hoe what’s there if the existing soil is suitable, or add some topsoil if not. We recommend Lee Rowan’s Lush Lawn Underlay at a depth of 50mm. Spread evenly, then rake or screed your area to ensure a smooth surface, allowing approximately 25mm below surrounding paths and drive-ways.

You should then fertilise your base with a, multi-nutrient fertiliser that has moisture magnets such as Sir Launcher (Available in 3kg bucket covering approximately 100m², or a 900g bucket covering approximately 30m²). Order some when ordering your turf and it will be delivered at the same time. Simply scatter evenly over the entire area before laying your new lawn.

Laying should start with a continuous strip of turf being placed around the perimeter, then proceeding along the longest edge, across the slope in a brick work fashion, filling in any irregular gaps. If laying on a slope start at the bottom and work your way up, laying as far away from your stack as possible to avoid walking on any freshly laid lawn. The edges of the Turf Tiles should be pushed together but do not overlap so the root system has contact with your soil. You can trim your tile with hedge shears, or a sharp knife to fill unique shapes, or edges.

For the best result you should roll your lawn after it is laid, concentrating on the joins to help it from drying out. (This isn’t necessarily done in most cases and your new Sir Grange lawn will still flourish as long as it is watered well during the first two weeks.)

It is paramount that you give your new Sir Grange lawn a thorough soaking immediately after you lay it. If you are laying a large area watering should commence as soon as one section is completed. (A soaker hose is ideal for this). For the first two weeks your new lawn requires extra care, especially water. Initially your new lawn should be kept moist, so depending on the weather, up to 4hrs watering per day may be required if hot and dry. Otherwise regular daily watering until root growth has established is all that is necessary, depending on the season and weather conditions at the time you are laying. Taper your watering off gradually to allow your new lawn to become acquainted with its new surroundings. Sir Grange is extremely drought tolerant, if humid only water before lunch to prevent any water laying in the sub soil overnight. We suggest deep watering infrequently instead of frequent light watering.

Mowing Sir Grange is a piece of cake. Because it grows slowly, up to 50% less mowing will be required than many other common turf varieties. Before your first mow, ensure your new lawn can no longer be lifted off the ground. We advise you take around 1/3 of the height off the blade of grass when mowing. During the warmer weather you may have to mow more frequently, perhaps even weekly or fortnightly depending on the amount of rain. Once we head into the cooler months the frequency of mowing will decrease but still needs to be regular to keep your lawn in tip top condition. It can be mowed at a range of heights and can recover well if scalped. If part of your lawn is in a shady spot we suggest you mow this area a little higher to allow for more leaf growth to compensate for lack of sunlight.

Sir Grange requires very little maintenance – up to 75% less fertiliser than other common turf varieties. We recommend fertilising Sir Grange once every year in mid-late autumn.

Sir Walter Fertiliser comes in 10kg buckets which will cover approximately 400m² and 4Kg buckets which will cover approx 160m². It has the active ingredients that will keep your lawn healthy and strong. A maintenance feed of Lawn Rescue is ideal for the summer months if the weather is hot and dry. It will feed and drought proof your lawn better than any other product on the market.

We also recommend you top dress your lawn in spring every 3rd year. This will not only feed your lawn but even out any dips and hollows. Lee Rowan’s Rocket Top Dressing is the perfect soil free mix of nutrients and should be applied in September for maximum effect.