How To Make A Lawn Using Turf with Alan Titchmarsh | Waitrose
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers a comprehensive guide to creating a lawn that complements a garden's aesthetic. It emphasizes the importance of proper soil preparation, whether for seeding or laying turf, and suggests using a fork to remove debris and level the ground. The tutorial covers the steps for laying turf, including unrolling it, ensuring tight joins, and cutting around obstacles like trees. It also advises on maintaining the lawn's health through watering and mowing techniques, ensuring a lush and durable lawn.
Takeaways
- 🌿 Lawns are a versatile garden feature, suitable for play and relaxation, and they complement plants and flowers well.
- 🔪 Preparing the ground for a lawn involves forking over the soil, removing rocks and deep-rooted weeds, and ensuring proper drainage and moisture retention.
- 🏗️ Deep cultivation is important for grass roots, which typically do not go deeper than a few inches, to prevent the lawn from drying out quickly.
- 💧 Amending heavy clay soil with sharp grit and light, fluffy soil with organic matter helps with drainage and moisture retention, respectively.
- 👣 Firming the earth by treading and shuffling helps to eliminate air pockets and create a solid base for the lawn.
- 🛠 Leveling the ground with a rake is crucial to ensure an even surface before laying turf or seeding.
- 🌱 Turf provides an instant lawn solution, but it requires careful handling and positioning to maintain its quality.
- 📅 Turf can be laid almost year-round, except in extreme conditions like frozen, excessively muddy, or extremely hot and dry weather.
- 💧 Watering is essential for newly laid turf, especially in hot and dry conditions, to prevent it from drying out quickly.
- 🔧 Cutting around trees and other obstacles requires careful planning and precise cutting to maintain a clean edge.
- ✂️ Mowing the new lawn should be done carefully at first, trimming only the top half-inch, to allow the roots to establish before regular mowing.
Q & A
Why is a lawn considered a great addition to a garden?
-A lawn is considered a great addition to a garden because it is soft enough to play on, friendly enough to relax on, and serves as a great foil for all the plants and flowers in the surrounding beds and borders.
What is the process of preparing the earth for either seeding or turfing?
-The process involves forking over the ground, removing any big rocks and stones, and eliminating thick, deep-rooted perennial weeds. This ensures that the roots of the grass, which don't go very deep, can properly access moisture and nutrients.
Why is it important to cultivate the ground properly before laying turf?
-Proper cultivation is important because if the ground is not cultivated, it will dry out very quickly due to the presence of stones in the subsoil and the surface's inability to retain moisture.
What should be done if the ground is very heavy and waterlogged?
-In the case of heavy, waterlogged ground, working lots of sharp grit into the soil can help improve drainage. Adding organic matter can also help in such conditions.
How can you ensure that the lawn is well-drained if the soil is very light and fluffy?
-Adding lots of organic matter to light and fluffy soil can help hold onto moisture and improve drainage, giving the lawn a better chance of thriving even in dry weather.
What is the first step in turfing after the ground has been prepared?
-The first step is to tread or shuffle along with your heels to firm the earth into place, which helps get rid of air pockets and ensures a more even surface.
How should you arrange the turf when laying it?
-The turf should be arranged so that the pieces are right close up together, with no gaps visible between them, similar to the tightness of Ernie Y Z's wig.
What is the advantage of using turf over seeding for creating a lawn?
-Turf provides the quickest way of making a lawn as it is already grown and can be laid instantly, unlike seeding which requires time for the grass to grow.
How should you handle the turf to ensure it doesn't dry out after being laid?
-It's important to have a lawn sprinkler ready and to water the turf thoroughly every few days, followed by light sprinkling every day to prevent the turf from drying out.
What is a recommended method for cutting turf around a tree?
-Using an old kitchen knife to make a slit in line with the center of the trunk is recommended, ensuring that the turf is cut all the way around the tree without drying out the edge.
When is the best time to mow a new lawn made from turf?
-The best time to mow a new lawn from turf is a couple of weeks after the turf has been laid and the roots have started to establish, but it's important not to scalp the grass, only taking the top half inch off initially.
Outlines
🌿 Lawn Preparation and Turf Laying Basics
This paragraph discusses the importance and benefits of having a lawn in a garden, emphasizing its versatility for both play and relaxation. It details the process of preparing the ground for a new lawn, whether by seeding or turfing, which involves forking over the soil to remove rocks and weeds, and ensuring proper moisture retention. The speaker also addresses soil types and how to amend them for optimal lawn health. The preparation involves firming the earth, leveling it with a rake, and ensuring there are no air pockets. The paragraph concludes with the initial steps of laying turf, highlighting the importance of delivery timing and positioning the turf correctly.
📏 Laying Turf and Creating a Tree-Friendly Lawn Edge
The second paragraph focuses on the technical aspects of laying turf, starting with the placement of the first row and ensuring the seams are tight to avoid visible joins. It explains the use of planks to maintain a straight edge and the importance of staggering the joints for a better overall fit. The speaker mentions different types of turf and the benefits of dwarf rye grass for a hard-wearing lawn. The paragraph also covers the importance of patting down the turf to make contact with the soil to prevent drying out. It advises on the best times to lay turf, considering weather conditions, and the use of a lawn sprinkler for watering. The speaker provides a tip on using a kitchen knife to cut around trees and the use of a garden line to ensure a clean edge. The paragraph concludes with advice on mowing the new lawn and maintaining its health.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Lawn
💡Turf
💡Preparation
💡Cultivation
💡Drainage
💡Organic Matter
💡Treading
💡Raking
💡Shuffling
💡Dwarf Rye Grass
💡Lawn Sprinkler
Highlights
A lawn is the ideal central feature for a garden, offering a soft and friendly space for play and relaxation.
Creating a lawn from turf provides an instantaneous result, similar to using wooden decking planks.
Preparation of the earth for a lawn involves forking over the soil and removing rocks, stones, and deep-rooted weeds.
Grass roots do not go very deep, so proper cultivation is essential to prevent the lawn from drying out quickly.
In heavy clay soil, adding sharp grit improves drainage, while in light soil, organic matter helps retain moisture.
Treading and shuffling the soil with heels removes air pockets and firms the earth for laying turf.
Raking is used to level the soil surface and create an even base for the turf.
Turf should be laid as close to the delivery time as possible to prevent it from turning yellow due to lack of light.
Planks should be used to create straight edges when laying turf, and they should be moved carefully to maintain alignment.
Different types of turf are available, with a hard-wearing mixture primarily composed of dwarf rye grasses being recommended.
Turf can be laid at almost any time of the year, except when the ground is frozen, excessively muddy, or during a hot, dry summer.
A lawn sprinkler is essential for watering the turf, especially in hot and dry conditions.
An old kitchen knife is recommended for cutting turf around obstacles like trees.
A garden line ensures a straight edge for the lawn, especially important near trees and other obstacles.
Turf is more expensive than grass seed but provides an instant lawn effect within a couple of weeks.
Mowing the new lawn should start after the roots have established and the grass has begun to grow, taking off only the top half inch initially.
Transcripts
now although I won't hear a word against
decking in the right place you really
can't beat a lawn at the center of a
garden soft enough to play on friendly
enough to relax on and a great foil for
all the plants and flowers in the
surrounding beds and borders and if you
make a new lawn from turf it's as
instantaneous as a wooden decking plank
I'll show you how
what I'm doing here is making a lawn
that wraps around this tree now it's
quite a light canopy it's not going to
be too heavy a shade to kill the grass
out the preparation of the earth for
either seeding or turfing is exactly the
same fork it over and take out any big
rocks and stones and any thick
deep-rooted perennial weeds now the
roots of grass don't go very deep
perhaps only three or four inches
maximum but if you didn't cultivate the
ground properly it will dry out very
very quickly there are lots of stones in
the subsoil there and the surface would
not be able to draw moisture that's why
this slightly deeper cultivation really
does pay off if your ground is very
heavy very clay very waterlogged working
lots and lots of sharp grit to help
drainage get working organic matter for
the same reason and if you soil is very
light and very fluffy lots of organic
matter will help to hold on to moisture
and give that lawn every chance of doing
well even in dry weather oh yeah
forked over so we're ready to turf yes
no it's far too fluffy and it's also
uneven so the first thing you've got to
do is tread it shuffle along with your
heels to really firm that earth into
place takes a while
if you have an enormous lawn
you also need an enormous group of
friends you get them all round one
evening when you fold it over and you
put on a record of Zorba the Greek debt
debt debt you get my drift
make sure your neighbors are out looking
completely bonkers
all this does it gets rid of air pockets
you won't regret this bit of extra time
in preparation later on
what you will now notice is that there
are bumps and hollows you need a rake to
adjust that raking off the bumps into
the hollows so get your eye fairly low
down so you can see what you're at long
sweeping through all the wires casting
your eye over the ground I can make that
whole surface just even as possible and
now it's much more level except it will
not have escaped your nervous but we
fluffed it all up again yep
Zorba
see it's not just a trampled it's a
shuffle and by shuffling you're breaking
down those little clods into finer
crumbs
and this is just one final raking over
to see now it's always a whole lot
firmer so the preparation of the Troy is
a knack of the same whether you're going
to make a long-term seed or from turf
and I'm not going to show you how to
make one turf
turf undoubtedly provides the quickest
way of making a lawn it's grown on a
turf nursery and lifted rather like
carpet so all you have to do is unroll
it and lay it but the important thing is
you arrange for delivery as close to the
time you're going to late as possible
because if turf stays rolled up like
that it's not getting any light and it
turns the color of custard within about
four days position it as near to where
you're going to lay it as possible and
put down planks on the ground which if
you've laid them properly will give you
a nice straight edge to work to and
proceed to work your first row is out in
front of you you want to Bop them right
close up together so that it's a bit
like Ernie Y Z's wig you really can't
see the join just Pat it down with you
Andy here's a spade if you want once
your first row is down take your planks
and lay them on it so you're not
scuffing it about you can hop on the
turf to relay your boards and grab
another one it's just that you don't
want to be scuffing it with your feet
when you're bending down you don't have
work forwards you're also doing it's
staggering the joints you see now it
will all knit together much better
in the same way that you buy different
seed mixes fine coarse dwarf rye grass
so there are different kinds of turf you
want a good hard-wearing mixture is
composed mainly of dwarf rye grasses a
lot of the old gardening books will tell
you to have some finally saved soil
ready to fill in these gaps between the
curves there should not be any gaps
between the tares if you've bought them
right up close together there's no need
for that infill just make sure that all
patted into contact with the earth
underneath then they don't dry out one
of the great advantages of turf is that
you can lay it at almost any time of
year except when the ground is frozen
solid or excessively muddy or in a
baking hot summer because if it is hot
and dry and there's no rainfalls coming
this will turn to straw in a matter of
days have a lawn sprinkler ready and if
it does start to get a bit hot and sunny
the day or two after you've laid it put
that sprinkler on give it a really good
soaking so the water goes down into the
earth below better to do it thoroughly
every few days then give it a light
sprinkling every day which will quite
simply evaporate
and then he come to the tree ah there
with there are all sorts of posh
implements for cutting turf but I find
that by far the best one is an old
kitchen knife and then I'm just going to
make a slit down here in line with the
center of the trunk yeah do it then you
can cut all right the way round it try
and meet it around the other side oh
yeah a beautiful little apron
Watsky across particularly wise
establishing is that this bit here
doesn't dry out because with the tree
roots sucking moisture that bit isn't
quite a critical position there's
nothing more irritating and the edge of
a lawn that looks as though it's been
chewed so get a garden line.i it up to
make sure it's going exactly where you
want your lawn to finish and then put
your plank right the way up to it
because this is gonna be a harder edge
to cut against right up against your
plank to get a good clean edge
now if you've just used this plank and
then you had to move it you have a
Dickens of a job eyeing it up to make
sure it was level with the previous one
but the line allows you to know exactly
where your previous cut what
and then you end up very straight edge
like that
it will cost you 10 times more than
grass seed but you will have instant
effect in a couple of weeks
those roots will have established down
below and the grass will have started to
grow that's when you can mow it but
don't scalp it just take the top half
inch off and know it again the week
after that then you're on mowing
throughout the rest of the year provided
you don't let it dry out then you put a
lawn
blast you the rest of your life nice
you're in it
you
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