Seed or Turf 400m2 garden

[iMCaan]

Hi.

 

We have hired a digger with a driver to excavate the top layer as it's overgrown and has rubbish.

 

Is it just a matter of levelling the top soil and adding some fertiliser before seeding or turfing?

 

Would it better to seed or turf (expensive) the large 400m2 garden?

Is this the September/October right time to seed/turf?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

[TheMitchells]

quite a  lot there - 

no it is not just a matter of leveling and adding fertiliser.  If you have used a digger, the soil will be very compacted where the wheels went and the grass there will not establish and grow very well.  If you want a nice lawn, then you really need to level, but then uncompact the soil - digging over the conpacted areas (by hand or with a machine), level with a rake, gently compress with your flat feet, rake again and then spread seed.  Turf is instant but quite expensive.  Seed is cheaper but will take the winter to establish.  

There are plenty of video's which show you how to do it.  

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/how-to-prepare-the-ground-for-laying-turf/

https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/lawns-from-seed

 

While it is a lot of work, you'll be looking at the lawn for a long time so it is worth doing it properly.  Good luck.

And now - September is the perfect time to do this! 

Edited yesterday at 15:35 by TheMitchells

[nod]

We brought in 70 tons of new top soil and seeded it Similar area to yours 

[iMCaan]

Thank you. Will check out the videos later tonight.  I agree needs to be done properly. 

Photo from last year. It's well overgrown now.

 

Will be getting a digger to remove the top layer and levelling it before spreading the top soil. I take it there's two ways to spread the top soil, digger and manually using a wheel barrel?

What should be the depth of the top soil for seeding, 100mm?

 

I googled lawn seed and realised they come in a few varieties. What type would you recommend?

 

Thanks

 

Edited 9 hours ago by iMCaan

[Mr Punter]

Have a good sort through to separate and dispose of the asbestos, timber and building waste.  You may be able to burn the pallets on site.  You don't want a digger tracking through that lot.

 

There is a lot of prep needed.

[iMCaan]

Thanks, It's rubbish from our new self-build. There's no asbestos. There's a quite a lot of cardboard, wood, mdf and laminate and LVT flooring waste.

 

[Mr Punter]

That's good.  What are the corrugated sheets at the back?

[Thorfun]

5 hours ago, iMCaan said:

Will be getting a digger to remove the top layer and levelling it before spreading the top soil. I take it there's two ways to spread the top soil, digger and manually using a wheel barrel?

What should be the depth of the top soil for seeding, 100mm?

 

I googled lawn seed and realised they come in a few varieties. What type would you recommend?

 

Thanks

 

What’s your subsoil? We have clay underneath so spread 20T manure across the area and rotavated it in to the clay and then compacted and spread about 100mm of topsoil using a digger and the raked it level-ish, light compaction with a water filled roller, then raked the top, added a new seed fertiliser and then seeded with our seeds of choice. 
 

I had a long chat with ChatGPT about seeds specific for our requirements and ended up with a large variety of different seeds. About 1/3 rye grass for quick establishment, 1/3 tall fescue which does well in clay and dry conditions due to long/deep roots and the final 1/3 a mixture of other fescues and a small amount of bent grass. 

[Beau]

Our ground looked appalling but on the recommend of a friendly landscaper we seeded it up. Within a season a we had a lovely green lawn. Honestly I could not believe how well grass could grow on what was basically subsoil. 

[Bramco]

At 400m2 make sure you budget for a robot lawn mower - if you've prepped the ground well and the seed has established itself, then you'll forever have a lovely trimmed lawn.

 

No more looking out the window at the rain and a mop of grass thinking - I should have got round to it yesterday when the weather was good....

 

And it's great in the summertime on the patio with a GnT watching it trundle round doing it's thing.

 

It's one of our best investments - we have an acre with the house in the middle. The robot mower was half the price of a ride on which would have been the alternative.

[-rick-]

1 minute ago, Bramco said:

And it's great in the summertime on the patio with a GnT watching it trundle round doing it's thing.

 

Living the dream!

[Bramco]

Indeed, especially as I watch the neighbour trundling up and down on his ride on..   looking across at us with envy.    I wait until he's nearly finished before I offer him a cold beer....