Laying turf - shortcuts....

jennieshrew

I have just been given some lovely turf on freecycle. Obviously given time, money and energy we would have followed all the previous good advice on here about spending lots of time preparing the ground and laying it in spring or September etc.

Given that the turf was cut yesterday it will need to be laid as quickly as possible. We have thick clay soil in our small garden. Can anyone advise on the most efficient and important things we need to do to lay the turf.

Plan so far is to:
1. Dig up and remove old vile threadbare lawn
2. Dig up 10 cm clay
3. put down new topsoil with some well rotted manure and bone meal.
4. Flatten the soil
5. Rake top of soil
6. Stick the turf down
7. Water obsessively over the rest of the summer.

(cant really make lawn worse by putting down the turf even if it doesnt go brilliantly as current lawn is awful awful awful due to clay soil)

sheslookinhot

lay the turf longways- left to right. Stand on a plank on the previously laid row.
stagger them like bricks. i.e the second row start with half a roll of turf and so on.

fill any gaps at joints with a handful of sand