Compost instead of topsoil for lawn?

Adnila

I need to raise the soil up a bit before I put turf down. I can get compost more cheaply than topsoil. Will that be OK? Should I mix it with sand or anything or is the compost a complete no no?

hungrynurse_2

compost will drain too easily I would have thought, so you may end up with dead grass

paddy's_mum

Compost will rot down and away to nothing. That is its nature. Your turf will drop as the compost biodegrades.

Topsoil is the only way to go.

wallbash

Addition of SHARP sand might be called for , if there is a problem with drainage.

Adnila

Oh dear, I was afraid of that. Still, at least I found out before I used the compost.

Has anyone any ideas about where I can get good quality topsoil. I got some about 10 years ago and it was dreadful.

sirbrainy

Get samples first

Adnila

Samples - there's a thought. I think there's a chance they wouldn't send me a sample containing chunks of clay and non-organic objects though but save them up for the main delivery.

peter_the_piper

Golf course keepers use a sterilised loam for laying and seeding. Its expensive to start with but there is less chance of weeds and no rubbish in it. Topsoil is just scraped off before building and contains all the seeds etc that the ground had. It depends on how much you need to raise and how high its to be raised.

rabidbun

Ours was laid onto very clay-ey soil and we used just sand underneath which worked fine, so a partial mix may well be useful if you have poor drainage as Wallbash said already.

Adnila

Thanks everyone for taking the trouble to reply. I think it's going to cost me more than I thought (doesn't it always). I'll look into sterilised loam. The topsoil I bought years ago I'm sure was full of weed seeds.