Laying new turf and starting a lawn from seed

Laying a new lawn is one of the few times you get to fix the soil properly. Once the turf is down, you can only work from the surface. So the work you put into preparation shows for years: in how evenly the lawn grows, how well it copes with summer, and how few weeds come through.

This guide covers the whole job, from choosing a grass to the first mow. For the watering schedule after laying, see the watering new turf and seed guide.

Turf or seed?

Not every lawn grass is easy to grow from seed, and some are mostly sold as turf or runners. Check what’s available for the grass you want. [CONFIRM: reviewer to confirm which LawnMan grass types are commonly available as seed in Australia]

Choose the right grass

The most common reason a new lawn fails is that the grass doesn’t suit the spot.

• Sun. The Turf Growers Association of WA lists soft leaf buffalo as needing at least 4 hours of direct sun a day, couch at least 5, and kikuyu and zoysia 5 to 6. Measure the sun your yard gets, including in winter.
• Wear. The TGAWA describes couch and kikuyu as having excellent wear and recovery, and buffalo and zoysia as moderate to good.
• Maintenance. Kikuyu and couch grow fast and need regular mowing and edging. Zoysia grows slowly.
• Climate. Your climate zone affects which grasses do well and when.

The Grass Type Picker compares options for your sun, wear and climate. Your turf supplier can tell you about the varieties they grow.

When to lay

Lay turf or sow seed when the grass is actively growing, so it roots in quickly.

• Warm-season turf roots fastest in the warmer months. Laid in the cooler months, it needs less water but roots more slowly.
• Seed needs warm soil to germinate. The bag gives the conditions to expect.
• Check your water rules. Many water authorities make allowances for new lawns, but you may need to apply. In Perth, Water Corporation grants exemptions to water a new lawn outside your rostered days, applied for on the day the lawn goes in.

Step 1: Remove the old lawn and weeds

Remove the old lawn and weeds completely. Anything left behind will grow up through the new lawn.

• Dig it out with a spade for small areas, or hire a turf cutter for larger ones.
• Or use a non-selective herbicide to kill the old lawn and weeds first, following its label exactly, including how long to wait before you dig, plant or lay turf.
• Get the runners out. NSW Department of Primary Industries notes that runner fragments of couch and kikuyu take root and regrow. Fork through the soil and pick out every piece you find.
• Dispose of old turf in the green waste bin, not in compost you’ll use in the garden.

Step 2: Check for services and irrigation

• Contact Before You Dig Australia before rotary hoeing or digging deeply. It tells you where underground pipes and cables are.
• Plan any in-ground irrigation now. It’s far easier to install sprinklers before the turf goes down. Sub-surface drip under a lawn has to go in before laying. See the installing a pop-up sprinkler system guide.

Step 3: Test and improve the soil

1. Test the pH. Water Corporation puts the ideal for most lawn grasses at fairly neutral: about 6 to 7.5. A home kit is fine; a laboratory test tells you more. See the soil testing guide.
2. Correct acid soil by mixing garden lime or dolomite through the soil, at the rate on the product.
3. Improve sandy soil with organic matter or clay-based amendments, mixed through the top layer. The Fertilise Wise brochure produced for Perth councils lists organic matter, clay, gypsum, spongolite, zeolite and soil-wetting agents as common amendments.
4. Loosen compacted soil with a fork or rotary hoe, and remove stones, roots and rubble.
5. Add a good-quality soil or turf underlay if your existing soil is poor, to the depth your turf supplier recommends.

Step 4: Level and firm

1. Rake the area level, removing high spots and filling low ones.
2. Slope the ground gently away from the house so water drains away from it.
3. Firm the soil by walking over it in small steps, or with a lawn roller, then rake again. Firming now stops the new lawn sinking unevenly later.
4. Check the level with a long straight board.
5. Finish slightly below paths and edging, by about the thickness of the turf. Ask your supplier how thick their turf is.

Step 5: Order and receive the turf

• Measure the area and enter it in the Turf and Seed Calculator, with a little extra for cutting around edges and curves.
• Arrange delivery for the day you’ll lay it. Turf deteriorates quickly when it’s stacked, especially in hot weather.
• Keep it in the shade, and lightly moist, until it’s laid.
• Water the soil the day before, so it’s moist but not muddy when you lay.

Step 6: Lay the turf

1. Start along a straight edge, such as a path or fence.
2. Lay the first row end to end, butting the pieces tightly together without overlapping or stretching them.
3. Stagger the joins in the next row, like bricks in a wall, so joins don’t line up.
4. Kneel on a plank on the laid turf, not on the prepared soil, to avoid footprints.
5. Cut pieces to fit with a sharp knife. Avoid small pieces at the edges, which dry out; put full pieces on the edge and cut smaller pieces to fit inside.
6. On slopes, lay across the slope, and peg pieces if they could slide.
7. Water each section as soon as it’s laid, especially on a hot or windy day.

When it’s all down, press the turf firmly so the roots touch the soil, with a roller or the back of a rake, and water thoroughly. Lift a corner to check the soil underneath is moist.

Starting from seed

The soil preparation is the same. Then:

1. Check the bag for the sowing rate, the soil temperature needed and the time to germinate.
2. Work out how much seed you need with the Turf and Seed Calculator, using the rate on the bag.
3. Sow half the seed in one direction and half at right angles to it, for even coverage. A spreader helps on larger areas.
4. Rake lightly so the seed is just covered, and firm the surface gently.
5. Keep the surface damp with a fine spray until the seedlings are up, then water less often and more deeply.
6. Keep off until the lawn is established.

Weeds often come up with a new seeded lawn. Pull them by hand while they’re small. Check any herbicide’s label before using it on a new lawn.

Aftercare

• Water as the watering new turf and seed guide describes: frequently while it roots, then less often and more deeply.
• Keep off while it roots. Check by tugging a corner: when it resists, roots have grown into the soil.
• First mow once it has rooted and grown above your mowing height. Water Corporation suggests the first mow is usually 10 to 14 days after laying in summer and 14 to 21 days in winter. Mow on a high setting with sharp blades.
• Feed as your turf supplier advises, at the label rate, once the turf has rooted.
• Hold off on herbicides and pre-emergents until their labels say the lawn is established. Many pre-emergents can stop new turf rooting.

Problems in the first weeks

Common mistakes

• Choosing a grass that doesn’t suit the sun in your yard.
• Leaving couch or kikuyu runners in the soil.
• Skipping the soil test and preparation.
• Not firming the soil, so the lawn sinks unevenly.
• Leaving turf stacked in the sun for a day before laying.
• Laying with gaps or overlapping pieces.
• Not watering each section as it’s laid.

Log it

Log the job in your Lawn Journal: the grass and variety, the supplier, the date laid, the soil test results and what you added. Add the date the turf first resisted a tug and the first mow. If anything goes wrong later, you’ll have the full history.