Oxfordshire Turf supplies a budget laying service with selected orders. However, there are occasions when clients opt to do the heavy lifting themselves. Here’s a step by step guide on laying natures carpet.

Before we proceed, it may be worth noting that our team of landscapers offer a lay turf in Oxfordshire. For a relatively modest price, we can supply, prepare and lay your new lawn before your eyes. Whether you live in Oxford, Banbury, Witney, Abingdon, Didcot or beyond, contact us today for your quote.

Prepare The Foundation

If your garden’s a proverbial jungle, you’ll need to apply weed killer before the turf arrives.  First ensure you rake the ground, clearing any debris or loose stones in the process. They have the potential to undermine the turf’s appearance and its ability to become established. Depending on your garden, your turf will also benefit from topsoil. Turf (or sod as our American cousin’s say …) and plants require between 2-6 inches of topsoil as a healthy base to grow. Use a rake to evenly distribute topsoil before moving on to the next step.

When The Turf Arrives …

If you’ve measured the garden, allow room for error and order a few extra rolls — A good rule of thumb is 5%. Again, with selected orders we’ll offer you a free estimate. Lay the turf as soon as it arrives. This will ensure your turf becomes established. Use a sprinkler system or hose to keep your lawn hydrated 7 days after it’s set. Failure to heed this step could result in a lawn that suffers from a discoloured and unhealthy appearance.

Laying The Turf

Lay the first rolls of turf along a straight boundary when possible. Use this as a guideline as you begin to roll natures carpet out across your garden. During those early weeks avoid walking on the turf. Once the turf has become established, you’ll be able to mow it for the first time — We’d recommend waiting for at least 10 to 14 days. Applying selected fertilizers to the lawn will improve it’s appearance. We’ll cover this in future posts.

Oxford Turf Supplies have been working through the region for over 2 decades. Contact us or subscribe to our feed if you require further advice on lawn care.

Water logging generally occurs when water starts to sit on the surface of the soil and either drains too slowly or does not drain at all. Once the water starts to settle around the roots, it can take air away which is crucial to the growing process.

Let Your Lawn Breathe

To help the grass breathe, you can be sure that you work to aerate the lawn. This can often be done by spiking, slitting or pricking the soil where you notice that the problem is starting to occur. There are various hand spiking tools that you can use to aerate your lawn as well as spiked shoes that you can strap onto your feet as you walk around that will help get the air into the right places.

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Once the lawn starts to drain, you can look into more long term options that will keep your lawn from getting water logged in the future. Think about having a drainage system installed that will keep the water evenly distributed where it needs to go in order to keep the grass nice and healthy. Sometimes, simply removing old turf and replacing it with new topsoil can work wonders to help even out the surface area where you had once had water logging issues with your lawn.

No measures can absolutely safeguard your lawn against a deluge. However, with forward planning you can significantly reduce the damage caused by heavy rainfall. 

Tall Fescue

Tall fescue is very durable grass, able to survive in moist and extremely dry environments. It thrives in clay soils with a large amount of organic matter. It’s ideal for areas that experience hot, humid summers and very cold winters. Just to remember to water your tall fescue properly. In the hot summer sun, blades can become thin without the right amount of water.

Bermuda Grass

Bermuda grass is at the very top of the drought resistant grass. For homes that are located in dry, humid areas, this turf is the first one to consider. It can also endure extensive periods of zero precipitation while surviving in tropical climates that receive heavy rainfall. Under what drought tolerant turf to get, you’ll find a picture of Bermuda grass.

Zoysia Grass

Another type of grass suitable for hot locales is Zoysia grass. It’s known for its medium dark-green color that will persist in most hot conditions though it may turn straw-colored in extreme drought. Its deep root system extracts water from lower depths of the soil, making it more resilient than most turf.

When choosing the right turf to buy, consider the climate in your region. Is it hot all year around? Are there periods of cold winters and hot summers? Does your lawn need to survive heavy rainfall? These questions will help you decide the right drought tolerant grass to purchase.

You can learn more about us at №1 Oxford Company