Successful establishment of all lawn types relies on proper soil preparation. Preparation for establishing a lawn usually begins after construction activities have finished, or before topsoil has been introduced.
Without preparing your soil properly, your lawn can suffer from poor soil drainage, compaction, pH or fertility problems that could have otherwise been simply prevented.
Remove existing lawn/ground cover
Kill off any existing vegetation using glyphosate or a similar non-selective herbicide like RoundUp. You may need 2 applications to ensure all existing vegetation is completely eradicated.
Hoe in and turn over the existing base and remove any excess vegetation that has been sprayed out.
Preparing your soil
Depending on your existing base, add in any soil required to make sure you have the appropriate base for turf. An 80/20 sandy loam or a turf underlay mix is preferred. We recommend bringing in at least 100-150mm of quality soil. If you have a clay base you will need to de-compact this, use a clay breaker like gypsum and add sand soil. If your base is already sandy, look at mixing in some organics to boost nutrients.
Level your area
Finally, it’s time to get your levels correct. When looking to lay turf flush with an edge, keep your soil about 30-40mm below this height. This will allow for the thickness of the turf. Smooth out the rest of your soil, remembering to factor in drainage as you do so. The grade of your lawn area should slope enough to allow surface water to drain away quickly.
Apply Starter Fertiliser
Lawn starter fertilisers like Lawn Launcher can be spread out onto the soil before the new turf is laid to help give the lawn an extra boost during its establishment.
Lay your lawn
Now there’s only one thing left to do! Lay your new lawn! Contact our lawn consultants today to get a quote and book your order in!
