When is the best time to lay rolls of turf as we are now into september already and we still havent had it layed as yet

rgds
paul

You can lay turf any time of the year as long as there is no risk of prolonged frost. If it is really dry then you need to water the newly laid turf, so midsummer isn't ideal.

I'm laying a new lawn tomorrow. Conditions are perfect here. I had a long dry spell during which I did the majority of the preparation. There's a good bit of rain tonight which will water the soil for tomorrow when the turf arrives. I'll get it down on a showery day and it is due to rain on-and-off over the next few days.
Just perfect.

-- Tue Sep 07, 2010 5:29 pm --

I didn't lay a new lawn today. Unfortunately, the turf I ordered arrived with so much damaged material that I couldn't accept the delivery. I now have to wait at least two days for them to replace it. I'm loathe to use Rolawn again after that.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

Hi

Sorry to hear about your bad news with the grass.

How do you go about preparing ready for the new turf to be layed, would be good to hear how you prepare the area as we was looking at rotavating and removing any loose stones and levelling with rake ready for grass

rgds
paul

I havent laid turf for a long time but the way I would go about it is that if your going to rotavate it and remove the stones, rake it level then walk over the whole area using your heels to compact the soil. After that lightly rake again. When your laying the turf ease out some of the roots as your rolling it out and then tamp down the turf with the head of the rake (handle vertical) to get rid of any air pockets.

Remember to make sure you stagger your joints like brickwork and dont stand on newly laid turf so start from the furthest point working to your escape route

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Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

Roll and rake. It's all in the rolling and the raking. Rolling the soil will compact it. Raking the soil will break up the lumps, remove the stones and remove any fibrous plant material. Alternating between rake and roller will refine the compaction of the soil. What you are aiming for is clean, flat, compact soil with a 20-30mm even layer of loose, clean soil ontop. In warm, dry weather you will need to have the soil prepared a couple of days in advance of the turf arriving and then get it thoroughly watered.
If you don't have access to a roller then you can hire one. If it's a small area then you can use your feet to compact the soil.
All the work is in the preparation. I will spend up to 2 days on preparing 100 square metres of lawn for turfing. The actual laying time will be less than 2 hours because all that's left to do is to roll the turf across the flat soil, tamp it down and trim it.
I recommend that you lay the turf as it is harvested and don't interfere with the thickness of the turf by teasing out the roots as suggested by northwales4u.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

it depends how quick you want it to establish - if your not in a hurry dont bother teasing out the roots (they will just fill up the soil compacted to the turf first before entering the soil underneatth)

If you want your lawn established quickly then tease out the roots (not massively - just quickly rub your hand over the roll as your rolling it)

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Mike
http://rebuildingatimberbungalow.blogspot.com/
any advice welcome

The root mat in a good quality, fresh turf will be flat. That's the ideal for laying because the roots are surrounded by compact soil which retains the moisture that feeds the grass. The cut roots will grow down into the prepared soil once the turf is laid.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

Hi

Is it now the wrong time of year to have rolled turf layed due to frost etc or can you still lay it down

rgds
paul

I still stand by that answer.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

Hi

What do you class as prolonged frost as we are comming into winter soon so will have frost on most nights so how long if it was layed on 15th of this month would it take to get established so frost doesnt effect it or kill it

rgds
paul

A light frost in the morning which lifts during the day will be okay. Prolonged frost is where the temperature stays below freezing point for a few days. 15th of November is 2 weeks away. I would look at the weather forecast when you are ready to order your turf and make your decision based on the forecast at that time.

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Phil
Advise rhymes with rise. Advice rhymes with rice.

i would advise against laying turf anytime after the middle of the month, had a week full of frost 2 weeks ago here so its getting colder all the time now