How long for turf to grab onto soil

[ey143]

After laying down a few strips of turf in the front garden on a patch of soil, how long will it take for the roots to latch onto the soil so that it cannot be lifted up easily?

 

[EddieM]

depends on time of year, weather conditions etc.

 

[ey143]

How about last week and mixed weather?

 

[EddieM]

Hmm, well keep well watered about 3 months.

 

[r896neo]

it will start to grow roots in a week. if you lift it you will see the small white roots.

It depends on how well the ground was prepared laregly and if you rolled it atfer laying, those all help significantly.

It will be 3-4 weeks before it isn't just lifted with no resistance and you will probably still be able to pull it up with a good hard yank 2-3 months later.

 

[ey143]

By rolling it you mean with that big old style heavy roller? Won't that damage the turf because they say you're not supposed to walk on it etc?

 

[Diyisfun]

Are you worried about it being stolen.

There was a case a couple of weeks ago, 2 woman rolling up freshly laid turf.

 

[ey143]

It had crossed my mind yes, after I heard about that case, that my small £30 patch of turf might get nicked!

Really though I just want it to settle in.

 

[r896neo]

yes a garden roller. The biggest enemy of turf rooting is air pockets underneath because it has not been firmly flattened against the soil.

A roller provides a nice evenly spread weight to do this compared to a foot which is a massively higher force because of the area it is exerted over.

You should stay off it once it has been rolled or tamped in though for 3 weeks if possible.