Preparing Garden & Laying New Turf

[zooming]

Hi all

It's my intension to lay new turf in the back garden now that I have finished building the retaining walls. The garden is heavy clay which makes it difficult, however I have put in drainiage and intend to but top soil to build to a new level. I was looking for some confirmation regarding these points

1: I intend to kill the remaining grass and weeds before laying the top soil (roundup). How long would the weedkiller hold back the new weeds as I don't expect to bring in topsoil until next spring

2: On another site it suggested introducing gypsum to the top soil if the ground was heavy clay, why?

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Michael

 

[Thermo]

the weedkiller wont hold back new ones. Youre better off wiating till the spring

Gypsum can be used to help break up the clay to improve its structure. Any organic matter such as compost etc will also do this job, but on heavy clay you will struggle. Its worth breaking it up a bit and then getting a decent layer of topsoil on when you lay the lawn. If there is decent drainage there, then it shouldnt be too much of an issue

 

[paulwilson]

If I were you I would wait till march/april time. its getting to the time now where frosts will begin and thats the last thing you want on fresh turf.

I would get rid of your clay, bring in a few tonne of soil and lay from there

 

[zooming]

Thermo/Paul

I have built to retaining walls that has brought up the hight so i will have around 1.5 foot worth of top soil to play with to make the ground level. There is a farm close to me so I was intending on getting some horse compost/manure leaying this first then the top soil. I have drainiage in place so I was intending un placing the manure on top without digging, woud this be OK

Cheers

Michael

 

[paulwilson]

I cant see you having any probs at all although 1.5 feet is quite deep your going to need a hell of a lot of soil depending on the area.

 

[Thermo]

if youre goint to use manure prior to teh topsoil, get it in now and leave it to break down. It will contain a lot of weed seeds as the horses eat them! Give it a few good spraying with a systemic weedkiller when the weeds start to appear and before the topsoil goes in

 

[zooming]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the good advice, down to the farms then. Any preference on weedkiller

Cheers

M

 

[Thermo]

round up should do the trick. it wont need applying until a few weeks before the turf is done in the spring, once the weeds have started to grow

 

[JohnD]

I used a lot of horse muck in my garden (I used to ride) and it has given a very nice rich soil texture. Shavings bedding smells much better than straw bedding, and is not as nitrogenous. I have not tried it for a lawn though and wonder how it will affect the surface - the worms like to burrow it, and birds dig out insects and worms, and as it rots, the soil settles.

I have a feeling you may need to level the surface flat again and again for the first few years. As you are on clay, top-dressing with a mixture of grit and sieved compost is good - you can push it about with a big board or a "lute" which will make it go into any hollows.

I did once see a simple device for sieving and mixing compost and soil, with a sort of stirrer in a hopper above a raised grid, but have never seen one again

 

[zooming]

Guy's

Thanks for your help and comments

Cheers

Michael