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D.I.Y. Advice

How to lay turf

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It’s time to roll out the green carpet and give your yard the star treatment, by laying some brand-spanking new turf! It’s surprisingly easy to do it yourself.

Tools and materials

Garden hose

Gardening gloves

Rake

Rolled turf

Shears

Spreader

Starter fertiliser

Top soil

Wetting agent

Tools and materials needed to lay turf

1. Prepare the area

Head down to your nearest Bunnings and grab some top soil and wetting agent. Placing this underneath your turf will give your lawn its best chance of starting off on the right foot. You will want to have between 50-100mm of top soil on the ground before you get started. Have your turf delivered on the day you plan to install it and remember to check the weather forecast – if it’s going to be hot, start early to prevent your turf from drying out.

Turf area and supplies ready to lay turf

2. Work in the soil

Once you’ve emptied all your bags of soil on the turf area, it’s time to work it in. Start with a rake, then use a spreader – these nifty contraptions are available to purchase from Bunnings. A spreader will make sure your top soil is evenly and smoothly distributed across the lawn area.

Spreading top soil evenly over turf area

3. Lay down wetting agent

This stuff is vital if you want to make sure your turf has the best chance of growing. Simply sprinkle your wetting agent evenly over the top of your soil, then smooth down with your spreader.

4. Place down some fertiliser

Once you’ve sprinkled on your wetting agent, open a bag of starter fertiliser and sprinkle over the area – this will help encourage your new lawn to grow. Make sure you follow the instructions on the bag so you know how much to add.

Applying fertiliser to turf area

5. Make your soil moist

Grab a hose and give your soil a good wetting so it’s nice and ready for the turf.

Watering the turf area with a water hose

6. Lay your turf rolls

This is the fun bit! Lay your first piece of turf, making sure you butt it up nice and firm against the corners – it’s important not to kneel on the turf or stretch it. Lay each piece hard up against the last to avoid air pockets and any drying out. So as not to have lines, lay your turf in a brick pattern.

Laying tiles of instant turf

7. Cut to fit

Use shears to trim your turf pieces to the correct size. Remember: don’t throw any off-cuts away – you may need them to fill any gaps down the track. Once all the turf is fitted, walk over it to smooth over any bumps – if you have a larger area, you’ll probably need to use a lawn roller. Once it’s all in, use your hose to give it a good water – this will encourage root growth.

Cutting turf tiles to size with shears

8. So fresh and so green

How great does your new patch of turf look? Remember to water your lawn every day for the first four to six weeks to make sure it stays wet at all times. After that, you only need to water every two days as this will encourage deeper root growth.

Bunnings team member admiring freshly laid turf

Watch the full episode

Check out the full episode from Make It Yours season one for more front yard inspiration with Dale Vine.

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