Spring is the best time to lay instant turf

Spring is typically the best time of year for rolling out a new lawn. Having said that, you wouldn't be mistaken for thinking that we haven't had much of a Spring yet this Spring! So what effects will the cool & damp conditions have on your lawn project?

While rainfall has met the average for what is historically expected for Adelaide, it's been cooler and cloudier. Sunny days are few and far between, and we've hardly broken out of the teen's temperature-wise. Ultimately, this means that soil temperatures have not risen enough yet to bring most lawns out of Winter dormancy. In talking to farmers and in considering my own observations, late starts to Spring are becoming more common.  

So what does this mean for your lawn project?

It means that if you lay turf now, it will take a little longer to root in and establish. You may notice that it isn't as green as it could be when you roll your turf out, and it won't respond to fertiliser as quickly as you might have hoped. I'm quietly confident that temperatures will increase in the very near future, however, climatologists are predicting a cooler than usual Spring.

So is now a good time? Absolutely. I can say with confidence that right now represents the best time of the year to lay turf. As soon as temperatures creep into the low 20s, which shouldn't be too far away,  newly laid turf will leap out of the ground.   

Why is Spring the best time?

The most popular turf varieties (couch, kikuyu and buffalo)  grow best when temperatures are consistently into the mid-'20s. This is because they are classified as warm-season grasses meaning the warmer it is, the faster they grow. The official growing season for these varieties is from September through to May, making right now the start of the season. A lawn planted now will have around 9 months of establishing time, giving it plenty of opportunity to put down roots which will give it more drought tolerance in Summer and better resilience next Winter. 

On top of this, there is the added advantage of consistent rain, which takes the pressure off of you having to intensively water the lawn while it establishes.  When laying turf in hot, dry weather, watering is required up to 4 times a day for 3-4 weeks to ensure it doesn't dry out. Laying turf in Spring may only require you to water once or twice per day, and that's good news for anyone!

So now that we've established that let's get onto the fun stuff.

How do you install instant turf?

A large percentage of our customers tackle their turf projects themselves, even without past experience. We reckon it's fairly straightforward, so we've created this video to answer some of the questions you might have.  

If you'd prefer to read a step-by-step guide, have a look at our laying guide for more information. When you're ready for a chat, give us a call on 8298 0555, and we'll answer all of your questions and give you all the advice you need to get your project up and running.