New lawn + hosepipe ban = HELP!!

Unfortunately we didn't own the house then! I don't disagree with what you are saying at all, I maintain my gripe is not so much with the ban but the change of concessions. The garden had a lawn already but was full of weed, part was concreted, some ugly dying trees at the back, shed falling apart etc. We wanted a lawn for our 2 year old this summer, having lived in a flat previously. We would have stuck with what we had if the message had been consistent.

It was 2 rushed days work work to remove the trees and shed, level and prepare the soil, lay stones for a path to new shed (including leveling and laying a base). This was using a landscaper, who was a miffed at the changes as me.

 

Have we established yet how big this lawn is? That will obviously affect what the options are for effectively watering it. For example a tiny lawn could be done with a watering can, whereas a huge area would need something for more substantial.

Also, I should say, I know how you feel about getting the garden nice for the kids. I nearly bust a gut sorting the garden at my last house ready for the arrival of our little chap. Then just as it was nearly done, work situation changed and we moved house. The back garden here was awful. I mean awful. If I wasn't made of 'sterner stuff' I might well have have a thrombo when I first saw what the estate agent had tried so hard to prevent me seeing. Since then I've spent as much time as I dare spare on it, and beat myself up about the fact that it isn't as I wanted it to be yet, but my son, now 3 year old, doesn't care one bit. He helps me in the garden, and has been doing so for the past almost 2 years, ie for pretty much as long as he's been able to hold his little kiddy spade. I see an ugly dandelion that is spoiling the picturesque lawn I want him to be able to run about it. He sees a bright orange thing that wasn't there yesterday. I see more mud that still needs turning intio good soil. He sees somewhere to dig for wiggly worms. I see an area that still needs tidying up. He sees an area that still needs to be explored.

 

Yeah we were saying just that... where will he dig now there is turf everywhere! But honestly it was dangerous before, broken concrete and shed falling down, glass shards around. It couldn't be left exactly as it was for him to play safely.

Anyway... the lawned area is 15*9m!

 

I'm not saying you shouldn't have done it, I'm just saying that now you have, worst case scenario by summer it is not a lush green lawn, don't torture yourself over it.

Nearly 2 years on from moving into my new gaff, there are still parts of the back garden that are strictly off limits to the lad for exactly the sort of reasons you describe, ie there are just too many opportunities for him to properly hurt himself. I've got round this by making the first half safe, and then the next section has no lawn at all, it is just floor with bark chips. In that section there are various scratty bits of old and a sand pit. The lad has claimed that section as his own and basically potters about there to his heart's content, happy as larry, whenever he is bored of helping me.

 

Some info if you are considering a water butt pump:

All pumps are NOT the same, but I will take it as read you are looking at a "sump pump"

Pump makers will say their pump can pump say 40 litres / minute, however what they don't tell you is, yes it can pump 40 L / min if you measure it at the pump outlet. (No hose or pipes fitted) This is called the head height.
When you connect a pipe and raise it up, it then creates head pressure. The flow rate drops the higher the head height, it varies from pump to pump. (People don't realise this when buying a pump for their garden fountain, pond etc.)
What you should consider is the pressure, not the flow rate.

Did you know? The average garden sprinkler requires a minimum pressure of 1bar to work.

The other thing to add to the problem is hose length and hose diameter. The hose should be as big a diameter as possible, and as short as possible.

There is more, but I don't want to bore you too much, in the mean time, here is a video of a water leak I saw about 2 weeks ago.

 

Its amazing how water pipes leak at such a furious rate. 6" main along the edge of my garden has burst twice in last 5 years, wish I could have diverted all the water to some storage for all my Summer needs! Like the one in your Notting Hill video the leaks were fixed within a couple of days. Mine is easily accessible, JCB in, dig hole, sorted. Different story if its under a road, and gawd knows what they do if it is under a house!

 

Top Trumps Clueless1 - I enjoyed reading that

I don't think so, I think the turf will be dead in a month if the roots don't have enough water to "mat" into the soil underneath. I've missed watering "awkward corners" of new turf in the past, they didn't recover :(

 

15 meters by 9 meters is not a large lawn, so I don't know what all the fuss is about?

after a few days, the lawn does not need to be watered daily .... it needs to be watered once per week ....

water with 2 watering cans .... you could divide the area in 7 parts and focus on one section per day of the week .... (I would water the whole lot in one go and it should not take too long)

I would also get a pressure mist sprayer and spray the lawn once every 2 weeks with a seaweed extract

 

Here is a pic of the current state.

OK I'm getting some conflicting advice now - I hadn't read anywhere or been advised that after the first few days it is once per week? I was told every day for 30 min each section with sprinkler until its all covered (I was doing 6 sections). After the first week that can be reduced to 15 minutes. If its once per week of a section per day then yes I agree a watering can is certainly more viable. But from how it is now, when I get to the next evening its already looking like it needs a drink. If I left a section for a week my gut feel is it would be dead within a couple of days. But what do I know! Googling it turns up a lot of varying answers, but none as low as that. It has had new turf fertilizer put down before laying, I believe it was seaweed.

Outside of the amount of water, that will also cause a lot of foot traffic which I have also been told to minimize as much as possible.

 

Also I don't understand why the ones laid longways look so much better than those going width ways. Or why they were put down that way. That sort of thing really bugs me!

 

Ok, I'm not in any way an expert and what I'm about to say isn't based on anything other than an idea I have, so I won't be surprised if people in the know pick fault with what I'm about to say.

We know that the goal is obviously to keep the turf moist for long enough for it to root into the soil and become more or less self sufficient.

We also know that of the water you put on top of the lawn, only a fraction of it will make it down to the roots. A good percentage of the water you put on will be lost through evaporation before it gets chance to soak down.

So I'm going to put forward a crazy idea. If the whole lot was top dressed with sharp sand, would it not prevent the sunshine from evaporating much of the surface water so that more of it gets chance to soak in?

And further, I don't know the mowing regime for newly laid turf, but I do know that cutting grass makes it lose a lot of moisture, so if the mowing regime was made less frequent than whatever is the normal recommendation, would that not further reduce water loss?

If these two ideas were to work, would that not mean that water cans and collected grey water etc would then be enough to keep the lawn alive?

Like I said, don't take any of that as advice, its an idea that I'm merely putting out there for those more knowledgeable than me to either rubbish or tweak.

 

In terms of mowing I have been told not to do so for 4 - 6 weeks, and when I do to do it on the highest setting...

I have been watering in the evening so giving it chance to soak through overnight before the next days sun. It was certainly wet under the ones I checked.

 

there are lots of conflicting methods

if you water via sprinkler, it takes a long time to distribute the water (next time you use a sprinkler, place a plastic bowl (such as a cake tin) on the lawn, and see how long it takes to reach 10mm) .... thats why I prefer to use a hand held nozzle

herewith one site's recomendations:
http://www.rolawndirect.co.uk/aftercare-watering_turf_drainage.html

snip:
How Often - Your turf needs water when it is growing. Therefore, during those months when you are mowing your grass, you should ensure that the turf is watered sufficiently. Generally speaking, during the months of June-September you should water mature turf about once a week. New turf may require watering twice a day for the first week, then 2-3 times a week, then, after 3-6 weeks, once a week. Once your turf is established, it is best to water it well before noon, so it will dry off before evening. During the spring and autumn, the turf will require much less water than the summer, and during the winter the turf does not need to be watered at all.

Bear in mind, that we are still in the beginning of spring and we have had some cold days this week (it was nearly minus 5 here in Cambridge this morning)

from what I understand, grass 'actively' grows when the min temp is 6 degrees C .... so it may still be a couple of weeks before that happens .... by that time, it may have settled

and as you mention, if it only needs watering once a week, that can easily be achieved via watering cans

also bear in mind that the 'open window' for watering newly laid turf was 28 days ..... so obviously, the water companies would have beed advised on this figure (I doubt they will let you water for 28 days, then let the lawn die?)

we had good rain in Cambridge this week (over 7mm), and I believe this was nationwide? .... More rain is predicted this week

so, my advice is don't overwater .... watch the grass, you will know it needs extra water, as it will start to go brown ... and if you feel it needs extra, then add accordingly

grass is pretty hardy

that's my advice, but research and decide for yourself