Laying turf over 2 weekends

Good Morning,

I am planning on rotavating my garden on Saturday to break up the clay soil that I have. Then I was going to rotavate some pea gravel into the Earth to help with drainage.

Ideally, I will then lay some compost on top of the gravel and lay the lawn. But the chances of me doing all of this over one weekend are slim. So, my question is, once I rotavate in the gravel, should I cover the land until I’m ready to turf it? If so, what should I cover it with? I’m just thinking about the British weather and what a lot of rainfall (that we are subject to in Manchester) will do if I have to spread the job over 2 weekends.

Thanks in advance.

Nick

 

I would use sharp sand rather than gravel to open up clay soil. I would not cover it but take your chances with the weather. With it being May it will soon dry out again if it gets rained on. Also as it's clay and likely damp and cloddy, it should dry out, covering it with plastic is not a great idea, IMO.

 

Thanks for coming back to me. Could I just ask why you would use sharp sand rather than gravel?

 

I think sand will aerate it better; also the worms will incorporate it into the clay. But best of all for loosing up and improving clay soil is lots and lots of whatever organic matter you have. I've gardened on clay for 40 years and it is actually pretty fertile once you can unlock the nutrients. I'm a fan of farmyard manure but use whatever you can get.