New lawn

Hi, first post, new to gardening so know very little.

What I'd like to do is turn this (upto the trees on either side) into a lawn ASAP (ideally for this spring/summer) and need an action plan. Any steps on how I go about converting it would be very much appreciated.

 

@Stenley A couple of questions.
1) Where abouts in the UK are you?
2) Which way does the garden face?
3) Do you know what the soil is like?
4) What sort of lawn do you want, bowling green, football pitch or?
Essentially remove any rubbish, dig out any weeds and other plants. Then level it, removing stones as you go.
Turf would probably be the quickest.
I'm sure more detailed advice will appear, but the above should keep you busy for a few days.

 

As above, would dig over, remove any debris, stones, roots; cut back the leylandii & laurel roots especially. Appears to be old established plot so add small amount of organic matter* as you go.
Rake to achieve level suface. allow to settle (4 weeks min) Remove any weed seedlings by hoeing on a dry day, and then :
Rerake to correct any settlement.
Seed from late March or turf when weather permits.Select type of seed or turf according to your intended use. Seed is easier/cheaper but not so 'instant'.
(3 days work preparation and 1 to turf)
Keep off it when wet/until grass needs first cut. Protect from pets and kids until fully established, mow or use only when dry.
Consider whether a path is desirable to access the remaining garden; design in and create at same time.

*may be old compost heap/leaves at bottom of garden ??

 

1. South Manchester
2. East facing
3. Not really
4. a nice lush green grass probably more like a football pitch than a bowling green.

 

1. When you say "organic matter", what you you recommend I buy?
2. do i rake over the grass that is already there?
3. What is settling and why does it take 4 weeks?
4. I plan to seed and it will just be a garden lawn, no heavy use expected, no pets, so what grass seed should I use?

 

I think dig it up with the rest of the area as you don't know whats under it.

When you dig it over and level it you break the soil up and there is a lot of air in it. The soil settles down into the gaps over time. If you don't leave it to settle and then rerake it will settle after the grass is sown and you'll get an uneven grass.
As infradig said above check the bottom of the garden for compost, old compost heap, in black dalek?
What's the plan for the rest of the garden and are you going to want a path down to the rest of the garden; if so I'd at least mark it out at this stage.

 

1) Any well rotted organic material- FYM, decayed grass,leaf mould, mushroom compost, or a mixture of same. Puts essential humus to hold nutrients and water for planted grass.
2) No, ideally dig over the entire area to achieve fine level surface by subsequent raking
3) literally the action of rainfall and gravity !
Gives time for weed seeds to germinate and be gone.
4) Assuming its not heavily shaded by trees, an amenity mix such as this:
All Grass Seed Products Archives
Sow at 25-40 grams per sq metre.

 

Here's a video of Alan Titchmarsh making a lawn from seed (although the preparation is the same for turf). Don't skimp on the digging over, removing roots etc and firming before you rake the surface level, if you want good results.

 

That's a barbecue :-)

 

I've just watched the video, thanks. Seems pretty straight forward but he doesn't mention anything about aerator, tilling, topsoil, fertiliser or compost. Are these steps/things not needed?

 

If you dig properly you don't need to use a tiller or aerator - the digging does the job (arguably better - using a tiller can leave a hard layer below the depth that it reaches, which can impede drainage). Aerating is really for existing lawns that have got compacted, for example I regularly spike the strip that I walk on to hang out the washing, just with a long fork, to lift the inevitable compaction.

Topsoil/compost are not needed unless the original topsoil has been removed (as in new-builds) or is naturally really thin and poor. If you do use it, I think it's better to dig it in rather than spreading a separate layer , to encourage the grass to root well and to allow drainage to be good. Fertiliser might help if the soil is depleted but I don't think it's essential. You can feed an existing lawn to encourage growth, and you can top-dress an existing lawn with fresh topsoil/compost/sand usually a mixture, but for an ordinary utility type of lawn (not a bowling green) neither are really essential.

Being a bit cynical, I think some of the stuff that's out there on the internet seems to prioritise chucking money at things over hard work.

 

Better get cracking with the hard work then....thanks all :-)