How to look after a newly laid lawn?

Batesy

Just had the garden done and a new lawn laid. Whats the best way to look after the grass.

You can see all the areas where the turf has been cut and joined.
Do I need to water it?
How long should I leave it before I cut it etc.?

Any help appreciated.

muggyog

I dont think watering is currently an issue. You might feed it with a general purpose fertiliser to bring it along. Maybe one with more Nitrogen ( the N bit of the NPK ) for growth. Leave it alone to settle for the moment if it is very newly laid but when you do cut start off with the mower blade set high ( i.e. cutting very little ). Like a lot of plants, grass will be stimulated to grow by cutting a little, often.

Sonnenblumen

New lawn should not be treated for at leats 6 months. Preliminary groundworks would normally involve rotovation, rolling and feeding prior to laying new sod.

It is important that lawn is watered during dry spells, and be free of traffic for at least 2 weeks to enable sods to root etc. Joints opening or becoming very visible is usually a sign of drying out, in which case lawn should be watered. lf gaps (> 25 mm) appear between sods, these are easily rectifiedby backflling with a 50:50 mix of compost and soil. Seeding shouldn't be necessary as the grass will quickly spread to cover gaps.

Important that initial cut is marginal, ie set mower blades at highest point and at midpoint for subsequent cuts for next 3 months. Cutting tighter will only put pressure on new sod especially during fine weather spells which could lead to scorching etc.

Lush green lawns are very attractive aspect to any garden, but regularly light cutting, feeding (bets use liquid feeds) and watering will yield great results.

Note at a minimum lawns require a Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter feed.