The First 48 Hours
Your new turf was cut from a field, rolled up, stacked on a pallet, transported to your home, and laid on unfamiliar soil. It's stressed. The roots have been severed and the grass is relying entirely on whatever moisture is in the roll. What you do in the first 48 hours determines whether it thrives or dies.
Water Immediately and Heavily
As soon as each section is laid, water it. Don't wait until the whole lawn is finished. Each roll needs enough water to soak through the turf and into the soil beneath — you should be able to peel back a corner and see moisture in the top 25-50mm of soil underneath.
How much water? Roughly 20-25 litres per square metre, which is more than most people think. A standard garden hose delivers about 15 litres per minute, so a 50m² lawn needs roughly an hour and a half of continuous watering on day one.
Check for Air Pockets
Walk carefully (on boards, not directly on the turf) and look for any areas where the turf isn't sitting flat on the soil. Air pockets underneath will dry out the roots and kill the grass in patches. Firm these down gently with the back of a rake.
Week 1: The Critical Watering Period
Daily Watering Schedule
Water every single day during the first week. In warm weather (above 18°C), water twice daily — early morning and late afternoon. Each watering should deliver enough to soak through the turf. The key test: peel back a corner of the turf. If the soil underneath is dry, you're not watering enough.
Morning watering (before 10am) is the most important. It gives the grass all day to absorb moisture before the heat of the afternoon.
Evening watering (after 4pm) is the top-up. Avoid watering after dark — grass sitting wet overnight is vulnerable to fungal diseases.
Signs You're Not Watering Enough
- Turf edges curling upward
- Gaps appearing between rolls as turf shrinks
- Grass turning a blue-grey colour (this is the early warning — before it goes brown)
- Turf feels light when you lift a corner
Signs You're Overwatering
- Puddles sitting on the surface that don't drain within an hour
- Soil underneath is waterlogged and squelchy
- A sour, boggy smell
- Turf sliding or moving when you walk near it
Week 2: Reducing Water and Checking Root Growth
The Root Test
By day 10-14, your turf should be starting to root into the soil beneath. Test this by gently tugging a corner of a turf roll. If you feel resistance, roots are establishing. If it lifts away cleanly like a carpet, the roots haven't taken — keep watering and check again in a few days.
Once roots are establishing, reduce watering to every other day, but give a deeper soak each time. You're training the roots to grow downward looking for moisture rather than staying at the surface.
Stay Off It
This is the hardest part. Your new lawn looks beautiful and you want to use it. Don't. Every footstep on un-rooted turf disrupts the delicate root tips trying to penetrate the soil. Two weeks minimum, three weeks ideally. Keep children and dogs off entirely.
Week 3-4: First Mow
When to Mow
Your first mow should happen when the grass reaches about 40-50mm in height (roughly 2 inches). This usually happens 2-3 weeks after laying, depending on the time of year and weather. Don't leave it longer than this — overgrown grass becomes stressed when you finally cut it.
How to Mow
- Set the mower to its highest setting. You want to remove no more than the top third of the grass blade. For a first cut, this typically means cutting at 35-40mm.
- Make sure the blades are sharp. Blunt mower blades tear the grass rather than cutting it cleanly, which stresses the plant and creates entry points for disease.
- Use a rotary mower, not a cylinder mower for the first few cuts. Cylinder mowers can pull up turf that isn't fully rooted.
- Collect the clippings for the first few mows. A mat of clippings on new turf blocks light and traps moisture against the leaves, encouraging disease.
- Mow when the grass is dry. Wet grass clogs the mower and gives an uneven cut.
After the First Mow
Gradually lower the cutting height over subsequent mows, dropping by 5mm each time until you reach your preferred height. For most garden lawns, 25-35mm is the sweet spot. Never cut more than one third of the grass height in a single mow — this is the golden rule of mowing, not just for new turf but for all lawns.
Week 6-8: First Feed
Why Wait?
New turf doesn't need feeding immediately. The turf was grown in a field with professional-grade nutrition, and you (hopefully) applied a pre-turf fertiliser before laying. Feeding too early can actually scorch young roots.
What to Apply
Use a balanced lawn fertiliser — something with roughly equal parts nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). In spring and summer, a feed with slightly higher nitrogen promotes leaf growth. In autumn, choose a feed with higher potassium to toughen the grass for winter.
Apply at the rate stated on the packet. More is not better — over-feeding burns the grass and creates a flush of soft, weak growth that's vulnerable to disease.
How to Apply
Use a spreader for even coverage. Hand-broadcasting fertiliser almost always leads to uneven distribution — dark green stripes where you threw too much and pale patches where you missed. A basic drop spreader costs £20-30 and pays for itself by avoiding wasted fertiliser and scorched patches.
Water the lawn after feeding if rain isn't expected within 24 hours. Fertiliser granules sitting on dry grass leaves can burn them.
Common Mistakes That Kill New Turf
Not Watering Enough
This kills more new lawns than everything else combined. People underestimate how much water new turf needs, especially in warm weather. If in doubt, water more.
Letting the Dog Out Too Soon
Dog urine is concentrated nitrogen. On established grass it causes temporary yellow patches. On un-rooted new turf it kills the grass stone dead. Keep dogs off for at least 3-4 weeks, ideally longer.
Mowing Too Short Too Soon
Scalping new turf removes the leaf area the plant needs for photosynthesis, just when it's trying to establish roots. Keep it long for the first month, then gradually bring it down.
Ignoring Gaps Between Rolls
If you notice gaps appearing between turf rolls in the first few days, brush fine topsoil or sandy loam into them immediately. Left open, the edges dry out, shrink further, and die back — leaving permanent visible lines in your lawn.
Laying Turf on Compacted Soil
If you skipped the ground preparation and laid turf straight onto compacted earth, the roots struggle to penetrate. You might get away with it in autumn when conditions are forgiving, but in spring or summer it's a recipe for failure. If the turf isn't rooting after 3 weeks, the problem is almost certainly the soil beneath.