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A gardener walks away with a manual cylinder mower, cutting the first strip in a dense young lawn; a wooden fence and lavender bed stand to the right, with a young tree behind in low evening sunlight.

Soil and lawn establishment

Care for a new lawn: from germination to the first cut

How to adjust watering as roots grow, care for young grass, deal with weeds and bare patches, and recognise the right moment for the first cut.

A gardener in the evening sun mixes pale washed sand with dark screened soil using a spade directly on the prepared area; beside them are a wheelbarrow of sand and paper sacks, with a wooden fence and lavender in the background.

Soil and lawn establishment

How to mix soil for a lawn: ratios for clay, loam and sand

Model volume ratios for three gardens, incorporation depths and conditions for use. How to choose amendment rates and keep the components adding up to 100 %.

A gardener in evening sunlight pulls a levelling rake across a spread mixture of soil and sand; a smooth strip remains behind it, with cloddy soil still on the left. Black irrigation pipe lies along the fence, with topsoil set aside on a sheet and a patio behind.

Soil and lawn establishment

How to prepare soil for a lawn before sowing

How to prepare soil for a lawn: loosening the subsoil, mixing, settling and levelling. Check whether your seedbed is ready for sowing.

A gardener facing away waters freshly sown dark soil with a gentle spray from a hose; droplets shine in low evening sunlight, with a wooden fence and shrubs behind.

Soil and lawn establishment

How to sow a lawn: timing, seeding rate and first watering

How to choose the timing by soil temperature, prepare a seedbed, calculate the seeding rate and sow evenly. Including fertiliser, mycorrhiza and first watering.

Materials delivered onto a sheet at the edge of a garden: a large pile of sand beside a smaller pile of dark soil, with paper sacks of amendments stacked on the grass nearby, a fence around the garden and low morning sunlight.

Soil and lawn establishment

Lawn soil calculator: how much sand, soil and amendments do you need?

Calculate sand, soil and amendments from your lawn area and soil depth. Separate materials to bring in, retain and remove, with conversions to tonnes, litres and bags.

Piles of materials ready on bare garden ground before mixing a lawn soil mixture: pale washed sand and dark sieved soil, with a hedge, wooden fence and lawn behind in low evening sunlight.

Soil and lawn establishment

Sand, biochar, zeolite and Actino: what your soil needs

When to add sand, biochar, zeolite or Actino to lawn soil, and when to leave them out. Compare their roles and find out what to check before buying.

A test pit in a lawn, as deep as a spade blade: the spade stands upright in the pit with the top of its blade level with the turf and its tip at the bottom. The wall reveals dark topsoil above a pale compacted layer, where roots turn sideways.

Soil and lawn establishment

How to assess the soil beneath your lawn: three tests before you sow

A feel test, inspection pit and infiltration test reveal soil type, compaction and the path of water. Find out what to check before establishing a lawn.