How to Renovate Turf

It can really be a tough job to renovate turf, even tougher than you have igined. In fact, it means that you will have to match new turf to the turf that already exists.
If the homeowner has decided to start with a seeded lawn, it develops a much better turf over several years than a sodden yard does. However, no matter if you are planning to set turf on new construction or to set landscape elements on an existing lawn you need to have the appropriate renovation methods which work for turf-grass in your area. Having a basic knowledge on how to renovate turf is a must.
The main challenge with turf renovation is the typical development scenario where a developer comes in and strips off the topsoil to about 95 percent so it can support the structure. Then they come back with a 4-inch layer of topsoil over the compacted fill dirt; that’s a recipe for drainage issues down the road because the water has nowhere to go.

Know Your Turf Grass

First of all, once you decide to layer some other soils, such as topsoil over compacted fill, you should know that you have to saturate the top soil before it drains to the layer below. More often than not, we face serious topsoil depth challenges since, due to the wetness, poor soils limit our effectiveness onsite. Therefore, you should focus on enhancing the stability of the surface and drainage in order to grow good turf without trimming it off from mower tires or from people walking on the slope.
On the other hand, if you want to install turf on an existing lawn, and you want to put in a patio you must over-dig the area where you’re laying the brick or stone to make sure it gets strong placement. Usually, plywood is put down across the yard to bring in small pieces of equipment – cutting down on a lot of ruts and turf may damage an existing lawn. As a matter of fact, it’s only a minor repair if you know how to protect the turf. All you have to do is to sprinkle a little grass seed and some topsoil, and it will grow back in nicely.
The first step you should take is to aerate. This includes two passes with a core aerator and a top-dressing with a 60-percent sand/40-percent compost mix. Yet, during first year it will be hard to see the benefit, but after three to five years you’re providing a way for the water to drain away from the surface and into the bottom layer.
However, as this happens with any turf, it comes to a climax situation when non-desirable grasses may infiltrate. When you overseed, you are trying to fill in areas from which you removed weeds or areas that were killed or damaged thus increasing the desirable species within your turf.
Still, some homeowners use chemicals and spray on their lawns, thinking it won’t do any damage to the grass itself. They should have in mind that it is necessary to read the chemical instructions first before they apply them to turf grass. There are certain chemicals for particular issues, so sometimes they can ruin the lawn and then you must replace them.
As previously mentioned, this undertaking might seem easy at first, but you must have a thorough knowledge about how to renovate turf if you want your project to go as smooth as possible.

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