The Lawn Pack - Starting From Scratch
Follow this guide to make sure your new lawn is a success!
If you need assistance or clarification with anything please get in touch here.
If you purchased the The Lawn Pack Plus for extra seed and you are overseeding your existing lawn rather than starting from scratch, please refer to the The Lawn Pack guides instead.
1. Remove old lawn/weeds/moss
You may already have a lawn which needs removing before you get started on your new lawn.
In this instance you should spray glyphosate to kill off the whole area. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide so make sure not to spray it on anything you don’t want to kill off. Roundup is one brand of glyphosate which is commonly used but they should all be the same.
After spraying, wait two weeks and rake or scarify out all the dead material. Treat again if there are any surviving plants.
You can also remove any large stones at this point if there are any.
2. Drainage
If drainage has been an issue for your lawn in the past then you should consider aerating the soil at this stage or in extreme cases installing a drainage system. More information can be found about aeration in the Ground Preparation guide.
3. Apply topsoil
Spread a decent amount of quality topsoil (around an inch is fine) across the whole area.
If you want to raise the height of any areas then do so now with more topsoil.
4. Levelling and compacting
Make sure that the lawn is as level as you can make it as it is difficult to sort out once the new lawn has grown. You can use a lawn lute, the back of a rake or fashion your own device if necessary.
Compact the lawn by walking over it or using a heavy roller. You may want to do multiple passes to make sure it is compact.
5. Loosen the top layer
To provide maximum seed to soil contact you now need to loosen the top layer (¼ of an inch roughly). Carry this out using a rake gently and you can try to create channels for the seed to sit in at the same time.
6. Apply the products
Now you are ready to apply your products.
1. Stronger Roots Grass Seed & Mycorrhizal Seed Enhancer
Mix Mycorrhizal Seed Enhancer with the seed in the seed bag.
Spread the grass seed using a spreader or by hand. Ensure there is an even coverage across the lawn. Spread at 50g/m2. There is no problem with exceeding these amounts particularly in thinner areas. There should be 10g/m2 left over for any bare patches later on.
Walk in lines from one end of the lawn to the other to ensure even coverage. Doing multiple passes of the lawn helps even coverage (one can be up and down and the other can be side to side).
Rake the seed in gently to the top layer of soil and compact gently with a roller or by treading it in with your feet.
2. Seeding Success Fertiliser
Scatter the Seeding Success Fertiliser using a spreader. You can apply by hand (with gloves) but you must ensure an even coverage across the lawn or it will lead to uneven growth and potential scorching.
Try to not exceed the application amounts for your lawn size which are stated on the label.
Walk in lines from one end of the lawn to the other to ensure even coverage. Doing multiple passes of the lawn helps even coverage (one can be up and down and the other can be side to side).
3. Watering
The lawn will need watering immediately after applying The Lawn Pack. A light watering with a fine spray to moisten the top couple inches of soil will do.
7. Watering
You can now follow the Aftercare guide to care for your new seed.
Make sure not to disturb the seed distribution too much when you are watering.
8. Additional Products
1. Biostimulant Booster (Week 4 onwards)
Apply the biostimulant after your new lawn has established (4 weeks or so) to strengthen the roots and condition the turf.
Our biostimulants can be applied using a watering can with a fine rose head or using a pump/pressure sprayer.
The biostimulants must be diluted in water before application. The amount of water and biostimulant required for your lawn size is on the label. Mix well in your chosen container before application.
2. Deeper Green Iron Sulphate (Week 8 onwards)
Iron sulphate can be used for moss control (5g per SQM diluted in water) or for greening up the lawn and hardening the turf to make it more durable (2.5g per SQM diluted in water). You shouldn't have any moss so soon after seeding so you are likely to be using the low dose.
We have included enough for a high dose or two low doses in the pack.
Please refer to the Iron Sulphate guide for application methods and dilution rates.
Additional Notes
- Birds. Protect from birds if needed using netting, a germination sheet, sound deterrents, visual deterrents (shiny moving objects such as CDs/shiny/tape attached to string on sticks).