Frequently Asked Questions

Order at least three to four days before you plan to lay. Turf is a living product harvested to order, so we need notice to cut it fresh for your delivery date.

Yes. Collection is available at checkout as an alternative to delivery. Collections are from Grasslands Turf Farm, Ashford Road, Romney Marsh, Kent, TN28 8TH.

Retail deliveries arrive between 7:00 and 18:00 on your confirmed date. Specialist turf is only available for delivery on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

On pallets, placed at the kerbside. Deliveries are made by our own transport fleet or by carrier, depending on location. Our fleet includes ULEZ compliant E6 trucks with DVS compliance, a rigid vehicle for sites that articulated lorries cannot reach, and rear steer trailers for tighter access.

Tell us when you place your order. We run different vehicle types and can usually match one to your access, but we need to know in advance rather than on the day.

We can try, but if you ask us to deliver onto your driveway or garden we cannot accept liability for any damage caused. Kerbside is the standard and safest option.

Prices shown on product pages are exclusive of VAT. Delivery is selected separately at checkout and priced by location.

Yes. Trade customers can apply for terms and log in for trade pricing. Contact the office on 01797 367130 or [email protected].

Check your delivery as soon as it arrives and tell us within 24 hours if anything is short, damaged or not as it should be. Turf is perishable, so after that window we cannot reliably tell whether a problem started with us or on site. Where a claim is made in time we will either replace the affected turf or issue a credit.

Some variation is normal rather than a fault. Colour, density and growth rate change with the season, weather and soil, and because turf is field harvested rather than factory made you may find the occasional roll with a defect, which is what the 5% extra is for. In mixed products the balance of grass, clover and wildflower species varies between batches and shifts over time with your soil and mowing, so species lists are a guide rather than a guarantee. Roll size, thickness and weight also vary slightly.

We cannot cover turf that has deteriorated through late laying, incorrect storage or insufficient watering after delivery. If you are a consumer rather than a business, none of this affects your statutory rights.

The Turfgrass Growers Association recommends at least 100mm of topsoil for healthy grass growth. Where there is no subsoil, allow at least 300mm. Your lawn will ideally sit on 6cm to 15cm of good soil.

Rake in around 28g of bonemeal or general purpose compost fertiliser per square metre before the turf goes down.

The short answer is no, I’m afraid, due to lack of soil contact, poor rooting, and the old lawn decomposing underneath.

Our turf is grown on medium clay loam on Romney Marsh, so it is used to heavier ground. Clay sites still need proper preparation and drainage. Where drainage is poor, improve the soil structure before laying rather than laying onto compacted clay.

Our turf arrives chilled during the warmer months, so the advice is the opposite of what you will read elsewhere. Keep the pallets grouped tightly together and cover them with blankets or insulating material, both of which help hold the cold in. Store in shade if you can.

The standard advice you will find online, break the pallets down for airflow and never cover them, is written for unchilled turf where the problem is heat building up inside the stack. We have already dealt with that at source, so with our turf the job is keeping the cold rather than letting heat out.

One rule holds either way: never water turf while it is still rolled up. Moisture feeds the micro-organisms that generate the heat, so it makes the problem worse rather than better. Water it once it is unrolled and laid.

Sod heating is what happens when micro-organisms inside a roll use up the oxygen and start generating heat, which the roll then traps like insulation. Mild cases unroll yellow and floppy and usually recover with watering over a couple of weeks. Moderate cases show darker striping and a silage-like smell. Severe cases are black or grey with a strong odour and cannot be saved. Dark colouring on the underside of a fresh roll is usually just soil staining and washes off. If you find evidence of it, photograph it and contact us straight away. See our full article on sod heating and chilled delivery.

Dampen dry ground first and stay off the prepared surface. Start against a straight edge such as a path or patio. Lay rolls end to end, butted tightly together without stretching them. Stagger the joints so the pattern looks like brickwork, cutting long end pieces to start the next row. Work from boards. Firm down by light rolling or tamping, then water well. Leave final edge shaping until the lawn has established.

Our turf is harvested year round and can be laid at any time. Turf laid in cold winter months establishes more slowly. Warmer months root faster but need watering to get established.

Check with your own water company before you water. Newly laid turf has often been covered by an exemption, but the rules are set by each supplier and change with the terms of the individual ban, so what applies in one area may not apply in yours. Your supplier’s website is the only reliable source, and your local council may also publish guidance. If you are not sure who supplies your water, Water UK has a lookup tool.
It is worth keeping your proof of purchase, since exemptions are usually time limited from the date of installation and you may be asked to evidence it.

Stay off it for at least two to three weeks so the roots can establish. Use boards if you have to cross it before then.

Wait until the grass reaches 5cm to 7cm, then take off only the top third. Never cut more than a third of the leaf in one go.

Mushrooms and toadstools are usually harmless and often appear on newly laid lawns as organic matter breaks down in the soil. They typically disappear on their own. See our full article on mushrooms and toadstools in lawns.

Turf gives you an instant lawn with no waiting, no bare soil and no losses to birds or weather. Seed is cheaper per square metre but takes a full season to establish and needs far more management in that first year. For wildflower and clover mixes the gap is wider still, because establishing a balanced mix from seed is considerably less predictable.

Yes. Our turf is matured over a longer period without plastic webbing, which many growers use. Our wildflower range is field grown, so it does not need acres of single-use plastic as a separation layer.

Clover Plus. The DoubleRoot clover in it is more shade resilient than a grass monoculture lawn. Species Rich Turf also copes well with partial shade. No turf thrives in deep shade, so for heavily shaded ground improve the light levels first rather than expecting any lawn to compensate.

Clover Plus. It is more resistant to dog patching, the brown urine marks, than a grass monoculture lawn, and more tolerant of foot traffic. White clover is not toxic if nibbled. For very heavy use from large or numerous dogs, Rysport is the more hard-wearing surface.

Yes. Species Rich Turf is widely specified on schemes with biodiversity net gain requirements, and it is the product in our range best suited to them.

What we cannot do is tell you how it will score. Biodiversity net gain is calculated using the statutory biodiversity metric, and habitat type and condition are assessed by a qualified ecologist against Defra’s published criteria. No turf product can be certified as delivering BNG in its own right, and any supplier who tells you otherwise is overstating it. Condition also depends on how the habitat is managed over the 30 years it has to be secured for, which is outside our control.

Where Species Rich Turf helps is at the creation stage. You get an established, species-rich sward from the day it is laid, rather than bare ground that has to be seeded, nursed and monitored towards a target condition. Speak to your ecologist about how that fits your metric calculation. See our article on Species Rich Turf and complex specifications.