Laying turf in a weedy garden

[Never_Enough]

Hi guys.

I am laying a new lawn in my garden in May, however I have a few concerns.

The ground is almost entirely weeds, mostly Dandeloin, Thistle, Ragwort etc with some sporadic grass.

I dug them all up the best I could and disposed in a skip, then covered the ground with tarpaulin over the winter.

My plan was to use a tiller first to break up the ground and then add in around 2-3 tonnes of topsoil prior to laying the turf.

Should this keep most of the weeds away, or will they work their way through the turf. Does anyone have any ideas of what else could help?

Thanks

 

[Tetters]

Welcome to the forum @Never_Enough. Sorry you`ve had to wait so long for a reply !!

If I were you I would forget the tiller at the moment. Lift the tarp, and wait for a couple of weeks to see what comes through (if anything) you have done all the right things so far, and have probably got rid of most of the problems. Tilling at this stage would simply chop any rhizome type weed roots and make them spring back into life again.


Although generally I do not use any poisons, on this occasion it would be worth having some glyphosate to hand in case there are still perennial weeds to get rid of. If any do come through, this is the time of year when they will have lovely new growth that will take up the herbicide quickly and be destroyed in a week or two. The glyphosate is neutralised when it hits the ground (that`s what it says on the packet)

Once your new lawn is established, regular mowing (blades high to start) will help to keep any stragglers to a minimum.

Wishing you a lovely new lawn