Proper ground preparation is essential for the establishment and future well-being of your new lawn. Inadequately prepared ground will never produce the best results.

First you will need to kill all the existing plants and weeds in the new lawn area. You can either remove the weeds by hand i.e. digging them up or you can use a weed killer such as glphosphate trade name tumbleweed or round up.

We don't often recommend chemical weed killers but in the case of lawns using a small amount at the beginning can save a whole lot of chemicals being used later to try to control existing weeds.

Ideally you should hoe or spray the weeds and leave the ground for a couple of weeks to see is any further weed try to establish themselves.
After digging over the site to mix in some compost and condition the soil, break down any lumps. Make sure the area is free from weeds, stones and any debris.

Rake the soil, first in one direction and then at right angles until the area is level. After three to four weeks, pick off any stones that have worked their way to the surface and hoe off any weed seedlings.

Once the seeds have been sown, they'll need to be protected. Fencing off the site from people and dogs will afford some protection. An ultrasonic deterrent can be used to ward off cats. Buying treated seed, affixing a humming line, or covering the area with brushwood or netting will also discourage birds.

Germination time will vary depending on several factors but generally the various seeds in the mixture will take around 5 - 28 days for complete germination. Not only will the new grass grow, but so will any broad-leaved and grass weed seed present in the soil.

Once leaf blade growth reaches 35-45mm, roll the surface of the lawn to anchor the roots of the new shoots (they are easily pulled out of the soil) and to press any stones back into the soil, mow the lawn with a very sharp bladed mower set to remove no more than 25% of the leaf blade length, remove the mowings whilst cutting ( a rotary mower is ideal).

During the first 12 months of establishment do not mow any closer than 25mm.

If the lawn was spring sown, growth will be vigorous. Mow at least twice a week, taking care to maintain the same mowing height.

Read lawn mowing Do's and Don'ts.

After the first 12 months of lawn establishment, a closer mowing regime may be commenced (provided the mixture mowing guidelines allow it - some grasses will die out if mown too close). Remember, the density of the grasses in the lawn will be improved by increasing the frequency of mowing. A lax mowing frequency will produce a lawn where the soil can be seen between the grasses and in these gaps weeds and moss will grow.

Holidays
If it is unavoidable that the lawn is left to grow without mowing (such as holiday periods or terrible weather), make sure that you do not cut back the lawn to its original maintained height of cut in one pass as this will seriously damage the lawn. Reduce the height of cut gradually over a period until the original height of cut is achieved - you may well still lose some sward density, but you will not permanently damage the lawn.