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Should I Turf My Lawn or Buy Seed?

Should I buy turf or seed?

If your lawn isn’t looking great (or non-existant) you may ask yourself, “should I buy turf or seed?”

If you are faced with the choice between buying grass seed or turf here are the key things you need to know:

COSTS


Grass seed is cheaper than turf

TIME

Turf will be an instant lawn look and ready to use in 3-6 weeks, whereas seed will take around 6-12 months to mature.

HASSLE

With seed you need to protect against birds who may eat it and cats who will use it as a lavatory. You also need to wait for seed to germinate and it can be uneven and slower at times of the year.  Also you need to choose the right seed mix for you. It may also germinate weeds!

Seed needs to be sown evenly (not the easiest of jobs )

Turf is perishable.  You need to ideally lay it as quickly as possible.  It requires some muscle and effort to lay (but is a great work out)!

PLUS POINTS

Seed can be stored easily until the weather is right.  It’s very easy to sow, you don’t need to put too much effort into it and you don’t get as dirty!

Turf is easy to lay and your lawn will look great quickly and be usable in a few weeks.  You are not at risk from birds eating it or cats digging at the soil. You don’t have to choose the seed mix, we have done that already.

 

So what is your decision?  Should you buy turf or seed?

We hope this helps you and if we can help with your turf needs do have a look at the online calculator to see how much turf you need or call the office we are based near Harwich Essex, and deliver all over Essex and Suffolk.

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Improve your soil with Manure

Now is a great time to add manure to your garden. You can layer it on nice and thick and cover the soil. This acts as a great protective layer to your soil making sure none of the goodness is lost. Left over the winter the worms will do most of the work for you and come the spring you can simply turn the soil over and its ready to plant. as the years go by it is great to see so many of our customers returning to us for Manure to repeat this process. We think manure is a great way to add structure and nutrition to your soil in the most natural way. What ever jobs you are doing in the garden this Autumn, remember the number one rule…have fun!

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Schools out for the Summer!

It’s been a great first half of the year at Oakley Turf Farm. With new family members and product lines, it’s a really exciting period for our family-run company.

To celebrate this success we want to thank and reward our community. Simply subscribe to our newsletter and you will receive a discount code. Leave your email here if you want to be part of it and we look forward to hearing from you.


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New product line launched today

Whether you need turf for your family garden, something more tolerable or maybe a more professional purpose, then our new range of garden turf will have an option that suits you.

The new products, Family Garden Turf, Ornamental Garden Turf and Hard Wearing Garden Turf offer you a range that means that no matter what you are looking for in your turf, we’ve got you covered.

Take a look around on our website https://old.oakleyturf.com/product-category/turf/ or call Kieran and the team to find out more.

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Kieran’s Garden Advice – March

It has been a pretty cold and wet start to the month but warm weather is hopefully just around the corner. If you haven’t managed to get your mower serviced yet, get this booked in at your local Toolhire shop ASAP. As soon as the weather warms up your grass will start to grow.

  • First Cut. When mowing your lawn for the first time this year it is important to adjust your mower to a high setting so that you just “top” the grass. You should never cut more than 1/3 of the total length of the grass. The trick is to start high and then reduce this as we move further into Spring.
  •  Don’t rush in. March may be the official start to spring but Winter can have a sting in the tail. There may be a few frosts yet to come and temperatures may not warm up straight away. If this is the case then hold back. Mowing too much in cold weather can cause a lawn to yellow.

I hope you find this advice helpful and stay tuned for more monthly lawn care tips.

Kieran Phelan

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Kieran’s Garden Advice – February

Much of what you can do in February will depend on the type of winter weather we are experiencing. If there is 3 feet of snow on the ground then concentrate on keeping warm and working on your snowman building. On the other hand if it turns out to be a relatively dry and mild month there are jobs that can be done.

  • Aerating. As we covered in January, too much use of a lawn through the winter such as walking backwards and forwards, kids playing, pets wandering about all help to compact the soil. This will then prevent rain water from draining properly and can seriously stunt the lawns growth. The simplest thing you can do do is to spike or aerate the ground. This will improve drainage and prevent wet muddy areas forming. Try using a hollow tine aerator to remove thin plugs of soil. Or you can spike the grpund with a garden fork down about 15cm/6″ deep. After spiking a few square metres, brush a dressing of sharp sand into the holes and spread a top dressing to help the grass root in the spring. Remember to use only sharp sand and never builder’s sand for this. This should only be done if weather conditions are mild and dry. Some years it may worth waiting till March.
  • Scarifying. If conditions are mild and dry now is a good time to scarify your lawn. There are plenty of tools you can hire or buy for this but a nice soft rake can work just as well. Remove any moss or thatch that has built up and allow your lawn to breathe. You may not see the benefit of this straight away but come spring your lawn will thrive.

I hope you find this advice helpful and stay tuned for more monthly lawn care tips.

Kieran Phelan

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Kieran’s Garden Advice – January

January might be cold and wet but lawns are never far from my mind. You may not be getting much use out of your lawn at this time of year but there are a few things that you can keep an eye on.

  •  Remove any dead leaves or debris that are laying on your lawn. These can cause brown patches if they lay on top of your lawn through the winter and may even help spread disease. Its not the most exciting of jobs but it can really help keep your lawn looking good and staying healthy.
  • Try to stay off your lawn when it is waterlogged or there is a heavy frost. This may seem obvious but its scary the amount of damage that can be caused by overuse of a lawn when it is too wet. Now is not the time for a football match in the back garden!
  • Get your lawn mower serviced and the blades sharpened. January wont be the month where your lawn mower will see much action but now is a great time to get it serviced. Sharpening the blades is extremely important. A blunt blade will hack at the grass causing bruising and this can leave your lawn looking brown or yellow.

I hope you find this advice helpful and stay tuned for more monthly lawn care tips.

Kieran Phelan

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Oakley Turf Take on Ironman UK

Ironman

Oakley Turf Farm Manager Kieran Phelan is taking on the epic endurance event Ironman UK. The Iron man is a long distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. The reason for this all is to help raise funds and awareness for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Support UK. Kieran said “It is going to be the hardest thing I have ever attempted, a race that is designed to test you to the limit but if we can raise some money and awareness for SMA then it will more than worth it. I will be racing with friends all in memory of Baby Nelle who lost her battle with SMA aged 4 months. We hope the money raised will help other families dealing with SMA”.


The event takes place in July 2016 so Kieran and the team have a long winter of training ahead of them. Good Luck and Go Team Nelle!!

 

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Oakley Turf Donate New Footballs

footballsyellowOakley Turf Farm has recently donated 17 new footballs to Harwich and Parkeston Football club. Harwich and Parkeston were broken into not once but twice over the Christmas period and a box of new footballs were taken. Oakley Turf decided to help out and replace the stolen footballs. We believe strongly in supporting local organisations and hope our donation will help the club move forward.