Laying turf in December. Advice needed.

KWN

Hi All. Newbie here.

My front garden is currently landscaped with stones/gravel and I plan to have this removed and have turf laid in mid-late December. The garden landscaper doing the work said it would be fine laying turf at this time of year. They turfed my rear garden in the summer and did a decent job, so I don't have any reason not to believe them.

I Googled whether laying turf in December is okay and the results seemed to indicate it is. However, most of the results were from websites where they sell turf, so the sceptical side of me thinks they would say that! 

It's obviously difficult to predict what the weather will be like 2-3 weeks from now, but currently for the week commencing the 12th we're looking at highs of about 4 and lows of 0 or -1.

Does anyone else have any experience of turf laying at this time of year? Is it a bad idea? Any advice/tips would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Perki

I've laid turf down late / early before , as long as the ground isn't frozen it fine. They probably won't be able to lay turf anyway if the weather changes to frost/wet before its due because turf will not be lifted. Summer is the season turf isn't recommend to be laid mainly due to it drying out .

KWN

Perki said:

I've laid turf down late / early before , as long as the ground isn't frozen it fine. They probably won't be able to lay turf anyway if the weather changes to frost/wet before its due because turf will not be lifted. Summer is the season turf isn't recommend to be laid mainly due to it drying out .

Thanks. I was concerned that the turf wouldn't root into the soil properly when the temperature is that low.

fidgetbones

I'd wait until March. Apparently we are due a beast from the East.

Simone_in_Wiltshire

It depends where you live, but here in Wiltshire, we expect a couple of days cold temperature, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get a colder snowy winter this year. I would wait until the worst of the winter is over.

McRazz

The best advice i can offer is find a reliable and reputable supplier who can provide you with fresh, good quality turf. I think i've lost count of the number of pallets we've rejected from big reputable suppliers because they've fermented or been skinned too thin. 

I'm not sure how big your garden is but its likely the pallet(s) of turf will be drawn from stock, so it might be best to call the supplier and ask when they receive their stock and/or when it gets lifted from the field.

We lay 12 months of the year and the only issues we've ever had are related to poor preparation.

The cold can stop us but only because the suppliers can't lift the turf from their fields when its frozen. 

R

AnniD

A lot depends on whereabouts you are in the UK , but as long as the soil isn't frosty or waterlogged l think you should be OK.
Generally speaking we have had a very mild Autumn and are only just heading into Winter. As @McRazz says a lot also depends on the quality and thickness of the turves.

If the weather turns particularly cold in the next week or two you might want to rethink. 

KWN

Thanks for the advice everyone. It looks like it's going to get quite a bit colder in the coming weeks so I think I'll wait until March.

KT53

Perki said:

I've laid turf down late / early before , as long as the ground isn't frozen it fine. They probably won't be able to lay turf anyway if the weather changes to frost/wet before its due because turf will not be lifted. Summer is the season turf isn't recommend to be laid mainly due to it drying out .

They shouldn't lay turf if the ground is frosted or very wet, but the turf may have been lifted a couple of days before delivery.  That is unlikely to happen with a reputable company but I've seen some of the carp laid in the gardens of new build houses.

Cloggie

I am so pleased I didn't lay our turf in March when we were ready as it would have fried in the heatwave!  Instead I used the hot days to de-weed the topsoil by hoeing in the sun.  A couple of weeks ago I saw some turf being advertised locally on Facebook second-hand so this kicked me into action.  There were only six rolls left when I picked them up at a bargain price.  

I asked who the supplier was and it was coincidentally the same company I was thinking of using.  When the chap delivered the remaining rolls I needed (6 was way under!) he noted the six were from the other field.  Blimey, I thought, this guy knows his turf!!

There's nothing as motivating as the threat of expensive rolls of turf fermenting on your drive so I quickly got them laid around the original six.

I think if your guy seems to "know his turf" then I'd trust him.  Waiting until March could be a mistake.  My whole installation has now knitted together and had lovely lots of rain to settle it.  Of course your experience may differ but thought I'd share.

KT53

Hopefully your lovely new turf doesn't have plastic netting in it to stop it falling apart.  The netting is used by many suppliers because it allows them to cut the turf thinner.