Turf & Seed Quality

Whichever you decide on, whether grass seed or turf, you now need to decide what kind you want and need!

As a rule, you will find the bulk of grass seed is split into three types: family or utility lawns, gardeners or landscape lawns, and finally ornamental or croquet lawns. These types are discussed on the next page. Turf may be a little more restrictive, but with a bit of effort, most can be sourced. Be careful with so-called luxury garden turf—it may not mean what you think it does!

If your soil, climate, or local environment is problematic, you may need turf or grass seed for dry or shady lawns.

Grass Seed Quality

Purity (weed-free) and age are perhaps the most important. Boxes and bags of lawn grass seed without dates can be years old, so go for something bagged in the last 12 to 18 months. Look for the ‘green label’ certification on bags over 5 kilos to ensure they meet the highest standards. Grass seed in the Lawnsmith Shop meets these criteria.

Lawn Turf Quality

To check out lawn turf:

• Smell it; if you smell rotting vegetation, don’t buy it!
• Check it for weeds. If you see any, don’t buy it!
• Pick up a roll by one end. If it falls apart, don’t buy it!
• Hold it up to the light. If you can see through it, don’t buy it!

If you buy ‘sight unseen’ or buy turf online the delivery will be from a local supplier so you still retain the right to refuse poor quality goods. The moral here is to buy good turf from a reputable supplier rather than cheap turf. That way you will pay perhaps 10% more but have next to no problems.

A word about rye grass

Somewhere along the line, rye grass seems to have gotten a bad name for itself. I don’t know why or when, but today’s dwarf amenity rye grass species are beautiful, giving by far the best green that a grass can have. If you don’t want a bowling green and your soil is neither extremely wet nor extremely dry, then having some rye grass content in your lawn turf or grass seed mixture will make for a great-looking lawn.