When can you mow new turf?

Ensuring new turf becomes the lush, green lawn you desire – requires more than just preparing the land and rolling it out. Turf needs to be actively maintained to ensure it becomes properly established, particularly in relation irrigation and ensuring the turf has sufficient nutrients to flourish.

But establishment and ongoing care are not just about what you add to the turf. Sometimes, what you take away is equally important, and what we mean by that is grass cuttings. Mowing is an essential part of taking care of turf and encouraging it to grow, particularly in relation to root development.

So, when can you start to mow new turf, and how often should you do it once you start?

Don’t cut turf if it is still rooting

Many people are surprised to learn that cutting turf fairly soon after it has been laid is generally recommended. This is because at this point in the turf’s development, all the energy is needed by the grass plants to develop roots, and not swards of the grass.

Cutting early gets rid of a proportion of the swards, ensuring moisture, nutrients and energy can be directed into developing the root system.

That said, the grass still needs green leaves to produce energy and glucose via photosynthesis, so if you cut too early – or too short – you risk the root mass not developing enough to secure the turf in place.

So, before deciding whether or not to cut new turf, it is vital to check it has properly rooted to the soil below. To do this, take a corner of the turf and try to peel it away from the ground. If it comes away easily, or it feels like you could pull it up without much effort, the turf is not yet properly rooted, so cutting it at this point would be counterproductive.

However, if the turf is fully secure and you’re unable to pull it up, it has rooted properly and might benefit from its first cut.

What the benefits of cutting turf?

The obvious reason to cut grass or turf of any age is to reduce the length of the swards and make it look neat and tidy. But cutting grass, particularly young grass, has other benefits too in that it makes the grass grow quicker and thicker, and helps root development.

Mowing turf in the weeks after it has taken root will enable the roots to spread, producing a denser root mass which is able to absorb more nutrients. This denser root mass also ensures the turf becomes even more tightly secured to the soil below, in effect become a fully-assimilated part of the ground.

But the benefits of mowing don’t stop there and it is no coincidence that the old saying ‘the more you mow, the healthier your lawn will grow’ is still relevant today.

Mowing also helps sward development. Cutting the swards back forces the grass to grow more quickly and thickly to ensure it can absorb as much UV light as it needs to produce the energy and glucose for growth. 

So, cutting your turf at the right time after laying it can have very beneficial results for how healthy your lawn will become and how good it will look for the future.

When should you first cut turf?

So, how long after laying the turf should you carry out the first cut?

Generally speaking, if your turf is fully rooted it can be cut around three weeks after being laid.

If you have been watering your new turf sufficiently, and that should be every day when it is becoming established, then it should be getting fairly long by this stage, and may even be starting to look overgrown. However, even if it isn’t, but it has fully rooted, it still should be mowed to facilitate further root and sward growth.

One thing to bear in mind, however, is how short to cut it. If you cut the new turf right back, you can overstress it and it could struggle to grow back sufficiently.

So, it is best to err on the side of caution. For the first couple of mows, put your mower on the highest setting and trim the top of the swards only. The most you want to take off the lawn at this point is the top third of the leaf as anything beyond this could mean the shallow roots will struggle to take in sufficient nutrients and moisture to fuel future growth. As a result, your lawn could become thin and patchy – the perfect conditions for weeds to infiltrate.

It is also important to rake up and remove all the grass cuttings from the newly-laid turf if you didn’t use a grass box to collect them. This is because if left they will block the sunlight from getting to the swards and reduce photosynthesis, meaning the plant cannot produce the nutrients and energy it needs to grow.

Add fertiliser if you need to

After the first cut, some people like to add fertiliser to their lawn to ensure regrowth is strong, or if the lawn doesn’t seem to be quite bouncing back at the rate at which they would like.

Whereas this is usually not necessary, if you’re at all worried about your new lawn, or you feel you might have cut it a little too much, then this can certainly cause peace of mind.

When doing this, make sure you choose the right fertiliser for the time or year, and apply it evenly across the lawn. Always following the manufacturer’s instructions. Continue to water your lawn, especially in hot, dry, weather, and your turf should be looking its best in no time at all.

How often should I cut new turf?

After your initial cut, depending on the speed of regrowth, plan to cut your new turf again around a week later. Continue to use the mower on the highest setting and only cut a maximum of the top third of the sward. Water your turf – it shouldn’t need another feed – and let it grow back to become a lush, green lawn or wildflower meadow.

This second cut should help the roots develop further and the grass to become fully established, which means from here on in, you can begin to treat your new turf like a finished lawn. You can walk on it, play with the kids on it, and you can cut it as often as you like to whatever length you like.

However, do continue to water it for the time being, as to ensure it can withstand the rigours of daily life.

Always choose plastic-free

Whatever turf you choose, always ensure it is plastic free.

Some turfs are grown using a plastic mesh in the soil to help it stay together when being harvested. Unfortunately, however, that plastic mesh is then buried in the soil once the turf is laid and over time will break down into microplastics to pollute the local environment and even get into watercourses where it can enter the food chain.

At Lindum Turf, we believe this practice is outdated and should be stopped. That’s why all of our turf is plastic-free or grown on sandy loam soil.

By choosing plastic free, you’ll be able to enjoy your fantastic new lawn guilt-free, knowing laying it has in no way harmed the environment. 

To view all of our plastic-free turfs, click here https://turf.co.uk/all-products.