Laying Turf in Merthyr Tydfil: Soil and Preparation

People often ask us which turf to buy. In Merthyr Tydfil the better question is what the roll is going to sit on. A town at the head of the Taff valley, on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons, gets plenty of rain, and a lot of its gardens have heavy soil, thin topsoil or ground that has been dug, filled and flattened more than once.

This guide looks at the soil you are likely to find in a Merthyr Tydfil garden and the preparation we carry out before a single roll goes down. For the general picture across the region, see how to prepare the ground before laying turf, and for our lawn work generally, the turf laying page.

What we tend to find under a Merthyr Tydfil lawn

No two gardens are the same, but a few patterns come up again and again when we lift an old lawn in the town.

• Heavy, sticky ground that holds water in winter and bakes hard in a dry spell.
• A thin skin of topsoil over subsoil, stone or builder’s rubble, especially on newer estates where the plot was levelled by machine.
• Old fill in the gardens of older terraces: broken brick, ash, cinders and odd bits of masonry from generations of repairs.
• Water arriving from above, where a garden sits below a steeper neighbour or open hillside.
• Deep shade in narrow gardens behind tall terraces, which slows growth and invites moss.

Each of these calls for a slightly different approach, which is why we dig a few test holes before we quote.

Testing the ground before we plan anything

A spade tells you a lot. We check how deep the usable soil goes, whether it smears like putty or crumbles, and what sits beneath it. If there is standing water in a hole an hour after digging it, drainage has to come before turf.

We also watch how the garden sits in the wider slope. In Merthyr Tydfil a lawn at the bottom of a terraced garden can be soaked by water draining from every level above it. Our guide to garden drainage solutions in Merthyr Tydfil covers the fixes, from a gravel-filled trench to reshaping the levels.

Improving heavy or thin soil

Where the soil is heavy, we break up the compacted layer, work in grit or sharp sand where it helps and bring in quality screened topsoil to give the roots a free-draining layer to grow into. Where the topsoil is thin, we add enough to give the grass a proper depth rather than a token dusting.

Rubble and old fill come out. Turf will grow over a shallow layer of broken brick for a year, then scorch in the first dry spell because the roots have nowhere to go. It is heavy, dusty work, and on a terrace with no rear access it all has to be bagged and carried through, which is one of the things that affects the time a job takes.

Levels, falls and the steep garden question

A lawn does not need to be dead flat, but it should shed water gently rather than hold it in dips. We rake and roll the surface to an even finish with a slight fall away from the house.

On a steep Merthyr Tydfil plot we will often suggest levelling a section for the lawn and holding it with sleepers or a low wall, rather than turfing a slope you cannot safely mow. Terracing a steep Merthyr Tydfil garden explains how that works, and the Merthyr Tydfil landscaping page shows how it fits a wider design.

Timing the job around upland weather

Merthyr Tydfil is higher and wetter than the coastal towns, so the good windows for turfing can be a little narrower. We aim for spring once the soil has warmed, or early autumn while it is still warm from summer, and we avoid laying on frozen or waterlogged ground. The seasons are covered in more detail in when is the best time to lay turf in South Wales.

If the ground is too wet on the day, we would rather move the date than lay turf onto mud. Working soaked soil squeezes the air out of it and undoes the preparation.

Our steps on the day

Once the ground is ready, the laying itself moves quickly. For a typical Merthyr Tydfil back garden it runs like this:

• Clear the old grass and weeds, and dig out any rubble we have found.
• Cultivate, add topsoil and improve the ground where it needs it.
• Level, firm and rake to a fine, even finish.
• Lay the turf in staggered rows, butting the edges tight and working off boards so the prepared soil is not trodden down.
• Trim the edges neatly and water the new lawn thoroughly.

After that, the watering and first cuts are down to you. Watering and caring for new turf in the first six weeks has the routine. Even in a wet town, a breezy dry week can dry new turf out faster than you would expect.

When grass is not the answer

Sometimes the honest advice is to turf less. A permanently soggy corner might be better as a planted rain garden, a shaded strip beside a terrace wall might suit gravel and pots, and a bank too steep to mow might be better planted up. In a small Merthyr Tydfil garden, a patio with a lawn beside it is often more usable than a lawn alone; our guide to paving that stays safe in wet Merthyr Tydfil winters covers that side of things.

If you want a lawn, we will do everything we can to give it a good start. If a different surface would serve you better, we will say so.

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