New lawn...
 

Hi all

Had a new lawn laid today. The ground had been covered in gravel so already had that removed. The agreement with the gardener was that he'd rotavate in any gravel left and add topsoil to lay the turf on. I've just pulled one up to discover this... (see photo).I'm assuming that the turf won't root?

New lawn...
 

Piedmontboot wrote:
Hi all

Had a new lawn laid today. The ground had been covered in gravel so
already had that removed. The agreement with the gardener was that
he'd rotavate in any gravel left and add topsoil to lay the turf on.
I've just pulled one up to discover this... (see photo).I'm assuming
that the turf won't root?


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If the gravel had been removed, there must have been a lot mixed in to the soil
underneath that has been brought up by tilling it. If digging a hole a few
inches into it just brings up gravel, you may have a big problem. If it's mostly
soil, you may be fine. Without some decent soil near the surface, you may have a
problem getting the sod to root deeply into it. What I see doesn't look like it
has much organic matter, so it may not hold much water.

New lawn...
 

On Friday, May 6, 2016 at 6:05:28 PM UTC-4, Bob F wrote:
Piedmontboot wrote:
Hi all

Had a new lawn laid today. The ground had been covered in gravel so
already had that removed. The agreement with the gardener was that
he'd rotavate in any gravel left and add topsoil to lay the turf on.
I've just pulled one up to discover this... (see photo).I'm assuming
that the turf won't root?


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Filename: IMG_20160506_49447.jpg |
Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=16408|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

If the gravel had been removed, there must have been a lot mixed in to the soil
underneath that has been brought up by tilling it. If digging a hole a few
inches into it just brings up gravel, you may have a big problem. If it's mostly
soil, you may be fine. Without some decent soil near the surface, you may have a
problem getting the sod to root deeply into it. What I see doesn't look like it
has much organic matter, so it may not hold much water.


It sure doesn't look like the soil was tilled, which he paid for.
Based on that alone, he's entitled to remedy. The small amount of
gravel, if that's as bad as it is, wouldn't bother me, but if the
soil is compacted and was not tilled, that definitely is a problem.
Hope he hasn't paid them.