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New turf looks finished the moment it is laid, which is exactly why people walk on it. It is not finished. For the first few weeks it is a layer of grass sitting on soil rather than growing in it.
The Timeline
- Days 1 to 7 — stay off entirely. The turf is knitting to the soil and the seams are still open. Footprints at this stage leave permanent dips
- Weeks 2 to 3 — roots are going down. Walk on it only if you must, and use a board to spread the load rather than stepping directly
- Week 3 to 4 — first mow, and light use is reasonable
- Weeks 4 to 6 — normal walking. Still not football
- After 6 weeks — treat it as a lawn. Heavy or repeated traffic is fine from here
- Full establishment — a full growing season before it is as tough as an old lawn
The Test That Tells You
Take a corner of a piece and tug gently upwards. If it lifts, the roots have not taken and it needs longer. If it resists and the soil holds it, rooting has happened. Check in a few different places, including any shaded or awkward corner — those root more slowly than the open middle.
Why It Matters
Two separate problems, and both are permanent:
- Compaction and dips. The soil underneath is freshly cultivated and soft. A footprint pushes it down and it stays down, and a lawn walked across the same way every day for three weeks has a visible path in it for years
- Torn roots. The new roots growing down through the seam are fine and fragile. Movement breaks them, and the piece has to start again
What Changes the Timings
- Warm and damp — fastest. Rooting can be well under way in a fortnight
- Hot and dry — slower, and the watering has to be right or it does not root at all
- Cold — much slower. Turf laid in midwinter may not root properly until spring, and it will happily sit there looking fine meanwhile
- Shade — slower everywhere it falls
- Poor preparation — slower, and sometimes never, which is a different problem
Dogs, Children and the Real World
Six weeks of a lawn nobody may walk on is not always available. Some practical middles:
- Lay boards or stepping stones on a route that has to be used, and move them occasionally
- Fence or cordon it for the first three weeks, which is the period that matters most
- Dogs are the real difficulty — urine burns new turf badly and claws tear unrooted seams. Keep them off for at least three weeks if it is at all possible
- If the lawn genuinely has to take traffic straight away, say so before it is laid. Timing the job for autumn, or laying a tougher turf, is a better answer than laying it and hoping
The First Mow
Once it has rooted, usually around week three or four. Mow with the blades high — take the top off rather than cutting it back — and make sure they are sharp, because blunt blades tug at grass that is not yet firmly anchored. Drop the height gradually over the following few cuts.
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