Lawns and other turf surfacesTim Lodge has been providing professional independent agronomic advice for natural turf surfaces continuously since 1995. There is probably not a single form of grass sports surface that he is not familiar with. Bowls, croquet, tennis, pitch and putt courses, putting greens, etc.
In addition, very many private lawns and general public amenity grassland areas have been advised upon in relation to both their construction and maintenance. Tim's research work in the world of sports turf provided a sound technical background that is now supplemented by a career working with turf facilities throughout the UK, in particular the south and east of England. Clients include many private individuals as well as Parish Councils and Local Authorities or specialist sports facility providers at all levels. Agronomy services are tailored to each particular circumstance in order to meet our clients' requirements most precisely. With a comprehensive range of technical evaluation procedures to call upon (see Technical Services) advisory work can be as simple or as detailed and substantial as required. Call to discuss how we can help. Rogue traders!
You may wonder what the relevance of the motley crew shown in the banner photograph is. The photo shows Tim with the 'Rogue Traders' team from BBC's 'Watchdog' television series. In an episode broadcast in 2013, the team decided to investigate a purportedly dodgy turf installer in Kent. As is the format of the show, they turned to Tim Lodge as the 'expert' in all things lawn related. Tim appeared as 'the expert' in Rogue Traders again in October 2019. The TV appearance prompted us to develop a standard contract for lawn owners who may wish to engage someone to install a new lawn. Of course, the rogue trader in Kent operated on no such contractual basis with the result that his clients had minimal protection against shoddy workmanship or materials. Our aim with the contract is to reduce the vulnerability lawn owners may have to 'rogue traders' that occasionally operate in this line of work. Contact us for details if you think this would be useful. Things to consider installing a new lawn
Turf or seed? If you're planning to install a new lawn you need to make this decision early on. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of each are summarised below.
The size of the lawn and where you want it to be
The size of the lawn will obviously dictate how much it’s all going to cost. Whether you’d like to improve the soil in any way before establishing the lawn Sometimes the soil is too heavy and drains badly. Sometimes there isn’t enough soil to sustain good grass growth. You’ll need to think about this to get the best out of your lawn. There won't be a better time than before the grass is established to resolve any problems like this. What kind of lawn you want In practice there are just 3 types of lawn that are most commonly asked for by domestic clients; shaded, hard wearing and ornamental. The ground preparation is more or less the same whatever the type of lawn you’re after. But within these options there is a wide range of interpretations in terms of grass types available, particularly if growing from seed. We’d be happy to advise you further on this; just get in touch. |