Apologies, I know that there is already a lot of information available on this topic but I am a complete newbie and, despite reading Fu Machu’s guide multiple times, I still feel slightly lost on some points. For context, I’m on the Central Coast (Springfield) of NSW and have, from what I can gather, quite a clay-ish soil. The area where I will be laying my turf is pretty small at around 31m2.
I reasonably confident with the overall process, however, the outstanding questions/issues that I have are:
- I’m having trouble locating a ‘certified’ organic compost. If I cannot find this, is there a suitable alternative I can use? I’ve emailed ANL (no response as yet) because I’ve seen them suggested, though their website doesn’t specifically mention certified organic compost, except in a 25L bag, which would obviously end up being super expensive.
- How much certified organic compost do I need for an area of approximately 31m2? In step three of this guide https://www.sandandstonelandscapes.com.au/laying-turf-the-ultimate-guide/ (which is directly taken from Fu’s method), it states that if you have 1m2 of soil, then you should add 0.2m cubed of compost. Unless my calculations are wrong (entirely possible), this means I’d need around 6 cubes of compost for what is a pretty small area. This seems like a lot? Is that right?
- What type of sand do I need and how much of it do I need?
- Does anyone have any tips for tilling the soil down the recommended depth of 300-400mm? All the rotary hoes/tillers I’ve seen generally only reach a depth of around 200mm.
Thanks in advance for any assistance and apologies again if these questions have already been answered.
Cheers.