It's easy to get frightened of laying a lawn. Aside from the spadework that's necessary, there's the sourcing and laying of the turf, ensuring its bedded in properly and then there is the care and looking after it. Actually, with a little preparation most gardens are straightforward to turf.

The turf is delivered in rolls that are evenly sized to make the task of laying it in any shaped garden much easier. The first step is to remove the existing layer if there is one and also to remove any weeds and other plants that are in the soil where the lawn is going to be laid. Digging down to approximately six inches should get rid of the existing turf, roots, seeds and any weeds that have taken root in the soil. The new turf grows better if the soil is prepared to encourage deep and rapid rooting. This is probably the hardest part manually wise as the earth is quite heavy to dig up and remove. The use of a skip or garden bags to dispose of the unwanted material is necessary so make sure you are prepared to move the waste before you begin and if you have a large garden this can easily reach a few tonnes in weight.

The new turf is alive and needs to be laid within a day of acquiring it, of course it needs sunlight, water, nutrients and air to grow and the nutrients and water come from the ground so the quality of the soil can affect the quality of the lawn. You can remove any stones and roots with a rake and a pair of gardening gloves if your existing soil is easy to break up, but if you have poor soil then you will need to use a good quality topsoil and this should be spread evenly with a rake over the area you are going to lay the turf, it should be done a day or so before the turf arrives.

Start laying the turf along a straight edge, butting each piece closely end to end. Subsequent rows of turf should be staggered in a "brickwork" fashion. You should place planks on newly laid turf to walk along and kneel down to work on the joins. Use a rake head to lightly firm down the pieces of turf, ensuring a good contact between the turves and soil. Join the pieces of the lawn by pushing them into place - ensuring that turves are not stretched by pulling. If there are any cracks, you can fill them with a bit of soil. If you need to cut your turf to shape if perhaps you have an irregularly shaped lawn, it can be done by simply using a suitable knife or cutting spade.

Modern chemical agents and pesticides are extremely effective at dealing with lawn pests and diseases such as fusarium pink patch. However, we are all becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact that chemicals and pesticides can have. Fortunately, nature has provided us with many ways to deal with pests and diseases that do not rely on a laboratory to produce them.

Leatherjackets (European Crane Fly) Larvae
Leatherjackets - the larvae of the crane fly (or Daddy Long Legs) are a common lawn pest that cause enormous damage to grass by feeding on the roots. Lain by the adult crane fly in July/August, they will remain in the topsoil until the following May/June and will feed constantly during this time.

If your lawn is infected with leatherjackets the telltale signs are yellow, weak grass that can be pulled up with little or no effort (primarily because the roots have been destroyed). If you do not wish to use pesticides to kill the larvae, the organic alternative is to use nematodes. Nematodes are tiny species of roundworm - part of an order containing 50,000 species. Predatory species of nematode actively feed off other living creatures until the creature dies.

If you apply nematodes to your garden, they will kill the leatherjackets. As nematodes come in many different varieties, it is important that you purchase a breed of nematode specifically bred to target your pests.

The look of your lawn is determined by the quality of grass or turf you have chosen to lay or seed. But once it is established, mowing is the most important routine task you need to undertake in order to maintain its beauty.

Turf is a living organism, and responds to how much you cut off and being cut to the same height. By dramatically lowering the cut or by letting the grass grow too long between mowings, you can damage or even kill large swathes of grass.

The darkest green blades of grass are capable of withstanding the intense rays of the sun but parts of the grass which are shaded by the leaves (the parts nearer the soil), can be sensitive to the sun. If you cut your grass too deeply these leaves near the soil can become exposed - and the sun may scorch them. Turf that is injured in this way will turn yellow and grow more slowly than the rest of your lawn. In extreme cases, it may even die. In general the longer the turf, the deeper the roots. However, if lawns are mown higher than 20mm, there will be sufficient roots.

How high should you mow your turf?
How deep you wish your turf to be is purely a matter of preference. However in most cases, lawns that are mown shorter than 25mm (1 inch) can be weakened, allowing weeds to encroach and resulting in higher maintenance and care.

A well cultivated lawn is usually mown at 25mm because it provides a high quality appearance and protection of both the turf and the roots.

How often should the grass be mown?
Your lawn will grow at different rates as the temperature and season changes and according to the amount of water it receives (from watering as well as rainfall). Therefore, you should mow your lawn as frequently as required to maintain its height and appearance, rather than sticking to a strict schedule.

The so-called "Rust diseases" (give their name because they often leave rust coloured stains on your shoes) in turf are amongst the oldest grass diseases. They attack living grass and - whilst capable of killing the leaves - do not generally kill the whole plant.

Rust disease is caused by a fungi that cannot grow in your soil. Rust disease can develop in your turf, during spells of wet and warm weather and most often in cases where the grass isn't sufficiently fertilised. Gardeners with a keen eye will notice that the rust-coloured turf may also show signs of a black bark chippings 'powder' on their surface in the late autumn.

This black powder is actually the same fungus. As the year draws on it gets ready for winter - the black coloured powders are actually spores. Each of these spores is capable of starting a new leaf infection. However, rust fungi can only infect actively growing turf. The main effect of the fungus - other than discolouration - is to stunt the growth of your turf and cause the leaves to turn yellow.

How can you control rust disease?
The best methods to control rust diseases are as follows:

1. Fertilise your lawn properly.
2. Mow your turf properly.
3. Maintain good drainage.
4. Water your turf properly.

Rust Disease Resistant Strains of Grass
Some grasses are naturally more resistant to rust fungus infection than others. Whenever you are buying turf or grass seed, check to see if the strain is resistant to rust disease. Consult your garden centre for information on which grass varieties are the best.

Using fungicides to control rust disease
Unfortunately, there are no fungicides that it is advisable to use on turf to control rusts. However, it is quite possible avoid rust disease simpy by ensuring that it is adequately cared for without recourse to chemicals.

Dogs are great, lovable bundles of fun. Unfortunately, their acidic, nitrogen rich urine can ruin the sensitive blades of grass that make up your lawn. While Nitrogren is normally a fertilising agent, it can kill grass in high concentrations.

Females dogs are worse culprits than males. For behaviourial reasons, they will tend to urinate in one particular spot - and the constant application of urine in one place can soon render a large patch of lawn dead. Male dogs tend to spray smaller amounts around the garden, so the concentrations are not as high.

This is one of the cases where prevention is more effective than cure. Training your dog to use a particular area is a major help. If your dog's a little too old to be learning new tricks, then washing the lawn with large amounts of water immediately after it has been urinated on is, perhaps, your best bet.