Seed or Instant Turf: Which Is Right for Your Yard?
Planning a new lawn? The first big decision is whether to sow seed or lay instant turf.
Both can give you a beautiful lawn. The right choice comes down to your budget, how quickly you need to use the area, the size of the space and the time of year. Here's a straightforward look at each option to help you decide.
The short answer
Choose instant turf if you want a finished lawn straight away, you're working on a typical backyard or front yard, or you need to stop dust, mud or erosion quickly.
Choose seed if you're covering a large area on a tighter budget, you can wait a couple of months for the lawn to fill in, and you can keep the area moist and off-limits while it establishes. It's also a good option for shady spots, where we can mix a shade blend.
Instant turf: the fast finish
Instant turf is lawn grown on a turf farm, then cut into rolls or slabs and laid over prepared soil. You get a green, even surface on the day it goes down.
The upside
Instant results. The yard looks finished the same day.
Usable sooner. Once the roots knit into the soil, usually within a few weeks, it can handle light use.
Fewer weeds. A dense, established sward leaves little room for weeds to get started.
Controls dust, mud and erosion straight away, which is handy on new builds and slopes.
A wider laying window. Turf can be laid for much of the year, with extra care in the peak of summer.
The trade-offs
Higher upfront cost per square metre than seed.
Needs laying promptly after delivery, so the site has to be prepared and ready.
Frequent watering early on. New turf needs several short waters a day for the first few weeks, plus an extra one on hot days.
Seed: the budget-friendly option for larger areas
Seeding means spreading grass seed over a prepared seedbed and growing the lawn in place.
The upside
Lower cost per square metre, which adds up on large areas, acreage and paddocks.
Roots develop where they grow, with no transition from farm soil to your soil.
Practical for big or hard-to-reach spaces where moving lots of turf isn't ideal.
The trade-offs
It takes time. Expect a couple of months or more before a seeded lawn is thick enough to use.
Timing matters. Seed needs the right soil temperature to germinate well. Warm-season grasses need warm soil, so spring through to early autumn is usually best.
The seedbed must stay moist with light, frequent watering until the grass is up, which is a challenge in hot, windy weather.
Weeds, birds and heavy rain can all set a new seedbed back.
Fewer variety choices. Many lawn varieties are only available as turf.
Seed vs turf at a glance
Riverland tip: Our hot, dry summers, strong winds and sandy soils can dry out a seedbed in hours. If you're seeding, aim for the milder months and be ready to water often. If you're laying turf in summer, lay it early in the day and give it a deep soak straight away.
Questions to ask yourself
How soon do you need to use the lawn (kids, pets, an event, selling the house)?
How big is the area?
What's your budget for the whole project, including soil preparation?
Which grass variety do you want, and is it available as seed?
Can you keep the area watered and off-limits while it establishes?
Whichever you choose, preparation matters
A great lawn starts below the surface. Clearing weeds, loosening compacted soil, improving sandy soil with organic matter, levelling and sorting out irrigation before you start will make a bigger difference than any product you add later.
Once your new lawn is in, our free guide, The Simple Lawn Program, walks you through watering, mowing and feeding to keep it healthy all year.
Free download: the Seed or Instant Turf guide
Want it all in one place? Our free 5-page learning guide includes the comparison chart, a "which is right for me?" flowchart, soil prep checklists and week-by-week care for new turf and seed. Print it out or save it to your phone.
Download the free guide (PDF) →
Not sure which is right for you?
We supply and install instant turf and offer lawn seeding solutions, so we can give you honest advice on what suits your space. Tell us a little about your project and we'll help you work out the right approach.
At Torn Turf, we grow Kikuyu instant turf, a tough, fast-repairing warm-season lawn that handles Riverland heat and recovers well from wear. For seeding, we offer a range of seed varieties and blends to suit your site, including shade blends.