Lawn reinstallation in autumn or spring with deciduous trees

Hi everyone,

I am planning a new lawn installation (inkl. irrigation, robot, etc.). That means completely digging up, leveling, possibly adding new topsoil, the whole package.

The plan was actually to do the preliminary work in August and then sow at the beginning/middle of September, but unfortunately the timing didn’t work out.

Now I am faced with the choice of doing it at the end of September or then in mid-April. Currently, there is "weed lawn" there, so it looks somewhat decent and mostly prevents walking through mud everywhere. Additionally, there are some large deciduous trees on the property that lose their leaves in the fall.

Therefore, I am leaning toward spring, only the recommendation that grass seeds best germinate in the fall makes me hesitate.
What are your experiences?

Regards

If there are currently large amounts of "weed lawn" and you are planning an expensive major project anyway (irrigation > 1000 euros + robotic mower around 1000 euros), I would rather consider whether to use turf. It doesn’t cost much more than the equivalent amounts of really good grass seed, and it initially forms a good protective layer against invasive herbs... And then it almost doesn’t matter whether you choose September or April, but tendentially I would rather go for April so that no leaves lie on the new lawn at first.

Yes, I have indeed already considered that idea, I just need to have the garden landscaper provide me with a quote.

Honestly: Laying sod is one of the easiest things you can do yourself..Prepare and smooth the ground (there are great videos about this) and you can rent the necessary roller from almost all sod suppliers for little money. Then water properly for at least 3 days and you're done...

It's less about the professional competence for me, which I fully trust in myself. It's more about the time...

Just out of curiosity:

How should I proceed if I want to replace my field (a lawn I planted myself 4 years ago, now more of a clover meadow and quite uneven) with turf? Is it enough to mow everything short and level it with sand and then lay the turf on it, or does the old lawn have to be removed beforehand?