Astroturf

wadsleyowl

Ok know this is isn't very green but my lawn is terrible. I have two small kids and an awful lawn before they even started playing on it, its now bald in many many patches. We would love to returf it but seems a bit pointless as it'll just end up the same again. So does anyone or has anyone every used astroturf and can they recommend anywhere to get it from?
Have seriously considered re turfing but its a new plot (10 years old) and there is hardly any top soil etc so would just be a nightmare to redo.
Thanks for your advice :T

jammy_dodger

i think you'll regret astroturf in the long run so unnnatural looking , and harsh on the knees !! and reckon it'll be very expensive , just for that green look , with kids you are rarely going to have that "perfect" lawn , the two dont mix , mine have just got beyond the playing outside stage so now i am recaliming my lawn ,
can you not just scarify and reseed the baldy bits putting over some fleece to keep the wee mites and wee birdies off you seed ? or returf its a full head of grass your realy wanting and put a load of topsoil down , maybe too thas why you grass is not thriving , feed it and dont cut it too short , best of luck x x

trixie73

wadsleyowl wrote: »

Ok know this is isn't very green but my lawn is terrible. I have two small kids and an awful lawn before they even started playing on it, its now bald in many many patches. We would love to returf it but seems a bit pointless as it'll just end up the same again. So does anyone or has anyone every used astroturf and can they recommend anywhere to get it from?
Have seriously considered re turfing but its a new plot (10 years old) and there is hardly any top soil etc so would just be a nightmare to redo.
Thanks for your advice :T

im considering getting this too. a friend was telling me about it last year but i didnt think much about it, as all i could picture was the green stuff what the grocers put out the front of their shops:o. anyway, iv just come back from a caravan park , and it wasnt till the 3rd day there that i realised some of the grass they had there was artificial. it looked amazing and so real. my kids are older now so dont use the garden, but we just cant get a decent lawn. and, like you its a new plot(9 yrs).
but i have heard it is very expensive , but we only have a small garden so might not be too bad for us.

annie123

Step away from the astro turf

It is very expensive, and not great for kids to play on. It can get slippery, and I've even seen mold growing on it.
If you ever want to sell it will NOT be a plus point.

It would cost you less to get a company in to redo the bald bits on your lawn with the correct seed or turf, and they will advise you have to keep it looking good.

A proper lawn is much better for the kids and kinder to your wallet;)
Also better for wildlife too:)

coffeeandfags

This is what im planning on putting down ...... http://www.kccarpets.co.uk/artificialgrass/index.html

I got them to send me a sample and it looks great ................. oh and comes in a host of different colours if you want to p -off the neighbours

trixie73

coffeeandfags wrote: »

This is what im planning on putting down ...... http://www.kccarpets.co.uk/artificialgrass/index.html

I got them to send me a sample and it looks great ................. oh and comes in a host of different colours if you want to p -off the neighbours

thanks for this, just ordered a sample.

Mankysteve

It also gives terrible friction burns if you slip on it.

wadsleyowl

Thanks for all the info, still undecided. Hubby has just tried to reseed all the abld bits so will see what happens this time, just have to keep the monkeys off the grass.

chris_n_tj

THis is our third astro tuft summer. We love it, TJ ( my dog) loves it. It looks as good today as it did when it was put down.
Hubby gives it a hose down if he rememebers maybe once a year, the rain does the rest.
Would I go back to "real" grass? not on your life i wouldnt.
I have hayfever something rotten, no grass smells from mowing is a big thing for me.
Chris n TJ

Lotus-eater

Mankysteve wrote: »

It also gives terrible friction burns if you slip on it.

It does, it honestly is horrible stuff, anyone who puts this in their garden needs their head testing.

blue_monkey_2

Interesting I should read this today as I was comtemplating the same thing. We had our lawn returfed last year and it already looks awful - we have 2 kids, my son rides his bike on it, the dog has weed on it (she is only a year) and she digs it up.

And the biggie..... my hubby has said that he will not let the kids have a paddling pool this year because it will 'ruin the grass'. My view is that it is a family garden and I am not going to stop the kids having a pool because of the grass - that is just ridiculous - especially as he refuses to go swimming and I have to have someone with me to care for my son. Actually, I am livid he has said it because my daughter spends half of the summer in the pool and without it she will have nothing to do.

So, I thought we could replace some of the lawn with Astroturf and put the pool on top, but someone is saying it is slippery so I guess that would be no good unless I just have a big enough square to put the pool on.

Can anyone give me any ideas then? What can I put down that will protect the grass and enable the kids to have a paddling pool out without ruining the grass?