We've just had a plastic lawn put in. AMA

[Imdunfer]

As title.

If you're going to raise climate issues please make sure you have your facts right before you post. There is a lot of incorrect PR and social media comment about plastic turf going around at the moment.

I think you missed my questions about what can get through the lawn. I'm genuinely interested to know because I'd fear that after a while, especially if the weather was dry or in autumn with heavy leaf fall there would be a layer of heavier dust (larger particles that can't fit through the membrane and not degraded) just sitting on the grass building up.

I have some questions about what can get through it. You said it sits in a bed of aggregate? What is the grass 'sown' or 'stitched' into?
So what happens for example to leaves that break down - thinking of a dry leaf that someone steps on so it crumbles into bits too small to rake or pick up that fall down between the grass? Do you end up with a load of debris at the base of the grass? How small do bits need to be to fall through the membrane or base or whatever it is?
Same with animal poo - what happens to the bits smeared around or falling down?
What happens to the worms underneath? are they just blocked for a large area? What happens to moles? Do they get confused? Because it's not like a house or concrete road with a foundation?

Why did you start the thread?

Gosh no that hasn't crossed my mind, thank you so much for reminding me 🤣

Also applies to everyone flying away on holiday soon of course, or driving a bigger car than they need to. I hope you aren't one of those?

We didn't ask the question but perhaps this post is really revealing about the stance of some people who choose plastic grass.

Perhaps some people, not necessarily the OP, but some people, just don't see nature where it actually is and so don't value it.

The idea that people need many acres in which to connect with nature does tell a story. 'My little yard is too small to count'.

The truth is it only needs one plant in a pot that a bee visits or one blue tit on a bird feeder on a balcony and there and there it is - connecting with nature.

Our gardens together total three times the land of our national parks.
If we all gardened a bit more for nature our world would really change.

We humans have become SO detached from nature. That's why plastic grass is even a thing.

Best question on the entire thread! 👏

Because I thought people might want to know about artificial grass from someone brave enough to poke their head above the parapet.

And because I thought the criticisms and hypocrisy of many people who would criticise would be entertaining to watch unfold. I was right with that one.

Perhaps you only have experience of badly installed, cheap fake grass?
It certainly is not my experience over 12 years here, and a similar time at a previous property.

Not true. Our neighbours have very expensive and realistic (according to them) plastic grass, which 5 years on has faded to a very dull green. They have dogs and every time it rains there is a run off of dog pissy and shitty smelling water, from the urine and debri that has accumulated under the plastic grass. It’s gross.
Also, when it’s above say 27° the dogs can’t walk on it as it’s too hot.

Sorry but it will need cleaning. My elderly FIL got some really top class artificial turf laid with a permeable base three years ago. It looked fantastic, at a casual glance you could not tell it was artificial. He loves a lawn but age meant he was not up to keeping it looking good so this was his solution.

So comparing the upkeep to natural grass its less work because compared to mowing, feeding, scarifying, watering, and dealing with mud, the upkeep feels minimal. But “minimal” is not the same as “none”. It’s like saying laminate flooring doesn’t need cleaning because you don’t have to polish it, technically true, but also completely wrong.

Even though it’s a plastic lawn, it still collects dust and airborne dirt, leaves and organic debris, dog/cat wee residue (this is the big one), spilled drinks, food, dog/cat/bird poo, algae or moss in damp, shaded areas etc. If you don’t clean it, it starts to smell, looks dull, and the fibres mat down. People who say “it doesn’t need cleaning” usually mean you don’t have to mow it, which is true but it’s not maintenance‑free.

Most quality installers recommend a rinse every few weeks (especially if dogs use it), A brush‑up to lift flattened fibres, A disinfectant treatment a few times a year, A professional clean annually if you want it looking fresh.

My FIL was also advised to sand it! Artificial turf often uses infill, usually kiln‑dried sand to weigh the turf down, keep the blades upright, improve drainage, reduce heat build‑up. Over time, some of that sand shifts or washes out, so installers top it up during annual maintenance. That’s the “sanding”.
If someone claims theirs “never needs sanding”, it’s either very new, very low‑pile turf, or they simply don’t realise the installer added infill in the first place

I don't know where you are in the world OP but a tiny garden visited once a week by a gardener for shall we say 2 hours a fortnight from April to November would cost less than a thousand pounds here in the South West of England. That would be an RHS qualified gardener. If you purely want someone to mow it would probably cost about half that.

Err no I'm actually neither of those things! Have done two long haul flights in life so far and car is probably smaller than average now (but suits us great). I've done wildflower lawns the last few years and have absolutely loved them. It is difficult in a shady space but I would love a serene Japanese-style moss garden in the type of space you describe.

I think the cumulative impact of the fake grass approach is the most concerning (just watching about 12 bees currently busy all at once on my lawn)

I'm confident they will be banned in my lifetime

Or buys coffee in those cups with plastic lids, or fly on holiday each year for that matter.

There are so many more activities that people/ multi national companies are doing across the globe that have a much bigger impact on the environment than a bit of plastic grass.

The level of rage on this thread is frankly laughable.

No life at all under this plastic wrap: No worms, beetles, ants, just dead stinking earth when you lift it. You will have to hose it down/sweep it to keep it clean.

Water good straight through, the grass is stitched to a mat full of holes.

I wouldnt lay it in areas with a lot of leaf drop in autumn unless I was prepared to clear those leaves every day, but that goes the same for grass.

There would never be miles in my lawn anyway, it is far to small to put up with mole hills.

If animal shit gets stuck to it a hose or watering can will resolve it. No different from it being stuck on grass, possibly easier to wash off.

I don't know how far the worms will go but I can tell you from experience that when you stack plastic wrapped bales of haylage weighing 250 kilos each on a field, there will be worms underneath when you lift the bale, and there are no breathing holes in haylage wrapper. So I am sceptical of the sterilised earth claims.

That is not true in my extensive experience of plastic wrapped big bale.

Why are you commenting on it if it bothers you so much?

Beautiful low-maintenance planting of shade loving architectural ferns, hostas etc would be another alternative for shade, would be absolutely lush to look out over.

Tiny garden in new build. North facing. Surrounded on two sides by double storey walls, one side by single storey wall, one side by 6ft fence.

Birds, pollinators, hedgehogs, toads, bats.

A beautiful spot to commune with nature.

Personally can't think of anything worse.

Even if we could get a gardener at that price and limit them to those months (we couldn't). the lawn will still pay for itself many times over.

Translation: "I enjoy being rude to strangers on the internet and will write a whole paragraph trying to justify it."

Absolutely lovely.

Trust me it wouldn't look like that with either my green fingers or my husbands!

You said you have a cat how do you remove cat poo or pee.
I know cats I've had don't tend to just poop on the lawn so maybe not applicable.
Do you have to clean it/water it off?
How easy is it to clean dog mess off.

Sports pitches are maintained by teams of grounds workers. They replace the plastic grass entirely about every 8 years.

Degredation - movement underneath lawn, thatch build up on top of lawn and resulting weeds seeding into the lawn, breakdown of the membrane beneath the lawn, splitting seams, fibre loss.