Artificial grass vs turf

[booklover164]

We have a small ish garden but due to the wet weather and the fact that my children are always playing football on it, it’s become very muddy and the grass has pretty much all gone. We need a solution as the kids are coming in every day covered in mud and it’s getting dangerous to play on.

I am very much against artificial grass for lots of reasons- environmental and health mostly. However, I am concerned that if we just put fresh turf down, the same thing will happen again.

I can’t be the only one who has been in this situation! What’s the solution? Thanks

You I’ll get a lot of stick on here OP for even thinking of artificial grass, but there are IMO certain circs where it makes sense, and for children playing out there isn’t a practical alternative.
After at least 8 years of real grass on a tiny lawn in a rental property, we gave in and had artificial grass laid. The tenants were never going to look after real grass properly, but they didn’t want a hard surface.

Thanks @GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHERhas it worked out okay? I’m worried that it’s going to get too hot for them and they’ll get burnt. Lots of other concerns too but I can’t see a way round it!

It won't get too hot and they won't get burnt. We've had artificial grass for a few years now and it's fine. Yes, it gets warmer in the hot weather but that's it.

Research is important as there are different grades of artificial grass now. We went high end to get the most realistic looking 'lawn'.

What about play bark or mulch?

I'm afraid I'm in the v anti plastic grass camp:

• if you lay it properly is it a lot of work (hard core etc)
• it affects drainage and can cause issues as the water has no where to go
• gets hot, and gives you friction burns if you fall on it
• hideous for the environment

If grass isn't going to work for you I second looking at playbark or the like. Much cheaper too!

@MaybeIamJustABitchthat’s useful. Thank you.

@parietal@SpringHasSprungTheGrassIsRiz the kids play football constantly so playbark wouldn’t work sadly.

I am aware of the cons of it and I don’t particularly want to get the artificial grass but I can’t see another solution.

How about something like this: https://playsmartuk.co.uk/products/hybrid-grasssmart/

Grass, and drainage, but with an eco friendly mesh underneath it that stops it turning into a mudbath. I think they use them in professional sport too.

It’s fine, as far as we know, but current tenants are two young adults who presumably have friends round for barbecues, etc. but probably no children. However a friend of a dd had some artificial grass laid in one of those very narrow, small urban gardens*, for her 2 very little dcs to play on, and AFAIK it was fine.
*just not enough sun for any grass to do well. Part of our own garden is heavily shaded and TBH even so called ‘shady’ lawn seed doesn’t do well. We just leave it for moss and wildflowers, aka weeds!

There are different types of turf, some are specifically for gardens with football players & have a different type of grass mix. Do you know the type you have now? It could just be it isn’t suitable for your purposes.

We had a small patch of artificial grass under our old trampoline, it's was burning in full sun, if the kids are likely to be in their knees at any point I wouldn't do it.

I think artificial turf when played on lots looks grotty after a while. However the kids won’t be young forever, I highly doubt once they’re in their early teens they will be playing football in your small garden still, and will be more likely channelling their energy at a football club or in the park.

Maybe at that stage you could lift the artificial grass and have it returned to real grass and enjoy your garden as a social space rather than a play area.

I couldn’t have been happier when mine outgrew the trampoline, the Wendy house, the swing ball and the basketball net.

I had artificial grass laid and it’s the best thing I ever did. Many people are surprised when they see it as it looks so good. I had proper drainage installed underneath so there is no issue when it rains. It doesn’t get hot in summer. I’ve no idea why people keep saying that about artificial grass! It has made a muddy unusable space useable (the clay soil in my garden makes it impossible to grow and maintain a lawn - I’ve tried!). I also made sure to add lots of flower pots and climbing plants, so my garden is full of colour and has plenty of birds, bees, butterflies, insects and visiting hedgehogs.

This is MumsNet, where everyone hates artificial grass so you’ll get lots of negativity. Bark or mulch won’t last 5 minutes with kids playing football. Artificial grass will be perfect for what you need. Get it put in and let your kids enjoy the space.

I think it depends on where you live, how big the space is, quality and how well it's laid.

We have done it after years of debating. We did our research and haven't looked back in the last 5 years. (My DC are adults, but we have a dog...)

Dh has severe hayfever from grass pollen. Our front garden lawn was replaced with all plants and our back garden has artificial grass which has been down 10 years. We did pay for a good quality one, it does look quite real, not bright green, it has brown grass mixed in with the green ones.

It still looks really good and I actually like the fact that there are some very shallow dips in it that make it look more real. When we did have grass we had tree roots through the surface due to the size of the trees. It wasn't like it was some perfectly flat lawn, it was trashed and muddy in parts and my garden is north facing although it does get some sun.

I have two sons who played football and generally loved running about. Dh wanted to be able to sit out on the patio and not have to return back inside after 5 minutes. It has been life changing for Dh who could then kick a ball around with his children and we can sit out on the patio for hours too.

It needs surface weed killing once or twice a year to stop anything growing on top. I also use a moss killer as the shady bits tend to have that problem but I had moss when it was grass too. I have a massive backpack sprayer specifically for the weed killing. I also use a leaf blower to move back the mulch that the birds dig out of the borders.

It drains freely, I live in the north and we get a lot of rain. I think it depends what is under your garden, if there is clay then of course it is more likely to get water logged but surely that would be the same as grass.

On the occasional days the grass gets hot the patio is also just as hot, the children wore sandals/sliders. I have still have wildlife in the garden, foxes, hedgehogs, birds and frogs. I understand people's hatred of it but it has been such a good investment for us.