Artificial grass - help!

[PennyPinkPineapple]

We've got artificial grass in our garden, about 11m2 of it. I don't like it but DH says it's more suitable than real grass as we have a dog.

I've just read a thread about how bad for the environment it is and seen other discussions about no mow May, wildlife in gardens etc and I've decided I want it GONE, like now!

DH has finally agreed we can get rid of it but 1) not until winter because you can't lay turf or grass seed in summer - no idea if this is true, and 2) we have to pay a professional to do it because it's hard work - again, no idea if this is true.

Whilst this discussion was taking place I got another waft of hot dog wee and said enough is enough, I'm doing it today. This has turned into an argument and I've been told I'm being reckless and impatient 🙄and the garden will be ruined by sun down.

Before I embarrass myself by starting something haven't got the strength or ability to finish, can anyone tell me if I can do this? I was just going to rip the AG up, take it to the dump and go and get some turf and unroll it and cut it into shape with probably a knife from the kitchen?

Have you thought of a way to keep the dog, neighbourhood cats etc off while it establishes?

Hope you firmed it down well before sowing the seed.
Otherwise you’ll sink in up to your ankles in your lovely new lawn. I

It isn’t recyclable. One of the many awful things about it.

No, any suggestions? A net?

We have two cats, one of them disappears for hours in the forest behind our house but the older one uses the flowerbed as her toilet. Hoping she sticks to that and not the new patch!

The dog won't touch it and hasn't been to the toilet for hours because she will only go on grass (artificial or not).

You’ve not buggered it up it’ll be fine. The issue is mainly moisture, without plenty of soil the grass will need watering more.

To be fair you’re not asking for a pristine grass lawn so a bit less might be fine. Clover certainly isn’t fussy about soil depth, and clover helps to maintain healthy soil so that’s good. If I were you I would add a couple more bags of topsoil over the top, it might bring it just proud of the rest of the ground but it’ll sink a little once it’s settled in. It’ll also bury those seeds I can see there, which is a quicker and easier way of giving them the best chance of making it.

If it fails you can think again but it’s worth a try isn’t it? It’s an experiment 😊

We walked on it. Is that good enough?

We keep the cats off dug soil using sticks, we just get a bunch of longish twigs and stick them into the soil like tiny trees. Works perfectly, you do need to check they’re intact periodically

Walking on it is probably enough. If it’s not formed in enough it’ll end up bumpy with little hills and valleys. You can fix it by filling in the gaps with more soil, or digging it over and walking again. It’s not a problem, especially if you’re happy with a wildflower lawn

We are sitting in our PJs on the patio having a cold glass of wine watching all the flying insects that are taking an interest in the new pile of mud/lawn-to-be and he turned to me and said "It's much nicer now, isn't it"

What a win! Even if the cats and dog dig it all up and ruin it, I'm having that 😉😁

🙌

I love this thread!

Great job op, it's going to look wonderful when it's all grown out.

I'd lay a net over it.

Feeling a bit sorry for doggo though.

Don't worry, he's just taken her to the field down the road to do her business.

Well done OP! You've done a great thing for diversity and the coolness of your garden too. Your dog will much prefer cool grass to hot plastic.

If you can't find someone to reuse the plastic grass you could have a look here to see if there is somewhere near you where you can responsibly recycle it.

Hi OP, I might have missed it,but how did you get rid of the fake grass?
I inherited a fake grass lawn much larger than yours and am desperate to get rid!
I won't be turning it all into lawn, maybe 10%. I want borders and wild areas..
Any help much appreciated. Google offers very little help in getting rid of the bloody stuff!

This is great but I'm genuinely baffled how plastic grass is better with a dog?!

Feel bad for you, it's so rank. A mixture of vinegar and rotting fish.

A good question. She's female, so squats and wees downwards and it makes grass go yellow. Also, you can easily hose off the consequences of a runny tummy 🤢

To be honest, I didn't question the plastic grass for some reason. I just accepted that it was better than real grass if you have a dog. First dog, first garden, so nothing to compare it to.

It's hot, it smells, it's not nice to walk on and was always covered in flies. I never let my daughter walk on it with bare feet because I think it's absolutely horrid.

I don’t want to go on about it, but my husband just said again that he is so glad it's gone and he is happy I put my foot down. The smell of hot dog piss has been replaced with a mild whiff of manure on this balmy summer evening, and it's bloody lovely.

I haven't yet, but the post above yours had a link in it to artificial grass recycling, so if nobody wants it I'm going to contact them.

Honestly you sound bloody lovely 😍

I think I'd go straight to recycle because if you offer it free to someone, there might be a fake lawn made that wouldn't have happened otherwise if cost is stopping someone.

I'm not sure, if someone has already decided they want AG then they'll probably just do it anyway, you can get it really cheap online so an attractive option. There's a new apartment complex near us and most have it on their balcony because they can't have real grass. My bit isn't very big so not sure how much use it'll be to anyone. Will look at recycling 👍

I'm not, but thank you @Justputitdown ☺️

Nice one, great that you cracked on with it. Please post photos as an update once your new real lawn is established.

Sounds like you’re taking dog elsewhere re toileting in the meantime. Worth keeping an eye on things while lawn is establishing - grass seeds can be problematic in paws.