Astoturf my poorly grown grass?

[Shropshire1993]

Hi everyone.

Me and my partner are considering level up our garden and having astroturf where the grass is as it doesn't grow very well, with it being a new build theres poor soil/rubble under the grass. Am I right to think it's an unessasary expense and even a poor grown garden is better then astroturf? I have attached some poorly taken photos of my garden for reference (it's was raining)😅. I think the slabs are looking fairly old but everything else just needs a bit of TLC? Any advice/opinions would be great.

Ps I have been quoted around 5.5k for porcelain slabs, with the garden leveling up, step up and the grass astroturfed.

Thanks

A good weeding on the patio slabs and a jet wash will definitely help!

I wouldn't personally Astro turf, I prefer grass. Even if it's a new build you can still have good grass - you can take up the old grass + hardcore and put better soil in and re seed? A clover lawn might work really well in your garden if you're not wanting a traditional one?

R

Hey thanks for the reply, I had to Google clover lawn 😅 can you tell I don't know anything about gardens. Looks a good idea though. I think my other half just wants to get it done as it makes everything low maintenance but the whole garden renovation will come to around 5.5k/6k not sure it's work it personally

Astroturf is non very environmentally friendly. As it's quite a small area, if you are not bothered about a lawn, why not think about low terraces with evergreen bushy plants. The terraces could be filled with decent soil without having to dig up the grass that's there.

Think of the poor worms!

explain to him that astroturf still requires maintenance- it has to be cleaned, weeded, brushed, etc. to keep it in good condition. Personally I would rather spend 5 minutes mowing a lawn of that size.

how are you using your garden, especially the lawn area? As an alternative to lawn you could plant most of it out with shrubs / perennials, which would be lower maintenance and also make your garden feel bigger and more private if sitting out on the patio.

AstroTurf is essentially plastic and not great for the environment despite companies claiming otherwise.

The slabs aren't bad and a good clean and weed will make them look lots better. For the money you are proposing to spend, it would most likely be cheaper to improve the soil and put down fresh turf. But failing that consider gravel and planters to encourage some wildlife. Pinterest and Insta will give you lots of inspiration and it doesn't have to be hard work, take a lot to maintain or cost a fortune.

In my experience a lot of landscape companies will try and do a hard sell on all sorts but a bit of research and planning and you can have a halfway decent garden without being Monty Don or needing to win the lottery.

Five and a half thousand for a garden not much bigger than a postage stamp?

Have a read of this -

www.homebuilding.co.uk/advice/budget-small-garden-ideas

On top of all its other poor environmental qualities, astroturf also leaches microplastics. I really wouldn’t get it if I had young DC who might want to play on it,

Also I think it looks hideous, is environmentally disastrous, and there are much better things to choose

Go to MedowMania and get some Clover seed - just clover not a clover and grass mix. Clover doesn't need regular cutting it only grows to a certain height and stops unlike grass, ideally a trim in March and October. It is great for pollinators as it flowers and is drought resistant and will still be green when the neighbours lawn is dry and yellow in a heat wave.

Plant a few climbers along that back wall, some fruit bushes perhaps. Hang some solar lights, a few small trees in planters.... you could make that garden look way better than astro turf at a fraction of the cost (and better for the environment!)

I've got regular grass out the front and astroturf in the rear garden. I know Mumsnet hates it but I love it. It always looks green and clean. It's super low maintenance. The dogs can poo and it's easy to clean up. It's never boggy and nobody trails mud into the house. We've had it for over 5 years and it's still like new.

This time of year always makes gardens look worse than they actually are. The grass looks absolutely fine from what I can see, it just needs to settle in with it being a new build, or you could add some more grass seed to it next year. Patio looks fine too, just either weed or use systemic weed killer in the gaps, and her wash in spring. I have many reasons to dislike astroturf, but people still think it’s an easy solve-all option. Think of it as an expensive, damaging to the environment carpet for your garden. I can see your garden is on a bit of a slope, and there’s a huge brick wall there, so you’d potentially get a lot of rainwater runoff coming straight towards your house, which isn’t ideal. If your garden is south facing, the astroturf will get extremely hot, to the point you wouldn’t want to walk on it barefoot or be in the garden.

You need a narrow curving flower bed round the back wall with some shrubs, hydrangea are reliable, some trellis at the back with a jasmine polyanthum, passion flower and honeysuckle on it, then weed, feed and mow that lawn, much nicer than astroturf

Yeah I think it's more to do with the levelling out the garden which is the expensive part, then the astroturf too. I didn't speak to him directly so it's from what I understand. We got a quote before for 8.5k, crazy ha

I completely agree, thank you

Yes I can see the benefits of it being low maintenance, I'm just not sure my garden needs it for the price we would have to fork out. Also no dogs so don't need to worry about that 🤣

Do you want to use the lawned area?

I'd be inclined to kill off the lawn with weedkiller, lay down cardboard and then a membrane and cover in chippings and put a small greenhouse and some raised beds and grow your own produce.

Hi thanks for this reply, it is on a bit of a slope but been here for 5 years now and never had any issues, there's a drain next to the patio door also

Please don't astroturf. It's horrendous for the planet.

We’ve had more flooding as people put in astroturf. They are meant to be water permeable but clearly not to the degree of natural grass.
You also need to tend to them: cleaning a couple of times a year and my friend has a special vacuum for dirt that gets lodged.

This is the gardening thread not the environmental vandalism one

Absolutely fucking not. It’s horrendous stuff, terrible for the environment in so many ways. If you ever come to sell it also puts a lot of people off.

What wrong with it? That's already green and fresh looking.

If you put plastic down it'll get dirty, hot and manky. Less bugs and birds too.

I’ve got a patch of astroturf. It cost about a grand for a 12’ square piece because it is both recycled and recyclable.

Works for me in the space it’s in.

Maintenance wise, I break up the moss that grows with a rake three times a year. Nothing else required.