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

It’s not just “Mumsnet” who hates it, it is everyone who has any regard for the environment and diversity

Your garden would be transformed with a few shrubs/climbers around that wall. I would make one of the Jasminum nudiflorum, winter jasmine (different from the jasmine up thread which is summer flowering) which has yellow flowers all through winter, when you need something to brighten the grey misery.

It would be much lower maintenance than grass

Agree with all that others have said - astroturf, no no no, that would seal the soil beneath and cause microplastic pollution/chemicals, no oxygen for all of the micro-oragnisms living down there. Plus 5K!!! Omg, they saw you coming - with 5k you could transform that garden into an oasis.

If you don't want lawn you could flip the turf over and leave it to rot to create a flower bed (removing any perennial weeds that are there like dandelions) and pop some stepping stones in so you can access each part - then absolutely fill it with beautiful flowers for pollinators - make sure you do 'right plant right place', according to how much sun/shade, soil type etc You could make that space a total oasis, you really could, filled with life and colour. You could use those walls for climbers and hanging baskets. Wouldn't that be so much more wonderful than a dead garden covered in astroturf? Something you could enjoy and be proud of.

Also, don't kill off your lawn with weed killer as a pp said - there are millions of tiny organisms living beneath that grass that will be killed too if you do that, it would essentially pollute your garden with poison.

This.

Astroturf is horrendous, don’t do it. Anything else is better, absolutely anything else.

From your pics, the grass looks green. There are so many options other than astroturf, which is a nightmare when it comes to cost (all the prep and making sure there is good drainage), environmental cost and maintenance. If you get local cats, wildlife weeing and pooing on it it will start to stink . It needs cleaning solution applying.

wildflower area,
clover
shrubs that give good ground cover (less weeding ) and that will encourage insects and other wildlife.
raised bed areas to grow veg, herbs. Lavender smells gorgeous and attracts insects.

Astroturf is grim in so many ways.