Artifical grass - thoughts?

[Excitedannie]

I have a small garden on two levels - I had the top level paved a few years ago and its where I have my furniture. Over the last few years, the lower part becomes like a swamp over winter and I have to reseed it each year - full of weeds despite everything I do and it's awful.

I don't want to pave it but I wondered on your thoughts about artificial grass? I'm posting here because I have a cocker spaniel - she doesnt rely on the garden at all because she goes out for walks (obviously) but she does like to lay out there in the sun and occasional toilet. I just wondered what your thoughts on about artifical grass with dogs and any tips/avoids/must haves?

We have a lovely doxie and artificial grass. If you put enough sand down when installing, it won't get too hot. It's perfect for our doggo

Other than the environment damage (it’s awful)…assuming that your dog will be growing old in that house (you don’t plan to move) you will need to be prepared for her to eventually need to toilet in the garden and potentially not be able to manage to get off the artificial grass to actual grass. Cleaning wee and shit off artificial grass is awful - I’ve never met someone who did it properly. It also gets horribly hot in summer.

I’s avoid if I were you!

Also, it's easy to clean! Just jet wash it in the summer occasionally and make sure you pick the poop up as soon as they do it. We've had ours 6 years and it's never smelt

Artificial grass….how to train dog not to toilet on it? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_doghouse/5043237-artificial-grasshow-to-train-dog-not-to-toilet-on-it

We got rid of it because it got smelly. We have a normal lawn now, and have accepted it’s going to be patchy (five dogs). I feel so much better about the bees, insects, etc, and it smells lovely out there now.

Don't do it, please.

Perhaps look into a moss lawn? To be honest I don't know much about it other than it's low maintenance and my parent's lawn, which is a mix of grass and moss, has held up well despite 4 dogs.

It's awful, I had swampy soil so I bought a few sacks of soil improver and dug it in, it's basically not fully rotted compost and a bit of a dig and the worms will keep mixing it all up. I reseeded and the grass got a lot better quickly.

From an ecological perspective - you’ve already taken away half the potential habitat for worms, insects, hedgehogs etc by paving half your garden. Do you really want to take away the little that’s left? Even patchy grass that looks like a bog will be teeming with life under the surface, and support birds and small mammals which feed on insects. If everyone does like you plan to do there will be no birds or hedgehogs left in urban areas.

don't do it.

Please don’t do it. Aside from the fact it completely obliterates the many ecosystems present in even damp, patchy lawns, the manufacturing process for this stuff is bad- you’re creating yet more plastic when the planet is already choking on the stuff, and then within a few years you’ll have to replace and dispose of it, more than likely to landfill.

FWIW I have just a small garden with a less than ideal lawn and a few slightly out of control shrubs along the boundary. It’s thriving with bird life, bumblebees, squirrels and occasionally hedgehogs.

Neighbour has fence to fence fake grass with not an iota of any sort of nature, completely sterile. Each to their own but I think the kind of habitats a small garden can give are important in the bigger scheme of things.

My husband is a gardener and gets lots of enquiries from people wanting him to weed their artificial grass. Weeds will.grow through anything.

I really wouldn't encase a garden in plastic (that leaches and sheds microplastics)

And I would definitely swerve it with pets or younger DC (up to about end of primary years)

Instead, I'd be looking to get a contractor in to see if they can fix a drainage solution, and keep the lawn. If you can't, then I'd part-pave (perhaps in brick?_ and have several beds, and wide (gravelled) spaces between paving slabs so the area isn'r sealed and still has some life to it

My neighbour has just taken up her artificial grass because her two jack russels wee on it and it smells bad despite jet washing. Also, leaves fall on it, rot down and then weeds grow in it and it's a bugger to get them out. It wasn't laid well and weeds also come up around the edges.

It's a flawed concept and horrendous for nature.

All kinds of hell no.

Bit of a mix!!! Not too bothered about the eco part of it if I'm honest - it's a patch 3m x 4m so it's tiny - same as the upper level and I live next to a huge nature reserve so it can go there! The dog can use the patio that is at ground level when she's older as she probably won't make the steps up to it then

Ok so the message I'm taking is that if I do it, it needs to be done properly and good quality. I have to say that the idea of not having to get the lawnmower out of the garage (in a block) with my bad hips (waiting for a replacement) is what's swaying me at the moment....!

And I have to say - I've always hated the stuff before and the fake look but I really don't want more paving etc

No. Dirty and ruins your enviroment.

Neighbours had it and it reeked of old piss in the height of summer (they used to hose it down, but didn't seem to make a difference).

Bit of a mix

2 positive vs 13 negative: not really.

Yes Ive just read through and realised this 😂

Bloody awful. Tacky and just nasty stuff. My one (I think) snobbery is towards people with astroturf. Only idiots and planet killers would even consider it. There are so many better options, like chipped bark, herbs, gravel etc.

Wow that tells me all I need to know!!

Part of my garden is artificial grass for very similar reasons you're thinking about it. Had it many years now and it has been absolutely brilliant. Doesn't smell at all and yes, the dog does wee on it. I chuck water on it periodically and a couple of times a year put kennel disinfectant down too and there is definitely no smell.
It is getting old now, so I'm thinking of getting it replaced, but not because it smells!!

Paving the top half is what has made the bottom half boggy as all that water runoff has to go downhill. See if you can’t put some sort of drainage culvert between the two to redirect rain run off down the sides of the garden.