Reply With QuoteFake looks rubbish, the real stuff will undoubtedly take time, but will be worth it.
We seem to struggle to keep our grass green, weed free & looking nice, particularly in the front which spends most of the summer beige.
Researched buying ‘proper’ chemical vs the likes of Homebase brands, along with a spreader etc it starts to become reasonably pricey for what is just grass.
Toying with either going this route, or getting a pro in to sort it out & carry on ourselves afterwards. Or ripping it all out & getting fake grass placed down. My issue on the fake stuff is, well, it always seems to look or feel fake, but the advantages are huge in low maintenance.
Anyone done either the pro or fake route with any advice or tips?
Cheers
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Fake looks rubbish, the real stuff will undoubtedly take time, but will be worth it.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I ordered some samples because I have a separate area the back which was quite shady and the grass there was dying and I wanted an area the kids could play all year.
This samples above aren't even the most expensive but I was blown away with the quality and how real it looked. Gone are the days of it looking like the green stuff a Market Grocers stalls would have.
The good fake stuff don't look fake but you do get to use it all year round.
Last edited by eagletower; 15th March 2018 at 21:47.
Being plastic-based, artificial turf tends to retain heat on a hot day.
On the other hand, it never needs watering or cutting + dog poop and pee is easily rinsed off and there is no staining or dead spots to deal with.
You guy's are kidding yourselves.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I have fake grass at the front of my house and it is the best/worst decision I have made.
It always looks good - but never real and the upkeep is absolutley minimal - just the occasional weeding and brush for people who don't enjoy gardening it is perfect from this aspect. It is great for children as they can play on it all year round but, whilst looking good (IMHO) it will always look fake (due to the light reflecting off it mostly).
The bit I had underestimated was the preparation which involves laying "2mm-dust" (I think) and whacking it flat so removing any real widlife refuge under the lawn.
At about 30 a m2 (from memory) it is the easy solution, but if you enjoy gardening and have decent light then maybe consider an overhaul (dig down, new earth & turf) for the cost - as artifical is really "kill or cure" but for the lazy/holiday home it is very convenient !
Unless you have ideal conditions (and do they exist on the UK?) getting a real lawn to an acceptable state and keeping it like that takes a huge amount of work. I bought a load of Complete lawn 4 in 1 when it was very cheap on clearance last autumn in Tesco. It certainly helped kill moss and weeds and encouraged the grass to grow, but, as usual, after the winter the lawn's 75% moss.
We had fake put down last year front and back, choose the colour wisely that’s the key. It’ll never look real but it’ll always look tidy.
1) Spring tine rake.Originally Posted by David_D
2) Lawn sand.
3) Effort, it takes more than 30 minutes once a year.
4) Fake = no hedgehogs, no frogs, no worms, barren just a plastic carpet.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Cheers, having further discussion with the wife she has informed me that she enjoys cutting the grass, so a moot point now; although having just caught up with Not Going Out & the episode with fake grass she could still cut it!
Will investigate getting it all ripped out & new soil and grass option vs getting someone in with chemicals.
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A few tips
Use a professional feed like Symbio. 2 x per year.
Don't cut your grass too short.
For preference mulch mow the grass.
Top dress with sharp sand an topsoil with a little blood fish and bone in the mid season, if the grass is looking patchy mix some grass seed in.
The mulch mowing saves fertillizing the grass every 6 weeks as you put the goodness back.
There is definatley something therapeutic and rewarding about mowing a nice lawn in a pleasant location, especially with a petrol cylinder mower (when you have time). However, if the lawn is a lost cause due to it's situation (shade, trees, soil, drainage etc.) an artificial lawn could be the way to go. We have had two artificial lawns laid at rental properties and so so it has been a good decision. There are many grades/qualities/prices and warranty periods to choose from including cheap obvious overly green to quite realistic with 'dead' grass blades interwoven for realism effect. Worth looking into in greater depth, good luck.
its just a lack of water or the drainage is simply to good. We had the same problem here partly because when the builder, building the house, he dumped the remains of an old stable in the garden and then covered it with about 3 inches of soil.
I would continue with the real stuff but make sure you rake up as much moss as poss, have it hollow tyned if poss, apply some more top soil (mixed with sand) and make sure you water it as soon as it starts to show a bit of stress. A lot cheaper than putting down fake stuff.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Some great tips, especially the mulching. Used to have a wolf mulching mower in the last, but now only have a Bosch relatively cheap thing as actual m2 of grass is pretty small.
Evidently a lot of reading up as blood fish & bone isn’t something I’ve heard of previously.
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My grass went very thin and looked to be on the way out but the cause was myself cutting it very short and picking up all the cuttings, now I cut it about 5cm long and try to leave the cuttings to add feed, also leaving it longer makes it look more green and is great for leaving rake lines..
Old girl down the road had her lawn removed and replaced with this fake tackle, she's getting on it made sense with it's lack of maintenance etc.
Initially it looked pretty rubbish IMO but weathered in after a while, speaking with her Son last year he mentioned see is forever having issues with moss growing in it.
Last edited by geran; 18th March 2018 at 01:01.
We use a company called green thumb who cone 4 times a year to treat they lawn. Cheaper than using the stiff you get in the shops. All we do is mow it which is quite relaxing and you get that wonderful smell.
Just googled them, how bigs your lawn and how much do they charge?
Thanks
I would recommend scarifying followed by 4 in 1 (buy a little cheap spreader as you don’t want to burn the grass, the Amazon one is fine) in the first instance. Do it mid April, and reserve judgement on the results till start of June.
Would be surprised if you weren’t pleased with the results, and it’s a very cheap initial option which you can later augment with dressing should you wish to.
Let's talk about moss,
Every year it's like Groundhog Day, in the spring it's 50% moss, I spend all summer getting rid of it, by Autumnits gone, next spring it's back, wasted a fortune on it, even had a grass bloke look after it, sacked him when he told me it's my grass, after he had been taking my money for two years.
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