Artificial Grass
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Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
- Artificial turf to replace lawn
- Artificial Grass?
- Have you used Eco Lawn?
- Artificial Lawns?
- Anyone used Heavenly Greens (artificial lawns)?
- Waterless Grass
Artificial turf to replace lawn
April 2013
We're considering removing our lawn which has been overgrown with a lot of weeds in our small front yard and replacing it was artificial turf. But I have seen bad turf at a neighbor's house. Does anyone have a recommendations for a brand or have suggestions for any other low-maintenance alternatives? Also the sprinkler system is leaking and needs to be re-done. We do have some nice roses we'd like to keep. We have young children and would like to make it somewhat kid-friendly. Thanks in advance! Alamedan
My wife and I attended the Home & Garden Show last weekend at Concord's Chronicle Pavilion. A vendor from Field of Green showed us samples of DuPont's Forever Lawn which were the most realistic-looking artificial grass we have ever seen. This is a premium product which should look good for many years. We spoke with a very knowledgeable representative, Barry Cameron, whose phone number is (707)328-0002. Their website is www.fieldofgreen.com. They can integrate sprinkler systems with their installations and come to you home to review your project and provide estimates. Other websites to check are www.foreverlawnwestinc.com and www.syntheticgrass.dupont.com. When we redo our landscaping this summer, I think this will probably be the product and vendor that we choose. Good luck! Ben
We replaced a rotting deck in our backyard with artifical turf. It was the best decision ever! We LOVE it. We can go out into the backyard within an hour or so after it rains and play without getting sopping wet or muddy. If we had a real grass lawn, I think it would be muddy most of the day since we don't have a lot of sunlight. My young son loves playing outside! the turf is awesome
Artificial Grass?
Oct 2012
My lawn died this year and all I'm left with is hard dirt. I am considering having fake grass put in. Does anyone have experience with this kind of product? What are the pros and cons? Is it very expensive? If you went for it, can you please recommend installer. Thanks
I know this is not what you were asking about, but have you considered planting a low-maintenance ground cover plant instead? You have to water it more as it gets established, but once it's established, it's very low maintenance. http://smsf- mastergardeners.ucanr.org/Elkus/ground_cover/ Just in idea in case you prefer some living plants in your yard if they were easier to maintain than a lawn. Andi
Have you used Eco Lawn?
Aug 2008
Hi, Has anyone tried a product called Eco Lawn. With the drought conditions we're in, I thought it would be a good alternative to what I currently have. Thanks! dead grass
Hi, Here's an interesting blog commenting on Eco Lawn: http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2007/09/eco-lawn---the-.html. I haven't used it before so I can't say one way or the other, but I thought you should know that Pacific Sod also carries a ''no mow'' lawn that looks similar and would not require the many hours of weeding a seeded lawn. Not sure how the water requirements compare. Also, even if it takes less water than a conventional lawn, you will still probably want an irrigation system. I recommend you talk to The Urban Farmer Store in Richmond (near Costco) about in-line emitter tubing placed under the lawn for very water efficient irrigation. Good luck! Claudia
I thought you should know that Pacific Sod also carries a ''no mow'' lawn that looks similar and would not require the many hours of weeding a seeded lawn. Not sure how the water requirements compare. Also, even if it takes less water than a conventional lawn, you will still probably want an irrigation system. I recommend you talk to The Urban Farmer Store in Richmond (near Costco) about in-line emitter tubing placed under the lawn for very water efficient irrigation.
I must disagree. ''No Mow'' is a sod blend of hard, creeping red and fine fescues. It's very shade tolerant (for turfgrass). It's also supposed to be fairly low water use/drought tolerant (again, this is lawn...it does need quite a bit more water than coyote brush, for example).
No mow is a misnomer. You will have to mow it, but probably less often than ''regular'' turf. You will get weeds....yes, we are in the west, the weed seedbanks are everywhere!! You will want an irrigation system. The underground emitter turf irrigation systems pretty much require you to remove your soil and replace it with 6-10 inches of sand. This is not a trivial exercise. If you have clay soil, such a system will not work without replacing the soil.
No Mow looks a heck of a lot better than plastic grass though. Ray
Artificial Lawns?
June 2008
We are thinking about putting in an artificial lawn in our 560 sq. ft. backyard to save water and to minimize maintenance. We've read that the new materials they use now are very life- like, good for kids to play on and pets to do their business around, and basically maintenance-free after installation. Does anyone have any experience with choosing, ordering, installing and (hopefully) enjoying their artificial lawn? Pros and Cons? Recommended companies? Does the product actually live up to the promises?
Looking for Lawn in All the Wrong Places
Park Day School in Oakland has a playground with artificial turf and would be a good example for you to see. I think it's been there over 5 years and still looks great. I'm a landscape designer and as a naturalist I never thought I'd like this stuff, but it does look and feel amazingly real and fits some real challenges. I recommend the brand called 'SynLawn' (http://www.synlawn.com) because it does not have the little rubber balls that eventually wash away like the other brands. I prefer their 'SynBlue' as it looks the most natural. Artificial turf has been great for wear and tear of kids and dogs (it does not burn skin or yellow from dog pee) and areas where grass is tough to grow under shade or areas that you just don't want to water but you want visual satisfaction. You can install it yourself or I'd be happy to recommend a contractor who could. That said, the down side is disposal and environmental impact. It's plastic. And though it saves water for the environment, the planet has already taken its toll from petrol-chemicals. Leigh
Hi, We had a big patch of concrete that we covered with artificial lawn and we are very happy with it- it is soft and has different hues of green. It looks like real grass. We bought it from synlawn.com and it was well worth its price. JZ
Anyone used Heavenly Greens (artificial lawns)?
May 2007
Just saw this company advertised in a local mailing, they are called Heavenly Greens and install an artificial turf/lawn called ''FieldTurf''. Can anyone offer any positive or negative comments about the company or product? It is appealing to us to have a spot of grass for the kids that requires no watering or mowing! Does it look like astroturf?! Thanks anon
I do not own a synthetic lawn, but I've done some research for a school project. FieldTurf, the artificial turf that Heavenly Greens sells, has some good points; primarily that it uses zero water and does not require pesticides or fertilizers. And of course, you don't have to mow it, which means no noxious emissions from a lawn mower. However, it heats up way more than natural grass or even concrete--not the safest play surface in the summertime. Also, although the company emphasizes that FieldTurf's cushioning uses recycled Nike sneaker soles, most of the crumb rubber is from recycled tires, which contain lead, arsenic, cadmium, copper, oil, carbon, and benzene. The tiny pellets tend to work their way to the surface of the grass, so you probably wouldn't want FieldTurf for a yard if you've got small kids or babies, who may eat it. (The pellets also get tracked indoors.) You should also ask the company how it suggests keeping the FieldTurf clean. They may suggest regular disinfectant applications, which you may not be wild about. Good luck on your decision. --Oakland mom
Waterless Grass
March 2007
I'm working on redoing my backyard and I like the idea of installing Waterless Grass (http://www.waterlessgrass.com/index.cfm). You don't have to mow, you don't have to water, it never dies and always looks great. My husband thinks it's a terrible idea, that it will lower the resale value of our home because nobody wants to have a yard with ''lame fake grass.'' What do all of you think? Jill
I'm sorry to tell you that your husband is pretty much right. My cousin had it installed in her yard. The stuff does look great - from a few feet away you can't tell the difference. If you get upclose you can see that its synthetic but thats not a huge deal. The problem is the wear. A neighbor's dog peed on the ''lawn'' and the whole thing smelled NASTY. And on a hot day, forget it. You wouldnt even want to have the window open. Don't believe the whole thing about urine running through it like rainwater. Not true.
I would have to agree with your husband.
Although there is more at stake than just your property value. Astro Turf was bad eonough, but realistic looking synthetic grass???? I checked out the ''Waterless Grass'' website. Some of their selling points are: ''No wasting water. No more polluting lawn mowers. No chemical fertilizers or pesticides.''
My response to those selling points are: There are many other ways to beautify your back yard and not have to use a ton of water, it's called ''drought tolerant'' plants. The amount of pollution and waste that goes into making synthetic grass must be enormous! And it's plastic! Plastics come from petroleum! It's all chemicals. Plastics can off-gas, meaning it gives off gas and fumes. What happens when it sits in the hot hot sun? What kind of chemicals are you breathing? There is a 5 year warranty on this ''Waterless Grass'' as long as you do the yearly application of UV protection. Sounds like more chemicals to me.
Here is a commentary from a blogger who just happens to have a neighboor who installed ''Waterless Grass''. It doesn't sound like a good idea:
http://blogging.la/archives/2005/09/the_stepford_la.phtml
If we all want to combat pollution and greenhouse gases that cause global warming, than we need to be ''greening'' the planet, not stripping away the greenery and replacing it with petrolium products. Real trees and plants help to absorb carbon dioxide. They make our planet beautiful. They are healthy for the environment, people and animals.
Research: drought tolerant gardening; California native plants; low maintenance easy care plants; alternative ground covers instead of traditional lawns.
That's what I think. Laurey
Instead of grass or fake grass, how about putting in a low maintenance ground cover that requires little to no water and no mowing? Maria
We have lippia (phyla nodiflora) around a rocky foot path. It has spread really well and has beautiful little flowers. It's great for our use case, but I wouldn't recommend it if you want to be able to walk/play a lot on it, since bees like to visit the flowers, and you don't want to step on a bee.
Here's a pic: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eqyuarWAwXqG7yrTA (Ignore the hay strewn over, that's from my straw mulching elsewhere)
Hello! We installed kurapia late last summer almost a year ago. It all started amazing, plush green - though we discovered it needed more water than we thought, about once a day for the first month and then every two days. When autumn came, it almost dried out completely, which was a bummer. We thought it had died… but… come the very wet season this year by the end of spring it was coming back. I planted some extra plugs in the areas that were without cover (it is easily found at East Bay nursery, it is the only one where I found it is consistently available.) Now we have an almost full green plush cover that looks great! We still have tiny dirt patches here and there, as it grows slowly. My kid plays on it without problem, even now when it is in flower. Many posts says it attracts bees, and while it does bring in some bees it totally manageable and it’s nice to see the bees among the flowers. My dog plays fetch on it as well without issue, though she’s a small dog so I don’t know if a big dog would cause issues. The only thing to note is that dog pee can sometimes kill the kurapia in patches, so be prepared to still water it to dilute the pee every 2 days or so. You do need to pick up dog poo because if you leave it long (more than a day) it burns the kurapia.
Summary: you need a lot of patience for kurapia to take hold, but once it’s established it works great for both kids and dogs. It does need more water than you would have thought.
I put in Kurapia between the flagstones of a path and in a little 5'x10' patch of "lawn". I bought plugs of it from one of the many companies that sell it and planted the plugs in the fall last year. They looked pathetic, but I never had to water. By late spring, the parts that got more sun had filled in, and at this point in the year, it's mostly all filled in; some parts of the lawn area that gets more shade still has some bare patches. The kids and we walk on it, no problem, but we're not playing football on it or anything. I have watered the lawn patch twice this year. I will have to start trimming it back from the flagstones soon.
I love the flowers, and so do the bees. I've also seen butterflies on the flowers. If you don't want bees, you can mow the flowers off.