Artificial Grass!

[Hinksy]

Have been looking at buying some artificial grass for around the veg beds, anyone know much about artificial grass, the quote I got was £162 ..........

Anyone know anything on Fake Grass?

[Buleste]

I have 2 lawns of fake grass. I can't remember whether it's Verdeturf or Super Verdeturf and it's easy to lay and maintain. All you have to do is wash some of the dirt out of it with a pressure washer and some detergent each year. Much easier than mowing the lawn all the time.

[Snadger]

Orrible stuff IMO!

[Jeanied]

Well I wasn't going to say anything - but now you have, Snadger, I just wonder why one would do this?

[Buleste]

We did it because we couldn't get any grass to grow due to the clayey nature of our soil which would also mean it would get waterlogged and turn into a swamp in spite of many years of trying to break down the clay and improve drainage. It was not a decision we took lightly and it took us a long time to do. And whilst artificial grass is not as attractive or as satisfying as a real lawn it does look good on a Sunday morning when everyone else is out mowing their lawn and I don't have to.

[Glutton4...]

We have a coupe of roundabouts not too far from here, that have 'fake' grass on. They would look lovely, if the lazy bleeps that installed it, had;

a: Levelled the area properly first - as it looks like it's been laid over an active rabbit warren, and,
b: Weeded the area properly first - as the weeds grow in straight lines along the joins!

[Two_Sheds]

I don't mow my lawn: I have two guinea pigs in a moveable ark that do it for me. They also eat weeds like dandelion, chickweed and sow thistle

[Hinksy]

Only putting looking at putting fake grass around the veg beds at the very back of the garden and that is mainly because all the walking about and watering of the veg and the likes has turned what was a nice grassed area into something that looks like a mud bath.

Wanted a grass looking area round the veg rather than shingles/gravel as it looks nicer, we have a 150ft garden so there will still be plenty of natural/real grass for the Chickens to run about on and dig for worms.

[tamsin]

Another alternative, you can get grid like things that go over the grass in heavy use areas like where cars drive/footpaths. The grass grows through the grid giving it a nice look but it stops it turning to mud.

[Tam]

Cover your ground with artificial grass if you want to increase global warming. Grass produces more oxygen than equivalent area of woodland apparently. You could also cover the borders with plastic and plant artificial flowers, shrubs and trees - they don't need any attention once they are planted an occasional dusting and an annual wash will suffice.

[salome2001]

back to the original post... there is a company in London called easygrass. They manage to cover their vans in the stuff so it must be good have to say it did take some getting used to, to see the vans all covered in lush greenery driving around Streatham....

[alldigging]

They sell it at my local carpet shop.
It's not cheap though.

[kentishgal]

I love mine!! I had an area about 9ft x 10ft between my raised beds to cover and have no direct access to my garden (so shingle or chippings would of been a nightmare to get delivered). It perfect for the dogs, looks nice and TBH even if I had a bigger garden I would probably always want an artificial lawn area as its so hard wearing for the doggies.

[smc999]

Cover your ground with artificial grass if you want to increase global warming. Grass produces more oxygen than equivalent area of woodland apparently. You could also cover the borders with plastic and plant artificial flowers, shrubs and trees - they don't need any attention once they are planted an occasional dusting and an annual wash will suffice.

Nice friendly post! There is also proof that global warming is a natural process unaffected by human intervention.
Back to the artificial grass, its seems expensive and the matting idea with real grass sounds like a much better option in my opinion.

[Kaiya]

Not sure how many reputable scientists agree that it's just a natural process, but yes, otherwise agree. Realistically speaking, using artificial grass on paths instead of slipping on naked mud or putting weed suppressing membrane or gravel down is not going to contribute to global warming, whereas growing vegetables in the first place and reducing food miles will reduce it.

The car park hexagon stuff seems oddly hard to get hold of, we found, unless you want enough for a car park! We were looking for very small numbers though. You can request samples (you seem to get one block, about 2 foot square) from companies though - perhaps an option for specific areas of hard wear.

I wouldn't use artificial grass in place of a lawn, simply because I don't need to, and my lawn gives me clippings, which are my main source of mulch. However I like the idea of using it as paths between veg beds - more asthetic/less harsh than the black weed membrane I use at the moment, and arguably more stable in wind. If you are only wanting long strips, I wonder if the companies that lay it have offcuts?