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Post by gato on May 10, 2022 9:11:27 GMT -5
Although my city hasn't clamped down yet, So Cal is suffering the worst drought in a long time, and water cuts are coming. One of the things I'm considering is artificial turf. On my walks around town, some artificial lawns look pretty good; at least better than drought-brown.
Any of y'all dealt with the fake stuff? What are the pitfalls and unexpected tradeoffs? I'd appreciate any insights you might have from personal experience or even friend-of-a-friend examples.
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Post by tahitijack on May 10, 2022 9:31:35 GMT -5
We have Tiger Turf in our backyard. It includes a three hole putting green. I love it due to zero maintenance and zero water. It has been down about five or six years and looks the same as it did when new. Some say it's subject to footpath laying down but ours doesn't. It's a beautiful natural green when folks visit they can't believe it's not real.
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Post by Pinetree on May 10, 2022 11:53:38 GMT -5
When my uncle retired, he killed all the grass, put down cedar chips, and sold his lawn mower.
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Post by Lesterstrat on May 10, 2022 13:41:39 GMT -5
One of our daughters and her husband live in the Phoenix area. They had Turf Tiger installed. Looks nice and holds up to two Huskies and our Grandson.
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Post by oldfartbassplayrwalt on May 10, 2022 13:54:04 GMT -5
Cool. But how does it deal with dog pee and poop? Yeah I get that you
scoop it up, but what about loose stuff Does it build up, or somehow
wash and drain in the rain?
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Post by Taildragger on May 10, 2022 13:56:16 GMT -5
Even in NorCal, we've pretty much given up on having a lawn. The water to keep one alive through the summer months has just gotten too expensive.
I'm thinking drain rock over weed cloth; cacti and succulents. We already have lots of the last two in pots.
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Post by rickyguitar on May 10, 2022 19:54:42 GMT -5
Asphalt without stripes?
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Post by FlyonNylon on May 10, 2022 20:16:49 GMT -5
I definitely feel for those out west during these droughts.
Moving to SoCal (IE) back in 2008 the biggest ecological difference I noticed was the lack of natural water compared to where I grew up.
I loved living there in many ways but always had this weird feeling that basic sustenance was unnatural.
The main problem with an even lawn here is the weeds. I’d definitely consider a fake lawn in a more compact area but with an acre or so and 57+” of rain a year it’s worth it to just battle the weeds.
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Post by tahitijack on May 11, 2022 10:45:20 GMT -5
Cool. But how does it deal with dog pee and poop? Yeah I get that you scoop it up, but what about loose stuff Does it build up, or somehow wash and drain in the rain? I asked about that. The owner of the company that did the installation said they offer a maintenance program for people with dogs. Essentially they wash and vacuum the turf to pull out the residual poop. Our turf drains perfectly even during heavy rain we never get ponding. |
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Post by justin on May 11, 2022 12:03:14 GMT -5
I've still got a natural lawn out front that I plan to get rid of. In the back I have a putting green. The green doesn't look very natural but the fringe really does. If I was to install artificial turf in the front I'd be very happy with the same stuff. My neighbor across the street just re-did their front lawn and it looks like green carpet - yuck. It's got to have some color variation in it to look more natural.
It won't matter too much for a normal lawn, but my putting green has a couple of low spots that have developed in the compacted decomposed granite undermeath. Luckily these spots are out of the playing area, but I might need to get it touched up in the future.
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Post by rickyguitar on May 13, 2022 20:14:49 GMT -5
Xgrass at the therapy clinic I go to for my shoulder. Half inside half outside. Outside looks a little worn but I have no idea how old it is. It is fenced off so I also have no idea how it tolerates dog droppings. Nicely striped tho.
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Post by walshb 🦒 on May 16, 2022 15:50:54 GMT -5
I think you should let us know if you decide to go fake, or not! I'm tempted...
I have a grass area next to our patio, where we spend A LOT of time, that has died. I thought it was because of all the water we get running through there during a hard rain. So last time our "lawn care" (now I have to say that with a grain of salt) guy was here, I asked him what I needed to do about it. "Will it come back?" He couldn't answer that for sure, but he said that since we have Bermuda in the front, he's been treating that, and the chemicals he used probably killed the Zoysia grass that "was" next to the patio.
Ok, thanks for being honest, but now I'm still trying to decide whether or not to go with someone that actually knows what they're doing and can foresee something like this.
Anyway, I considered going with some of the fake grass, just in that area. I don't want to keep going through this every year. My wife wants to keep waiting to see if it "comes back" or not.
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