Synthetic Grass?

[DarkShadow]

Has anybody successfully installed synthetic grass as replacement for real grass?

Apparently, the grass that I installed requires weekly deluges in order to barely stay alive, and living in a dessert, it's become a bit of a financial burden installing new sod every year. We've already dug down nearly to China to replace mountains of dirt, because we thought that it was the dirt that was causing the issue. We've hired landscapers who have shrugged their shoulders when we ask why the grass dies year after year.

So, time to do the sensible thing and install fake grass. Anybody else here have had the opportunity to go this route? Was it a simple process? Expensive?

[flyhigh123]

what kind of grass are they installing and where are you located? i think the type matters etc. Do your neighbors have grass? If so, talk to them.

[DarkShadow]

what kind of grass are they installing and where are you located? i think the type matters etc. Do your neighbors have grass? If so, talk to them.

We've run the gamut when it comes to the types of grass we have installed in the past 8 years.

The first was fescue, we tried Bermuda, St. Agustine, you name it. We've hired professional landscapers, we've gotten soil analysis. After seeding didn't help, we went out and dropped quite a bit of coin on sod, and that had the longest survival rate, since we got almost a year worth's of green lawn with the sod. Then it died again. Dichondra seems to grow well, but that's not really "grass."

What was strange is that when we bought the home, the original owners had some sort of non-grass as landscaping, and since it seemed to attract every wasp in East LA, (not type of WASP), and our boxer seemed to be proficient in eating said wasps and ending up in the emergency room for dogs since he was allergic to their stings, we quickly dug it up and began the fruitless venture of having a green lawn.

Our neighbors have lawns, if you can call them that, which is more of a mixture of 50% grass and 40% weeds, and 10% various auto parts, so we really haven't inquired on what type of grass is growing below the old '75 El Camino they have parked on their lawn.

[Stinkbait]

Its called Spice and you get it at your local smoke shop!

A few in our neighborhood got the fake stuff.
Cant tell at all but you'll need a second morgage to buy it.
It looks real good, basically like new sod that just took proper root.
No yellowed pee spots, water or mowing ever again.
I guess you need to vacuum or blow out the debris build up.

[DarkShadow]

Its called Spice and you get it at your local smoke shop!

I had to Google what 'Spice' was. Now I feel old. Dont kids just smoke weed and listen to pink Floyd in their parent's basement any more?


https://youtu.be/ApTfAJAjrd4

:LOL:


A few in our neighborhood got the fake stuff.
Cant tell at all but you'll need a second morgage to buy it.
It looks real good, basically like new sod that just took proper root.

Hmm. I wonder if i can get some used stuff from the local Golf n Stuff.

[Stinkbait]

I only new of the stuff cause of my nephews and nieces. Basically it is potpourri sprayed with chemicals that don't show up on drug tests. Synth weed its called. Banned now, I believe....I hope! ;)

[DockRat]

Stick to the real stuff use synthetic urine to pass a drug test.

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w292/marvinbarajas1234/bh.gif (http://media.photobucket.com/user/marvinbarajas1234/media/bh.gif.html)

[DarkShadow]

Stick to the real stuff...

Yeah, but what's the secret?

Manganese? Nitrogen?

Use Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia seeds?

[teejay]

That’s unusual. Typically, dichondra is harder than grass to grow and maintain –requires lots of water and nitrogen. Are you sure that you’re not over fertilizing and watering?

[Lady Quagga]

Yeah, but what's the secret?

Manganese? Nitrogen?

Use Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia seeds?

Gunga galunga.

[City Dad]

We recently bought a place and after a lot of research and accounting, decided to go with xeriscaping - rock in front DG and bark in back.

found synth turf + installation cost prohibitive

[DarkShadow]

That’s unusual. Typically, dichondra is harder than grass to grow and maintain –requires lots of water and nitrogen. Are you sure that you’re not over fertilizing and watering?

Over watering is prolly not the case, considering that we can only water on every other days in LA County, lest we get a fine for watering on off days. The fertilizer issue? We only dump fertilizer during the winter months, and that's usually controlled by the 'greens keeper.' He's convinced that our lawn is cursed, and only the sacrifice of a virile virgin will get our grass to grow.

I'm about to forego my fly fishing trips on Sundays in order to sit in church to make sure my grass grows.


Gunga galunga.

Thanks, d!ck.


decided to go with xeriscaping...

Thanks Obama! Can't believe you went the hippie route. Hope you vote for Trump to level your decision making.

*

Regardless, a new crop has been placed in the ground. We've invited a few East LA shamans to come bless the ground, and I'm learning a new Mayan rain dance that should bring new life upon my fields.

[marc626]

Not just to level decision making but more l like an audit. This was on the news earlier this year. Several Home Owners Associations don't allow synthetic grass. In Los Angeles of all places. Don't smoke the spice. It'll drive you mad. Same with the real stuff. I encourage home owners in L.A. to mow their own grass. But then again. Someone will be out of the job. Fake grass saves water.

[Ian]

Fake grass not only saves water but the cost of it ADDS to the value of your property. Looking at it that way, why not get the best quality artificial?

At $11 to $12 per square foot of the good stuff, it may be expensive but remember to add the total to the value of your house when you sell it.
...and don't forget, you'll get the money back in several years of not paying the gardener, which is a cost you can't write off or add to the value of your property.

Still costly but we all need to pull our weight when saving water for our state. Mind-boggling that 40% of our usage is just to water grass.

I had my artificial lawn installed 2 weeks ago in Buena Park, HOA approved. If anyone is interested to see it in person, and for info, pm me for details. There is a neighbor who got a cheaper kind and you can compare both with your own hands.....If you get it installed with the company I went with, who by the way set the specs for L.A. county, there is a referral fee that I can split with you. ;)

Here are some before and afters. The last pic is a comparison of real cheap and real good. The cheap is on the right.