I can totally sympathise with people astroturfing small lawns. I'm not a fan of lawns at the best of times but if i owned one of these new builds with postage stamp back gardens then i would definitely get rid of the lawn. Would i put in astroturf? probably not, but its horses for courses and seems to work for people who turn their limited space over to their kids.
Astroturf seems to be synonymous with limited space which points to a much larger problem with our housing market and the greed demonstrated by developers trying to increase housing density at the expense of green space.
our housing market and the greed demonstrated by developers trying to increase housing density at the expense of green space.
It could be argued (and is by many planning departments) that squishing houses and people into a smaller footprint protects the real green space. The developers are expected to work to minimum density targets to deliver x number of homes per hectare. If they space them out, the houses become too expensive and all the driveways and roads take up more room, so they don't get planning permission
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The real green space is peppered with broken glass, dog turds and paedos. Housing developers are often caught promising playgrounds as part of developments and never delivering them. I'm not sure I approve of my kids digging up my lawn and playing in the mud but they seem to enjoy it. If they want to sit on a sterile plastic carpet they might as well stay indoors.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
In our local paper recently: "A town's football club chairman has expressed delight in securing almost £550,000 in funding for a new pitch to 'take the club to the next level'.A town's football club chairman has expressed delight in securing almost £550,000 in funding for a new pitch to 'take the club to the next level'."
This is to build a 3G pitch. What is 3G? The article doesn't say, but google does: "Long-pile synthetic grass with a pile height of 40mm to 65mm. Typically filled with a combination of sand and performance infill." Performance infill? Rubber - or more likely - plastic!
Forgive me if I don't celebrate this win for our local football club.
As with NHS plastic waste, I feel that there are certain fields might come bottom of the list for enviromental targetting. Schools, clinics, hospices, sports clubs -all areas where there might be high traffic and high utility. Sports centres offer thousands of people good services; as with heated swimming pools. Our local hospital has plastic grass in its cafe area. It's not great but it has more pressing things to worry about right now, like trying to keep the hospital open. Choices and costs are about weighing the balance of public goods.
@didyw Artificial turf at sports stadiums (stadia) really can be an absolute blessing for those trying to run the places. It doesn't turn to mud and swamp after a couple of games played on it which, in turn, means the clubs can generate more income and it then benefits more of the community.
Yep our local club have AstroTurf and it's probably saved them from going bust. They don't need to cancel games due to bad weather and can rent out the pitch to schools et all for 5 asides and other things now for extra income that they never had before.
I really don’t like artificial grass but then I don’t like landscape fabric either. I imagine many who disparage artificial grass have gravel with landscape fabric under it to supposedly stop the weeds which it doesn’t.
I can’t see what the difference is. Both are plastic and both affect soil organisms, it’s just one is in view and the other isn’t.
I am in the process of removing landscaping fabric from my garden. (I inherited the fabric which was double and triple layered and hidden under ornamental stones). Unfortunately I did not realise the extent of the surface on which it had been placed and so roots (including from other gardens) grew into it and it has been a nightmare to remove the fabric in order to improve the soil and create the garden I want.
I researched how to remove the fabric and came across some info that reinforced how bad the stuff is. It can create pockets of dought and contribute to flooding and can snuff out life in the soil.
For years, the earthworms preferred to live in my plant pots rather than the soil, but I think I have been turning things around. The fabric I inherited covered the whole of my garden, apart from pathways and hard landscaping, but I did not realise the extent until later.
I imagine most people don't use landscape fabric like this do they? Even so, I cannot think of a situation where I would ever want it in my garden/any future garden, again.
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
Posts
Astroturf seems to be synonymous with limited space which points to a much larger problem with our housing market and the greed demonstrated by developers trying to increase housing density at the expense of green space.
Every time I see the word AstroTurf I think of Only Fools and Horses. Do you prefer AstroTurf or grass’
’I don’t know, I’ve never smoked AstroTurf’
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
This is to build a 3G pitch. What is 3G? The article doesn't say, but google does: "Long-pile synthetic grass with a pile height of 40mm to 65mm. Typically filled with a combination of sand and performance infill." Performance infill? Rubber - or more likely - plastic!
Forgive me if I don't celebrate this win for our local football club.
I researched how to remove the fabric and came across some info that reinforced how bad the stuff is. It can create pockets of dought and contribute to flooding and can snuff out life in the soil.
For years, the earthworms preferred to live in my plant pots rather than the soil, but I think I have been turning things around. The fabric I inherited covered the whole of my garden, apart from pathways and hard landscaping, but I did not realise the extent until later.
I imagine most people don't use landscape fabric like this do they? Even so, I cannot think of a situation where I would ever want it in my garden/any future garden, again.