Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Dec 17, 2012 8:55 pm Hi guys - looking at laying some turf this week and have been reading intently the thread on what to do Now I just have to figure out what type of grass I need!! I am on the gold coast, need something that will be low maintenance (with min of mowing), can tolerate full sun and full shade (some sections will be under a kids trampoline), can tolerate children and chickens, is soft lush and green underfoot. I am not a fan of sir Walter, I find it too rough. Are there any other options? I like the soft couch at the local nursery but the sign says that it only likes full sun, so probably wont last under a trampoline. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! Reno in Southport - QLD. So much work to do and timeline has already been pushed back!!! Still To Do - security system, security screens, tree removal (cocus palms), internal works, lighting, ensuite. Re: What type of grass do I need? 2Dec 26, 2012 8:51 am Low maintenance - tick Full sun - tick Minimum cutting - tick Tolerates kids and dogs - tick lush and green underfoot - tick trampoline - tick .... Synthetic is the answer. 10 year warranty ... Re: What type of grass do I need? 3Dec 26, 2012 8:57 am Synthetic = burnt feet + doesn't cool the surrounding environment( house-outside area) like real grass would 2 Edited: a squirt from a house isn't going to help it continue to give the same cooling effect to the surrounding area. It's a great idea for a small area but not the best idea for a large area. Green underfoot yes. Lush not. though it might feel nice like a carpet would. Re: What type of grass do I need? 4Dec 26, 2012 10:07 am Longer "leaf" variety handles this problem. Also a quick squirt of the hose ! Re: What type of grass do I need? 5Dec 26, 2012 11:28 am Saint Mike Low maintenance - tick Full sun - tick Minimum cutting - tick Tolerates kids and dogs - tick lush and green underfoot - tick trampoline - tick .... Synthetic is the answer. 10 year warranty ... Ewwww.... The thought of chick poop and dog wee drying all over plastic (sorry, synthetic) grass is revolting! I'm a huge fan of sw so don't have any other suggestions sorry. Re: What type of grass do I need? 6Dec 26, 2012 11:41 am viewtopic.php?f=19&t=25786&p=908426&hilit=synthetic+grass#p908426 Fu: A lot of bowling greens are removing it. They need to wet them to make them more playable. So after installation they have increased water use dramatically. The water used to produce it is huge. Be very aware that what you perceive to be saving in water is superficial. When it comes to your domestic budget, this stuff hides a bite. What you save on your water utility will be well and truly eaten away by the increase on your electricity bill. The increase in electricity costs, on a whole, is going to hurt far more in the long term than the water utility costs. The additional heat this stores through the day means that the area around your home gets hotter. Far hotter. Close to the same as a road surface. That heats the walls of your home and you run your AC for longer and harder to cool the home. Hotter nights are also going to happen as the enormous surface areas they have release that stored heat all night. To reduce this, they really should be well shaded, by shade sails or better still is well chosen trees which do far more than cool a landscape. Then we look at how that latent heat affects your neighbours electricity bill. One neighbour with this is contributing to a hotter environment. Then next door is running their AC more or having a reduced comfort of living. I know if one of my neighbours wanted it, I'd object to it formally. If they installed it, I'd also paying for it by them making my house hotter than it was and me having to offset that. How many people have thought of that before? Gardens need to be a homes passive air conditioner. Cooling the home, reducing utility costs, making a more valuable property and a property that adds value to other homes near it. they will also contribute to cooling our cities. Cooling a city is of great importance to governments, councils and residents. Instead we are making landscapes heat our homes, increasing utility costs and complaining about how big the electricity bill is. ............... search.php?keywords=synthetic+fake+turf+&terms=all&author=Fu+Manchu&fid Re: What type of grass do I need? 7Dec 26, 2012 11:43 am Saint Mike Longer "leaf" variety handles this problem. Also a quick squirt of the hose ! Saint Mike have you used this grass before? And if so what is the cost per m2 or l/m how ever it measured? Whats it feel like under foot? bella13 Hi guys - looking at laying some turf this week and have been reading intently the thread on what to do Now I just have to figure out what type of grass I need!! I am on the gold coast, need something that will be low maintenance (with min of mowing), can tolerate full sun and full shade (some sections will be under a kids trampoline), can tolerate children and chickens, is soft lush and green underfoot. I am not a fan of sir Walter, I find it too rough. Are there any other options? I like the soft couch at the local nursery but the sign says that it only likes full sun, so probably wont last under a trampoline. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!!! bella ill have the same requirements as you for a turf mainly for the high traffic areas, I was already thinking of putting some of this synthetic turf in the pool area (by the way this is all conceptual haven't started building yet) and on this batter, http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b490/MACCATTACK79/Our%20Land/IMG_0542_zps9a97958c.jpg I will cut holes in the synthetic turf and plant some shrubs etc. But under foot and in a high traffic area I think real turf is the way to go. All though I haven't really walked to much on the synthetic grass. Several different kinds of turf have been mentioned to me up here in Cairns they are tropical buffalo, and of course Sir Walter. selina2106 Ewwww.... The thought of chick poop and dog wee drying all over plastic (sorry, synthetic) grass is revolting! I'm a huge fan of sw so don't have any other suggestions sorry. I agree selina Re: What type of grass do I need? 8Dec 26, 2012 11:46 am danma : Posts: 337 We have fake turf in the backyard of the rental that we are in & I'm sorry to say but I wouldn't recommend it with a dog. We have a whippet & it smells when he wee's & does his other doggie business. I bleach it & disinfect it but after a few days it smells again. Mrs B Posts: 1630 Well we went to the grass guy again and we had selected one of the most expensive grass as its only a small area. I spoke to the guy and he was honest about the dog smells. He told me that some dogs dont like the feel/smell of the grass and will continue to do their business elsewhere...all depends on where your dog goes now. I know it will look fantastic but the dog smell has got me concerned...I didnt let Mr B order it today because of what may happen. I am not concerned at all about the heating up because the area does not get sun at all except for about 1/2 hour a day. Fu Manchu: Posts : 10709 The synthetic turf generates so much heat, I have seen kids have burns from it and dogs paws burnt from it. I have also heard many accounts of similar in my day to day work. It will get hot like the road does! ouch. It can also have an adverse effect on surrounding plants due to the heat. Fu is our resident garden Guru. He's away OS atm. Re: What type of grass do I need? 9Dec 26, 2012 11:55 am In light of posts by kexkez i may rethink the batter idea, its hot enough up here with out any more help. All ready going to get a 3-5 Kw solar sytem to offset aircon use. Cheers kexkez. Re: What type of grass do I need? 11Dec 26, 2012 1:06 pm Have just been reading several threads and there are allot of people including Fu recommending Empire Zoysia, seems to be a great option and price seems reasonable. Re: What type of grass do I need? 12Dec 26, 2012 2:01 pm I just layed some EZ turf about 6 weeks ago. Skimped a bit on the soil prep but at the moment all is going well. Greening up even more today after last nights rain. Just hoping the lack of soil prep does not come back to bite me later. Re: What type of grass do I need? 13Dec 26, 2012 3:34 pm Saint Mike have you used this grass before? And if so what is the cost per m2 or l/m how ever it measured? Whats it feel like under foot? ------------------------------------------------- No. I was just tossing up an idea. It is an option in many spots - ie areas you can't get too that easily. I've read on here people do use it around the pool etc. But - all grist for the mill - just another option. Re: What type of grass do I need? 14Dec 26, 2012 5:53 pm MIke It does seem to be a viable option for small areas that wont get traffic etc and would be hard to grass. IN a small area near a pool that wont have foot traffic etc for example. Otherwise look at alternatives. We have EZ lawn in a 10x 10 m area. Ours has been down about 2 1/4 years. This will be summer 3. It's suffered a bit over winter this year. I'm getting the seasol and powerfeed onto some bare patches. we've decided our wobble tee water wise sprinkler isn't doing an even water so that's being replaced, ( we don't have the water pressure for retic) and I will have to fill in some bald patches. we did do soil prep. Some sections look fab. other bits look pretty bad atm. But I'm expecting it to perk up with a bit of care. we didn't use mollasses and seasol frequently enough last growing season I suspect . I'll make a point of remedying that this season. Although we are expecting about 10 days of very nasty hot weather here in the very high 30's. I thin the biggest downfall of ours was DH who insisted on watering it too much the first year. Instead of teaching it to grow deep. But otherwise... Re: What type of grass do I need? 16Dec 27, 2012 7:21 am humble Real Grass $6 - $11 per sqm Fake Grass $40 - $110 per sqm That's a tad unfair H ... If you compare you have to go all the way - and over a set period - eg water costs, mowing time, mower cost, and fuel cost etc etc (someone to care for it when you go away) over - say - 10 years. Synthetic is dearer to start but evens out over the whole period. I agree re the smaller areas though. I love the smell of a freshly cut lawn though - nothing beats that look as the sun sinks and the water glistens on it - and you open that first beer. Re: What type of grass do I need? 17Dec 27, 2012 9:29 am Saint Mike humble Real Grass $6 - $11 per sqm Fake Grass $40 - $110 per sqm That's a tad unfair H ... If you compare you have to go all the way - and over a set period - eg water costs, mowing time, mower cost, and fuel cost etc etc (someone to care for it when you go away) over - say - 10 years. Synthetic is dearer to start but evens out over the whole period. I agree re the smaller areas though. I love the smell of a freshly cut lawn though - nothing beats that look as the sun sinks and the water glistens on it - and you open that first beer. Unfair? Not really.. Take the top of the line fake, 75sqm = $7500. Considering all grass needs is for that area.. 100mm of quality soil. Some Zeolite, and Molasses, and a mower, and some water (which can be farmed from the roof in tanks - using the money you saved on the fake stuff) Real Grass is way more cost effective. It takes me 10mins once a fortnight to mow that much lawn.. I turn the sprinkler on once a week for a hour. Its not a lot of effort. DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Please help me to answer this question , it will help me a lot as i can go to buy confidently with your recommendation: I want to put synthetic turf in our backyard for… 0 5542 Natural stone tiles like slate, travertine, and limestone add a timeless, elegant look to… 0 25075 2 4190 |