Garden Elements - Field Turf (Artificial Grass)

In San Diego, rising water prices along with maintenance costs have made standard turf lawns a significant long term expense.  When a home owner looks at the total cost of maintaining a lawn (water, mowing, fertilizer, irrigation repair), they will discover that their 500 square foot lawn ended up costing a total of roughly $5,000 to maintain over the course of ten years.  Other issues with the standard sod lawn include dog damage and difficult growing conditions such as tree shade and poor drainage.  A growing trend in San Diego has been to do away with sod lawns and switch to artificial grass.

Artificial grass has come a long way since the days of cheap Astroturf laid over concrete.  The best in artificial grass available today is Field Turf which is made and installed by the Easy Turf Company, based here in San Diego County.  Field Turf is now used in many football stadiums, from high school to the NFL.   The three reasons for its popularity are durability, drainage and most important of all, reduction in maintenance expenses. 

Field Turf is backed by a 10 year warranty for residential landscapes.  Field Turf is made from a high quality polyethylene material that is coated to resist water and sun damage.  The backing that holds the “grass” fibers in place is designed with hundreds of tiny holes in each square yard of material.  This design is far superior to the felt backing found in some cheap artificial grasses.  Underneath Field Turf, 3 layers of fill and aggregate material are installed to further aid in cushioning impacts and improving drainage.

The result is a lawn that is as soft as grass but drains better.  Another benefit of Field Turf is the reduction of weeds and weed flowers.  This in turns reduces allergies and bees in the lawn area.  Dog urine also drains right though Field Turf without discoloring the material.  Even doggy landmines will not discolor Field Turf thanks to its polymer coating.  One drawback of Field Turf is the heat issue.  Field Turf will be warmer than regular grass, although it retains less heat than concrete.  

Field Turf costs about $10 to $15 per square foot which makes it a little more expensive than concrete ($8 - $10 per sq ft) and considerably more expensive than just installing a sod lawn ($2 - $4 per sq ft).  But when you factor in the water and maintenance cost savings, Field Turf ends up costing about the same over the course of ten years.

For more information, check out Easy Turf’s web page and give them a call to find out how they can install Field Turf in your garden.  http://www.easyturf.com/

Photos provided by Easy Turf