Do weeds grow on turf?

The short and honest answer... Yes absolutely.

As a artificial turf contractor in Northern CA I will be the first to tell my customers that turf is not no maintenance its low maintenance. I have seen jobs 16 years old like they were done yesterday and jobs 1 year old you could not even tell was turf.

Here you will learn why and preventative measures when it comes to turf and weeds.

The picture above is a Job installed in 2009 by Heavenly Greens.

That is 14 years from the day this was written... wild huh?

How do weeds grow in turf

First things first, WEEDS WILL NOT GROW THROUGH TURF OR DOWN PAST.

''if it was installed correctly''

Something that will contradict probably every YouTube video you have seen is a weed fabric dose more harm them good. All it dose is make the water harder to pass through and cause moisture under your turf. The backing of any turf out there is thicker then any weed block so don't even waste your time on it.

Have you ever gone around your neighborhood and seen ripples in turf? There is a few reasons for that but one of them is that wet fabric causing all kinds of issues underground.

The analogy I give to many customers is ''if I took a handful of foxtails and put them on your counter with some water, they will start to germinate and grow so why would a thick lush materials be any different''? Why would weeds grow in the joints of pavers and concrete but not in turf?

Dose not make much sense right?

The great marketers out there have painted this image that it wont happen and that is just not the truth.

Nut Grass

Nut Grass is the only weed that truly will come up through the base and find its magical way to break the turf in the seems, hole punches, or just straight up rip it. This stuff is a nightmare if you do not look out for it.

I'm no plant expert but from my 400 jobs installed, this is the only weed I have truly battled.

If you see this stuff then the trick to killing it is doing a 6'' inch removal and add a thick layer of salt on the dirt before you install the base. It seems to work for me well.

Examples and preventative measures

This customer reached out to me about 6 months after a install saying ''weeds are growing in and around his turf and this was not acceptable.'' I responded with ''you need to pull them or it will get worse. ''

Yes I get it. You want turf to have no maintenance but you gotta get out there and pull those weeds.

Sometimes the weeds on the edge are difficult to pull so you can rip the tops off and spray with any household weed killer. It should not damage the turf if your contractor is using a reputable brand turf.

This is the same location but 3 or so months after heavy rain falls and he did not pluck the weeds or spray them from the first picture.

Now this customer is really mad and about to have a even worse issue as those seeds blow all over the turf. This is a common complaint or bad review turf companies get and it sucks for us but its mother nature. She will always take back her planet.

Here is a check list to maintain from weeds in your turf

• pull any weeds in the middle of the turf as they pop up (they come out like butter if you catch it early on). They have nothing to grab onto yet.

• the edges can be hard so pull the tops off but leave some green and spray with a herbicide ( round up)

• blow off the turf from any organic materials ( you don't want them to break down into the turf)

• once a year prior to Spring mix some salt water and spread on the turf ( salt water will help kill germination and is pet friendly)

I hope this gives you a better understanding of weeds growing on artificial grass and why. Whom ever you choose to install your job should relate and understand what I'm saying as well they should have a service section that can help you through this and understanding what you can and cant do to maintain the turf with weeds.

All my clients are always welcome to reach out and ask questions.

Thank You