If you find yourself grilling out on your lawn, you could run into a few problems with your grass. Grease and hot embers from your grill are really not a recipe for a healthy lawn. So, how can you protect your lawn while it’s BBQ season? Well, you have some options for things you can lay under your grill on grass. Let’s take a look.
What Can You Put Under a Grill on Grass? (The Short Answer)
Grill mats and concrete pavers are just a few products that you can use to protect your lawn from the dripping grease and heat from your grill. Using these temporary solutions will provide enough protection for your lawn, making grilling on your grass no longer a hazard.
The Impact a Grill Can Have on Your Grass
The main issues that come with grilling directly on your lawn without any type of protection are scorching the grass, polluting the soil, and reducing the photosynthesis process. Let’s take a closer look at what this means.
Grass Scorching
On a hot summer’s day, you might see temperatures hit triple digits. Most of us will see a definite change in our lawns if this weather persists, with the lawn stopping growing and browning off. So, if you imagine that embers from a charcoal grill can be anywhere between 900-1650 F, your grass has no chance of surviving. Now the grass blades play a vital role in the photosynthesis process. No blades equal no lawn. Burning the grass will basically kill the grass.
Reducing the Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process of using the energy of sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water with a byproduct of oxygen. So, in addition to burning or scorching the grass blades, covering them in grease and oils will clog the blades’ pores and block out the sunlight. Both factors stop the photosynthesis process and lead to a dead lawn.
Soil Pollution
We all know that pouring oil into the soil is not a good idea for the environment and the plants living within it. Adding oil to the soil changes its makeup, including the pH. So, the grass will end up struggling to survive in poor soil while trying to absorb the fats and grease through the roots. The easiest explanation is that the cooking grease will poison the lawn.
Are all Grills on Grass Bad?
Grills come in two main types, gas and wood/charcoal. You’re not going to get falling embers from a gas grill, but you will potentially get dripping grease. So, no matter which grill you have, you’ll still run the risk of damaging your lawn. A big gas grill or a small charcoal grill poses a threat to your lawn, so you should treat them the same and have a solution to protect your lawn. So, let’s look at what to put under a grill on grass.
3 Things You Can Put Under a Grill on Grass
If your lawn is the only place on your property available to place your grill, then you’ll need to shop around for some protection for your lawn. Here are a couple of low-cost ideas that might help on grilling day.
Grill Mats
A grill mat is probably the quickest and easiest solution you’ll find to protect your lawn from your grill. They provide a method to catch grease and reduce the heat from reaching the lawn. These mats come in all shapes and sizes and can easily be cleaned and stored away after grilling to reuse next time you want to BBQ.
Concrete Pavers
Concrete pavers are another way to protect your lawn from the heat and grease your grill creates while cooking. A handful of concrete pavers from your local hardware store will stop the heat and catch the grease your grill makes.
Cardboard
Most gas grills don’t actually generate much heat underneath the grill itself. So it’s really only dripping grease that could be a potential problem. Placing a flattened-out cardboard box under the grill is a quick and easy fix if you have nothing else. But if you’re using a charcoal grill or a grill that gets very hot underneath, then skip using anything that could catch on fire.
Mistakes when Using Platforms for Grills on Grass
The biggest mistake I see when people use platforms or mats on their grass to protect their lawn from the hazards of grilling is they leave them on the grass too long. If you leave it covered, it only takes a day or so for the grass to start dying. So, when you finish grilling, you need to remove the protection as soon as the grill cools down. So, can you put a grill on the grass? Yes, but just remember not to leave the protection down too long after grilling.
Find a Permanent Spot for Your Grill if You Can
When it comes to BBQ time, I find myself using my grill outside more than I use my kitchen. So, continuously moving my grill around my lawn to protect my grass becomes a real pain. Finding a permanent spot for the grill is an ideal solution. Instead of moving pavers around your lawn, you could sink a few into the lawn as a permanent solution so that they are low enough that you can mow straight over the top of them.
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