NFR Help me kill my lawn

[SteelHeadDave]

I hate grass. It’s nice when it’s nice but it simply is not for me. I’d rather have more room to grow flowering plants, fruit trees and veggies. Plus mowing sucks. I also hate weeds that don’t go away easily. I’m three years into a house and I’ve put many hours into weed control with minimal success on the nasty stuff. Name the weed and I probably have it.

I refuse to go the poison route and I’m looking into methods of killing both my grass and weeds if possible. My yard is also not level and I hope to fix this issue afterwards. A lot of people I’ve talked to have had success with the cardboard and mulch method but seeing as how I want to level the yard after I’m not sure this is the best approach.

Recently I’ve been looking into solarization. Basically covering the entire lawn with plastic during the summer and trapping out water and increasing temps to a lethal extent. Has anyone tried this? Any other advice on killing off an entire yard without the use of chemicals?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Paul Voelker]

Sod cutter, roll it up and dispose of it or do it by hand like this guy:

 

[BriGuy]

If your yard is flat enough, rent a sod cutter and shave it all off. It leaves a nice, clear patch of dirt. You will have to figure out how to dispose of the sod, but you'll probably have to do some of that anyway regardless of what you do. Another option could be a rototiller. I've actually done both together -- cut it off and then tiil.

 

[Doublebluff]

Cardboard worked good for me but I left it down and put dirt on top of it. Kinda depends what you want to do in the end I guess. Good luck.

 

[Stonedfish]

Depending on how you plan to level your yard and all that is involved with that material wise, you might consider renting a bobcat. Scrap the lawn off with it and use it to move material for leveling, knocking off two birds with one stone. If you have a large area, this would definitely save you time.….and your back.
I’d have to believe there are rental companies that can drop one off at your place.
SF

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

How big is your lawn? I am wanting to do the same thing then replace with drought-resistant mini-clover, but I have 2/3 of an acre that I want to take out, so things like the cardboard option are kind of out. The other problem is what "lawn" I have is weed infested and patchy, so a sod cutter might not be the best route - likely will till it all under and hope the clover can just take over and crowd anything else out (I'm dreaming, I know).

Cheers

 

[Mossback]

This sort of thing is often done with a machine, I would consider a mini excavator or a bobcat. Solarizing will work, clear plastic tight to the lawn gives best results, but can take a while when cloudy and cool. You will be removing the dead turf anyways after solarizing, so I would just get a machine, scrape and level as desired, and move on with my project, rather than add steps and cost and time with plastic...but if you are in no hurry, plastic weighted down tight will kill lawn.
I hate lawn also...

 

[dirty dog]

This is what little I know after 60 years of life of mowing, watering, gardening, ect, ect, ect.
Best way to treat you soil is to roto till your lawn over and over until nothing comes up any more.
Now you have good soil to plant your trees and flowers.
But you are going to still have to till and weed for ever and ever. Amen

 

[Zak]

I did this on the steep parts of my lawn in Vermont. I bought rolls of black plastic and covered the steep areas, then left the plastic on for about a month in the summer. Then I took the plastic off, raked the dead grass away and broadcasted native wildflower seed mix. It worked. The only thing I'd do differently is use bags of single species seed instead of a mix. While the meadow look was ok, I would have preferred clumps/groupings of color.

 

[SurfnFish]

Friend who was a landscaper would cover lawns with black plastic for 30 days and then thoroughly rototill it.
When I was a kid we lived in the Outer Sunset of SF by the beach, where "Irish Lawn' was the norm- green painted concrete...lol

 

[krusty]

Once you get rid of your lawn and plant whatever trees and shrubs you prefer I'd advise covering the barren areas with a commercial grade breathable weed barrier (a heavy woven felt-like fabric) and on top of that a thick layer of river rock. Stay away from lava rock because it's hot and when you blow fallen leaves the lightweight lava rock moves as well. The fabric will let water and nutrients penetrate into the subsoil, and the river rock will significant reduce evaporative moisture loss. We've got areas that have been covered in such a manner that haven't had weed problems in the 30 years since the river rock installation. About the only area you'll still end up pulling some weeds is around the trunks of planted trees and shrubs....so don't plant prickly roses.

I see people putting a variety of bark on top of landscape fabric....which is a pointless waste of time because it eventually degrades to become an excellent soil substrate for weeds itself. River rock ain't cheap, it's heavy as hell...but it's forever.

 

[PhilR]

Asked a friend recently how he got rid of his lawn, since we’re considering the same.

Roundup, and spite.

At first, I thought he said sprite, and I was really confused.

 

[Matt B]

Asked a friend recently how he got rid of his lawn, since we’re considering the same.

Roundup, and spite.

At first, I thought he said sprite, and I was really confused.

Roundup and Sprite is a cocktail: the Soap Lake Sour.

 

[JayB]

I hate grass. It’s nice when it’s nice but it simply is not for me. I’d rather have more room to grow flowering plants, fruit trees and veggies. Plus mowing sucks. I also hate weeds that don’t go away easily. I’m three years into a house and I’ve put many hours into weed control with minimal success on the nasty stuff. Name the weed and I probably have it.

I refuse to go the poison route and I’m looking into methods of killing both my grass and weeds if possible. My yard is also not level and I hope to fix this issue afterwards. A lot of people I’ve talked to have had success with the cardboard and mulch method but seeing as how I want to level the yard after I’m not sure this is the best approach.

Recently I’ve been looking into solarization. Basically covering the entire lawn with plastic during the summer and trapping out water and increasing temps to a lethal extent. Has anyone tried this? Any other advice on killing off an entire yard without the use of chemicals?

Thanks,
Dave

It's an n-of-1 but the one person I've talked to that used the black-plastic-sheeting method counted it as an unqualified success. If it was me I think I'd go with the "Level first, kill later" approach but that's obviously just a personal preference.

 

[Mark Yoshida]

Last winter I did a 17’x20’ by hand with a grub hoe and shovel. Lots of work and took weeks to do it, then had to dump in my yard waste and any neighbor willing to let me dump HEAVY loads (maybe only 20 gal at a time due to weight) in their 90 gal container which took months.
Then did another 20’x20’ with a hand sod cutter, thinking it would be a breeze…NOT. Sore legs from kicking it along with a bad knee and hip. Then still had to get rid of the same in yard waste container.
Need to get 4 yards of minus rock next after I recover more from Covid on April 19.

 

[krusty]

Last winter I did a 17’x20’ by hand with a grub hoe and shovel. Lots of work and took weeks to do it, then had to dump in my yard waste and any neighbor willing to let me dump HEAVY loads (maybe only 20 gal at a time due to weight) in their 90 gal container which took months.
Then did another 20’x20’ with a hand sod cutter, thinking it would be a breeze…NOT. Sore legs from kicking it along with a bad knee and hip. Then still had to get rid of the same in yard waste container.
Need to get 4 yards of minus rock next after I recover more from Covid on April 19.
View attachment 63870View attachment 63868

Looks like an archeological dig!

 

[Yard Sale]

I just used a couple big ass blue tarps I already had. Waiting a few weeks and then raked it all up.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

There is the "organic" herbicide approach - concentrated (up to 20% acetic acid) vinegar/salt/soap, not sure what this does to the soil Ph though, have read it actually has little effect over the long term (ie, recovers within several weeks). @Mossback, got anything non this approach?

cheers

 

[Mossback]

Various organics will burn the foiliage, but tend to have little residual effect on root mass, so regrowth of turf would be an issue.
Pelargonic acid (not omri listed because it is not a soap) is a good choice for this 'burning' of the foliage approach. A trade name for this is 'Scythe', works well on weeds, mosses and cryptogams.
Ph issues can typically present after multiplte applications in a short period of time in dry climates, with planting occuring shorty after application. A few good rains dilute in most cases, but I have little personal experience with the vinegar approach on turf, mostly use it on driveways, and Scythe is a much more effective product for me than horticultural vinegar is.

I would rent a machine, and be done with it.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

Various organics will burn the foiliage, but tend to have little residual effect on root mass, so regrowth of turf would be an issue.
Pelargonic acid (not omri listed because it is not a soap) is a good choice for this 'burning' of the foliage approach. A trade name for this is 'Scythe', works well on weeds, mosses and cryptogams.
Ph issues can typically present after multiplte applications in a short period of time in dry climates, with planting occuring shorty after application. A few good rains dilute in most cases, but I have little personal experience with the vinegar approach on turf, mostly use it on driveways, and Scythe is a much more effective product for me than horticultural vinegar is.

I would rent a machine, and be done with it.

Thanks for the info!!

cheers