NFR Help me kill my lawn

[tkww]

Blocking light, cutting off water, and increasing heat. Plastic or cardboard. I've seen people do two layers of plastic, with one suspended a few inches above the other, as a way of increasing the heat (like a double-pane window). Once you're done and you've sod-cut off whatever is left, be sure to water it good over a couple of weeks and see if anything sprouts--I'm thinking of burmuda grass rhizomes. (At which point I would reach for round-up, but to each their own.)

 

[CRO]

you could start by burning the existing grasss with a weed burner before covering with a tarp. This should help destroy any seeds from growing after you remove the tarp.

 

[dep]

sod cutter. makes easy work of removing the grass. disposing of it will take time as it is heavy.
then a roto tiller to work the soil and any new material that you add.
I was proud of my leveler that I made.
half a sheet of plywood with 3 inch nails pounded thru it. then I attached a rope to the end and drug it behind me. worked awesome

 

[Paige]

sod cutter. makes easy work of removing the grass. disposing of it will take time as it is heavy.
then a roto tiller to work the soil and any new material that you add.
I was proud of my leveler that I made.
half a sheet of plywood with 3 inch nails pounded thru it. then I attached a rope to the end and drug it behind me. worked awesome

A pallet works very well too!

 

[dep]

good point! actually, very good point

 

[Jake Watrous]

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

Don’t use plastic.

Cardboard is free and works awesome. Double layer over the grass, and if you can’t stand the look of it, you can get yards and yards of free wood chips from any tree service (saves them a dump fee).

The cardboard turns into a mulch and compost for the soil, and you don’t have to futz around with plastic.

We used the wood chips to level our yard, and as they composted down they turned to soil.

Level garden space with minimal fuss.

 

[RCF]

The wood chips make great mulch and soil. Maple, alder, fir, cedar, pine ---> whatever they are working nearby on that day. This mix allows water to flow through. These services deliver only when in the area they are working so harder to schedule.

We get 40 to 50 yards almost every year for free. Very environmentally conscious too.

 

[SteelHeadDave]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I’ll have to think about this some more but I’ve got some good ideas to work with from you all. I’ll update with whatever progress I make this year.

 

[O' Clarkii Stomias]

I'm not sure I understand all the hatred for lawns. IMHO, a healthy lawn is a much better defense against weeds than fabric covered xeriscape covered with river rock or mulch. I spend way more effort keeping weeds at bay in my river rock than I do in my lawn. River rock is great for a year or two, but once the organic material settles into the river rock, the weeds show up. Give a weed enough time, and it will establish it's root system below the landscape fabric.

 

[Aufwuchs]

If the yard is fenced, just buy or borrow some chickens. At my house, a dozen chickens took a lush green lawn down to bare dirt over an area of roughly 600-700 SF in about two weeks.

 

[Tom Butler]

I'm not sure I understand all the hatred for lawns. IMHO, a healthy lawn is a much better defense against weeds than fabric covered xeriscape covered with river rock or mulch. I spend way more effort keeping weeds at bay in my river rock than I do in my lawn. River rock is great for a year or two, but once the organic material settles into the river rock, the weeds show up. Give a weed enough time, and it will establish it's root system below the landscape fabric.

I'm with you. My lawn is kind of mix of a lot of stuff, grass, violets are blooming now, thyme ect. I don't fertilize or use chemicals. My upwind neighbor has lots of dandelions, but it only takes a a couple of half hour sessions over the year to pull by hand. We do get to water, so I waste some during the summer. The big trees and green lawn help keep the summer heat down around the house so less AC.

 

[SurfnFish]

Lot of folks replacing lawns with Thyme and Clover..whole lot less water, no mowing, and supposedly suppress weeds

 

[Zak]

Lot of folks replacing lawns with Thyme and Clover..whole lot less water, no mowing, and supposedly suppress weeds

But lots of bees.

 

[RCF]

But lots of bees.

The world needs more bees especially for pollination.

 

[BriGuy]

The world needs more bees especially for pollination.

While I agree, good luck convincing my wife. She always wants me to set the mower real low so I lop off the flowering heads of the clover to keep the bees away.

 

[PhilR]

Lot of folks replacing lawns with Thyme and Clover..whole lot less water, no mowing, and supposedly suppress weeds

When I was a kid it was dichondra, and you only went barefoot once after stepping on a snail.

 

[NRC]

Weird path through the clover. Is this person secretly on skis!?

I’ve been working on propagating ground cover thyme in my garden beds. Good stuff. They do say you can walk on it but I won’t test that until it’s more abundant.

 

[RCF]

While I agree, good luck convincing my wife. She always wants me to set the mower real low so I lop off the flowering heads of the clover to keep the bees away.

Last year was our first year in reduced fruit production (pear-apples). Normally 100+ per tree, last year only 2 per tree.

It is also better for the environment to have the grass longer than that. Reduces usage of water.

 

[BriGuy]

Last year was our first year in reduced fruit production (pear-apples). Normally 100+ per tree, last year only 2 per tree.

It is also better for the environment to have the grass longer than that. Reduces usage of water.

I like having the clover and the bees. I hate mowing low because it takes all the green off the grass plants.

I rarely ever use chemicals on the lawn -- especially when the kids were young and the dog was around. I just put up with the weeds and controlled things with elbow grease. I do use more water than I like, but we've been backing off on the watering over these last few years, too.

I still prefer lawn in the yard, because we use it.

 

[RCF]

I like having the clover and the bees. I hate mowing low because it takes all the green off the grass plants.

I rarely ever use chemicals on the lawn -- especially when the kids were young and the dog was around. I just put up with the weeds and controlled things with elbow grease. I do use more water than I like, but we've been backing off on the watering over these last few years, too.

I still prefer lawn in the yard, because we use it.

I have not used chemicals on the lawn in over 20 years. Being next to a stream and lake that is even more important for the environment.

The lawn is kept to about 4 inches long. We do not water it in the summer either except a small area, like you, that gets used a lot. Gardens are maintained with free wood chips as mulch and making great quality soil. Also helps retain water that we do do in the summer to keep the plants alive.