How do I get rid of my lawn?

There are a number of possible ways and I've tried most of them.  Here are my suggestions based on experience:

• Remove the grass (manually or with sod cutter), add loads of compost and till.  This is truly the best method.  If you're in an older neighbourhood, your soil is probably hard-packed under there.  If you're in a new neighbourhood, you probably have only 6" of topsoil.  Take the time now to prepare your soil and you will thank yourself for it later.

Kill the grass (a. smother with carpet or plastic for a season, b. smother with newspaper and top with a mixture of topsoil and compost, or c. use herbicide and top with soil)

For method a, wait for a year before planting - but it doesn't look pretty in the meantime!   Also, using plastic will kill all the beneficial organisms in the soil.  

For methods b & c, you can plant right away by digging extra-large holes to amend the soil on a plant-by-plant basis.  This works too but is more work in the long run.  Also, in our dry climate, it takes a while for the newspaper to break down (supposedly you can cut through it with a shovel when you plant, but it's been a headache whenever I've tried it).  I don't recommend herbicides for environmental reasons.  Besides, in both cases, you'll be raising the soil level and will constantly having soil falling down onto your sidewalk or patio.  If these disadvantages don't bother you, look for more details by googling "lasagna gardening".

Build raised beds  If the raised bed is at least 8" high, it will take care of the problems of compacted soil or lack of soil as well as soil falling where you don't want it to.  There are many beautiful options to match your house and garden style to contain the raised bed - stone, wood, brick or concrete blocks and more.  Put the newspaper down to prevent grass growing through, and fill with a quality garden soil mix.

Comments

[Carol in Mass.]

Welcome to blotanical. I'm happy to have found your blog. Looks like it will be a place where I will be able to glean some great ideas. Come by fora visit when you have a few minutes!
Carol
terranovadesign.blogspot.com

[James Mann]

Holy moly Janice, most of us are trying to make their lawns look better and you are telling us how to get rid of it.

Okay, seriously. Great tips.

We are just starting to learn backyard gardening and have a lot to learn but this tip will work great around the flower beds we have. The previous owners didn't take care of the yard and they are all over grown.

We have a great deal of work to do to really make it our own.

BTW: I found your site through Blotanical.

[Amy]

It's great to find another Canadian gardener below zone 4!

I've been doing a combination of raised beds and removing the sod/adding new soil depending on the situation. I have a very dry hillside in my front yard that I'm hoping to gradually cover with drought tolerant plants instead of lawn.

[Janice]

Nope. You won't find much information about taking care of lawns around here! I have a dog who "fertilizes" my small patch for me, so I don't bother doing anything else with it. I much prefer the diversity and visual interest of mixed perennials, shrubs and trees. It is said that lawns take more work than garden if you count all the fertilizing, watering and mowing time. It probably depends on your style and methods of gardening, but taking care of a garden isn't really work for me anyway. I think the Renegade Gardener said that mowing the lawn is the gardening equivalent of cleaning the toilet!!

[Gardener Finder]

I will be coming to calgary shortly and it is great to learn thaat there are many gardener fanatics there also.

Love from the UK

[Johnny Greenthumb]

I understand where your coming from if you want to completely remove your lawn to replace it with something but if its just for the sake of changing the grass doesnt this seem like an aweful lot of work? or is it just me?

[Janice Miller-Young]

Youre right.  Im assuming youd want to replace the grass with garden. Cause thats what Id want to do!
Janice

[Denise]

Look up sheet mulching on youtube. Lay cardboard down and voila, instant flowerbeds!

[Jordan Flight 45]

As empty vessels make the loudest sound, so they that have least wit are the greatest babblers. (Plato, Ancient Greek Philosopher)

[viagra online]

Excellent tips, I wasn't sure which was the correct approach when dealing with unwanted lawn.