New Easy Way to Remove Lawn Grass to Make a New Garden

Easy way to make a new garden using an improved mulching method.
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New Easy Way to Remove Lawn Grass to Make a New Garden
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[@barryfoster453]

A black polythene sheet does the trick - takes about four weeks. It has the added benefit of stopping any rain, so the grass gets no water and no light. Just have to weigh it down with bricks. I'm a professional gardener in England, and I have another one to do next week - quite a large area where there were trees cut down, and grass and weeds have taken over. I will go back mid December and it will all be dead, so I can start a lawn.

[@alexiphigenia1618]

Thank you!

[@erikswartzendruber8629]

Love your videos. My experience: In western Oregon you have to smother grass for 2 YEARS before it dies. It will grow right through 6 or more inches of mulch.

[@richiej5812]

Cut out small squares of turf an plant your plants.....then cover area around plants with cardboard with woodchip mulch.....works well for me

[@gloriatucker6158]

I'm going to try this. I have four plants I want to put along side my walkway and I don't want to do the whole area. Thanks, I was wondering if something like this would work.

[@martyjewell710]

I wasn't in a rush and I didn't want to do the work, so I got a few chickens. Problem solved and eggs were a nice bonus!

[@insertphrasehere15]

TL;DR: Dig out the sod, and 4 inches of 'clean' soil under it, put the sod at the bottom of the hole with cardboard, then mix compost into the clean soil and mulch. Job done. I did mine in sections. Cut the sod off the top with a sharp shovel and set aside, dig down and pull up ~4in of soil and set aside, then put the sod back down (upside down), drop a layer of cardboard, then put all the loose soil from lower down on top of the cardboard. You can do this as a continuous process as you go, using the soil from section B to cover section A cardboard, etc. Then mix a bunch of compost/leafmulch/mulch into the soil and plant in it. It's not that much work, and if your soil is organic poor (as mine is) it has the advantage of moving the sod and topsoil low where it can do the most good, but also the cardboard will stop it from growing. When I plant isolated plants in the lawn (pumpkins and squashes mostly), I do something similar. Dig a big hole, pulling the sod out and flipping it over and opening it up to the sides (covering the grass next to the hole). Then I cut a square hole and drop a cardboard box into the hole (with tape removed). I fill the cardboard box with a 50/50 mix of compost and the soil from the hole (soil from under the sod). The cardboard box keeps the grass roots from going into the box (at least in the short term, and by then the squash has fully taken over the box's soil). Then I put a layer of mulch and plant my seedlings there. My butternuts and cucumbers took over the lawn, growing 5-6 meters in every direction.

[@emptynestgardens9057]

For me who was in no hurry it worked fantastic. Zone5🇨🇦 Covered lawn with organic matter and newspapers and 4 inches of arborist chips last summer '22. Now June '23 I pulled back the woodchips that hadn't fully decomposed to make a border, filled-in divet with 3in1 and planted. Viola new bed rich in organic matter and loaded with worms to continue their job. Not bad at all, my native soil is sand. All the weeds and grass were 90% gone. 👍🏻🌱🌼

[@gloriatucker6158]

I live in zone 5, I got clay dirt. I have to always buy soil for the plant and top soil.

[@GettingThereGreenGTG]

My kids inflatable swimming pool did a good job killing grass in a matter of a couple weeks last summer. Unfortunately it was lawn I didn't want to kill.

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thank you Mr. P. 🌸💚🙃

[@nebsun]

Cut through the grass roots at the boundary where you want to kill it, cover with a few layers of cardboard, then put a layer of compost or mulch on top of that - you don't want the grass to be fed from the connections it has which may reach outside the boundary, cardboard decomposes slowly which is what you need since it does take a while for grass (and weeds) to completely die off, the compost on top can be planted in right away and will help to retain moisture - the cardboard undertneath should be kept wet to kill the grass faster. In my case, even after a year or more there were still some weeds starting to punch their way through and I ended up using some checmical herbicide which finally eradicated them.

[@mohsen7021]

Thank you so much

[@alien_mysteries]

Wish my neighbors would use more organic methods. All my bees disappeared.

[@sdqsdq6274]

funny that you say that , nowsdays , its heavy use of Pesticide

[@shadyman6346]

Sunflowers will certainly bring bees. If not, then they are really gone.

[@tracynonumbers]

that's awful I'm sorry ppl are so lacking in foresight, as your work helps humanity

[@hanzketchup859]

You can flip the soil too, I did that in the middle of spring and its doing pretty good, the grass is coming in from the sides so around the bed I laid cardboard and covered it with wood mulch and it’s doing ok, but a different area I covered it with pine needles and Nothing is getting through that.

[@northrupmj]

That is also what I have ended up doing. I just wait for a nice hard rain to loosen it up a bit. Makes it much easier for me because I have hard clay soil. I use a root slayer shovel which also makes it easier

[@user-yp1bu8jm7n]

Yes I am also trying that also for next spring cardboard and grass and straw a few bags of compost

[@MyFocusVaries]

You might have better results if you start it in the fall.

[@billsnyder6945]

I am surprised you can comment on the cardboard method having never tried it. It works great and does not take that long to break down, and I am in zone 5b. A few inches of “any organic matter” will not smother and kill bluegrass or fescue. I have killed thousands of square feet of lawn using at least 8 inches or more wood chips and around the edges that meet grade and less than about 6-8 inches I use cardboard also. If I want quick results I will rototill grass and remove roots shaking out dirt. Charles Dowding does cardboard and 3” compost all the time, he is in a wetter slightly warmer climate. He plants right away, obviously it works and the cardboard is needed or he would skip that step.

[@davec1117]

Years ago when double digging a bed was the thing, i used the first 'big job' method to create new beds. Peel the sod off and bury deep in the bed roots up. Lot's of work intitially but 100% success, would i do it that way again, maybe but i think patience and less labour would probably win out.

[@johnharvey5412]

I had a grassy area that I wanted to re-naturalize, so I covered it in cardboard that I got from a local plumbing business, and removed it after a few months. The area sprang back with various wildflowers, small trees, blackberries, horse nettle, etc. Compared to the rest of my yard (all unmowed) it looks like a jungle.

[@sonnyamoran7383]

Wow, in 9b, my cardboard is gone in less than 5 weeks. I wet the area, lay cardboard, and wet it. Make my beds on top and plant on top. I cover my paths in cardboard, wet it, and mulch on top. I'm so sorry it takes so long where you are. I enjoy all your videos. Thanks

[@user-yp1bu8jm7n]

I am in no hurry my garden has been planted and I just wanted to extend it for next spring

[@rcfliertube]

How about mushroom compost (from Guelph Line !) Will this method kill weeds in my tomato garden?

[@NotGoddess]

2-3 inches of mulch alone won't tackle a weedy area with dandelion, quackgrass, etc, but if you have time, use 8 inches (it'll settle to 3-6), and re-mulching 2+ inches if you see things working through can work. But as you said - take time, and you have to always watch for emergence.

[@kevinmertel6108]

I think there's a tree in front of him that we don't see through a lot of the video. 8" of mulch might choke the tree out just as well as the grass.

[@richardm654]

​​@@kevinmertel6108 have 8 to 12 inches of arborist wood chips around all my trees, just pull back and taper away from trunk. Like steroids for my fruit trees. A nice mix of green and brown fresh from a tree company. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3SaeIR-pZ5gbrM

[@NotGoddess]

@@kevinmertel6108 I was speaking to removing weeds in an open area. But you are correct, if you did a mulch volcano - piling the mulch right up against a tree trunk - you can cause issues for a tree if it's left that way. You should always 'feather' or pull the mulch back from a trunk so you don't cause moisture issues. Having the mulch further out shouldn't affect the tree as there is airflow and water-flow through it, just not light.

[@donnaorr2626]

Once you smothered the grass, was it easier to dig it up at least?

[@Pete.Ty1]

👍👍👍Thank you

[@lilianaverd5944]

When you say the grass took longer than 3 weeks to die what do you mean? Like it's popping through the mulch or you just go and check and look underneath it? If its popping through the mulch it sounds like a nightmare to tackle it again.

[@richardm654]

In Florida, I used 8 to 12 inches of arborist woods chips and it has worked well. The only thing is bermuda grass still pops through. I just dig down and pull it. Been a month and most everthing is dead. Do not allow bermuda grass to take hold anywhere...nightmare.

[@robertcotrell9810]

I'll definitely use the lasagna method. I've had good experiences with it so far.

[@paulinecrispin121]

A few years ago I tried putting compost on top of grass and all that happened was that the grass just grow through it. In the end I dug it up. 😮

[@dianekistner7650]

Oh, but the earthworms LOVE cardboard! And it’s a way to get rid of all our Amazon boxes…

[@instantsiv]

I think market farmers do the lasagna method to start… they also use a plastic cover after harvesting for a month to kill plants/weeds and then replant. I wonder if air was a factor in the grass staying alive. Maybe cardboard/plastic cutting airflow will kill the grass.

[@aleidakesslerkessler272]

Can you talk about 🌱 swamp and butterfly milkweed. And maybe all the other ones too. Please. I’m just hear different information. Can you talk about the plant in Canada 🇨🇦, the North American and South American 🇺🇸 please. I know it’s about.

[@tuloko16]

Fire followed by thick mulching has always worked well for me. I hit the area with the string trimmer first, down as low as i can. Then burn the area wth a torch. Then keep it wet for a few days. When the mushrooms start to appear, i add the organic material.

[@emptynestgardens9057]

Thanks you just gave me an idea to deal with 1 of my older beds filled with Bishops weed. Nasty ground cover! Maybe if I till and burn, till and burn a few times I might actually regain control again.

[@tuloko16]

@@emptynestgardens9057 np. In the caribean we use fire to clean up and fertilize at the same time. Nature does it too with wild fires. You can see the soil just explode with new life shortly after it’s been burnt.

[@emptynestgardens9057]

@@tuloko16 Mother Nature always finds a way 😊🌱 This is so good to know especially in light of the wildfires going on here now.

[@MyFocusVaries]

​@@emptynestgardens9057 yikes. I don't know about tilling bishop's weed. You'll break up the roots into a million pieces, and I think that each of those pieces can grow into a new plant. Bishop's weed is a special case. We ended up digging off a lot of soil and sending it to commercial composting, where it gets hot enough to kill weeds. We replaced the soil in that small garden bed. That was after years of trying to control it. I've heard of others with large beds using black plastic to exclude light and water, and leaving it for a year to kill bishop's weed.

[@emptynestgardens9057]

@@MyFocusVaries yes that's correct about all the pieces that's why I'm thinking till burn quite a few times as you'll bring new sprouts to the surface each time. I've tried everything else to deal with this bed over the course of 20+years of owning this home. Fingers crossed the multiple burns gets it back in my control. 🤞🏻

[@Mopoppy]

Cardboard or newspaper works good

[@pearlruth]

I am starting to giggle. I tried fall leaves too. Did not kill the invasive weeds that (included poison ivy).

[@tumarfa]

Won't there be a few inches of grass roots everywhere? I'd imagine they would decompose way slower, like a whole growing season.

[@LifeHomeandGardenwithAnaRica]

I would try the lasagna method, Thank you!

[@gfutube1]

I made several flower beds in the past couple of years with 100 percent success. First lay out the border with hose. One of my beds is more than 80 feet long. Next spray the area with glyphosate. Wait 2 weeks and cover with cardboard. Cut holes in cardboard where you plan to put deep root plants. I even dug into the existing soil to ease such planting later. Then I placed 3-5 inches of municipal compost over top. Then planted all initial plants. Then cover with 2 inches of bark mulch. Guaranteed.

[@richardm654]

Glyphosate is a horrible poison that kills all the good stuff in soil and ends up in groundwater. Stays in the environment for decades. Nasty stuff for all life.

[@jcn50]

If it was me: I would pour boiling water on the grass to kill it~~ but you might need a lot of it for a big surface (so energy costly)~ it is faster though (some days).

[@torih.6612]

That would kill off your beneficial bacteria and insects too.

[@sdqsdq6274]

newspaper is not rare, its obsolete ,lol

[@rezganger]

paper isnt organic?

[@janetc3707]

You need to use the cardboard.

[@babsphillips8583]

Too much work. If I do it, I'll hire a company and just pay them. Probably won't be able to afford it so need to check that out.