We RIPPED OUT an Entire Lawn with Sod Cutting (in Four Brutal Hours!)

The YardFarmer team assembled to help a client get rid of her front yard lawn in the fastest way we know... Sod Cutting! The work is hard and pretty brutal, but it's effective and incredibly fast! We'll show you the process from start to finish!
#permaculture #permaculturedesign #sustainablelandscaping #sustainability #sodcutting #lawns
Make sure to join us MOST Friday nights at 7:30 for YardFarmer LIVE! Just check the live tab here on KZbin and set a reminder for the next show! We answer listener questions and try to help folks reach their sustainable landscaping goals!
I'm Daryl. I really hate mowing the lawn.
That’s how all of this began: a search for landscaping alternatives that don't require sacrificing every Saturday morning to the mower.
As a certified permaculture designer, I help transform boring, basic lawns into beautiful yards that take care of us the way we take care of them.
If you are interested in learning more about my process, please visit me at yardfarmer.co

[@riverrootsfarm]

I ripped out a bunch of sod by hand in my front yard 3 years ago when I started my vegetable garden. In order to minimize the amount of sod to be cut, I decided to cut out the pathways (fairly deeply, prob like 4 inches) and flip those thick sod squares upside down onto the beds. It was just cut, flip, cut, flip… without all the hauling off. It wasn’t too bad. It also made it so my beds were like 6-8 inches above my pathways from the get go. I then put a thick layer of compost over the beds, and then mulch (usually leaves). I had to hand weed the pathways a lot at first, and I eventually woodchip mulched them. But hardly any weeds/grass ever popped up in the beds. I think it was smothered by my sod sandwich technique lol. And now 3 years later, the garden is thriving and the original sod layers are totally broken down into crumbly soil 😁 it worked… but it was hard work lol. I have used different methods since then that I like better.

[@yardfarmerco]

That sounds like an AMAZING amount of work! Grass makes for great compost for sure, your garden sounds lovely!

[@dremilypenney]

Cool! Facing a similar task myself… When you wood chip mulched, did you still have to weed the grass out or did that take care of the issue?

[@mbiliameekers2665]

I did this by hand in our hell strip and it suckkkkedddd. Sod cutter def looks like the way to go

[@yardfarmerco]

Oh, no!!! It was back breaking labor WITH the sod ripper! I can't even imagine doing it by hand!

[@Lou_Mansfield]

I dug some sod to plant four trees in my backyard. It is a ton of work and my body hates me now 😂😂

[@yardfarmerco]

It's a TON of work! Here's to a speedy recovery for you!

[@markdlt2989]

Great video and helpful information. What about weeds. How's the area holding up. I want to tear out my front yard this summer and don't want to layout plants, rock etc then be weeding every weekend. Even the best weed barrier breaks down. Ugh!

[@yardfarmerco]

Weeds are a HUGE problem anytime you disturb the soil! We advocate sheet mulching, which is putting down a layer of cardboard and then heavily mulching the area, at least 3 inches deep, if not more. Then you can plant your plants by cutting through the cardboard. Any weeding that needs to be done will be pretty easy since the weeds won't have anything firm to root down into.

[@sheenamcinnes7948]

Hi!! On projects you are installing and doing all of the work, where do you take all of the compostable material (do you have a storage yard you rent or something?)and where do you get compost for projects? I ask because I’m thinking of starting a design business up in Canada 😅 My other comment is, I wonder if it would be worth it to hire a skid steer and get it done in maybe less than an hour? Plus they could load it into a truck for you. Thanks!!

[@yardfarmerco]

Hi! It really depends on the project! With most of my clients I advise them to compost that material onsite and get that closed-loop system going! We ripped out some sod from a yard in April that is happily on its way to compost for our client! There are plenty of local compost initiatives, too. Our city has really low cost compost that can be sourced from the county, or if in a real bind we'll grab a locally sourced organic compost from a hardware store. Thanks for watching! CANADA IS AMAZING!

[@jparks6544]

@@yardfarmerco You can not compost sod with the plastic mesh in it. It is garbage and that's that.

[@TheJewbecca]

This doesn't work if you have bermuda grass. I can't even keep a small circle of dug, cardboarded and heavily mulched lawn bermuda grass free. I have tried 3 different nonchemical ways. So sad, I hate having a grass lawn.

[@user-yp1bu8jm7n]

Just cut your outline and cover with a tarp and wait till spring 🌱

[@yardfarmerco]

We actually did this at the beginning of spring 2023 for a project going in over the summer!

[@simonfootie6255]

Just dig the turf in

[@JamieR2077]

You've never worked with bermuda grass have you ;)

[@simonfootie6255]

No need to remove the turf your taking away all the good soil Dig the turf in

[@yardfarmerco]

We removed the turf to another part of the yard for composting, nothing was wasted!

[@JamieR2077]

Haha you've never worked with bermuda grass have you? 😅

[@simonfootie6255]

Dig it in never remove that much​@@JamieR2077