Getting rid of grass?

[agraham999]

We have a small patch of grass in our front yard and a decent size lawn in the back yard. Personally we feel lawns are a waste of water and space so we'd like to eliminate the lawn in favor of ornamental grasses, stones, and other low water plants. We have planted a garden in raised beds which eliminated some of the lawn, but we're just getting started.

The question we have is how do you get rid of the rest of it?

My first thought was tilling the soil and then going over it with a roller drum, putting down some plastic, before finally covering it in stone. But how can I be sure the lawn won't grow back? Or, is this the wrong approach entirely?

[burnfromwithin]

If your neighbors aren't going to lynch you over it, I'd say just let it go!

Whatever can't naturally survive in your particular geographic area will die out and be replaced by whatever can.

[mikebeavis]

Alan, your yard seems something like mine. In the front I haven't done much except try to keep the grass green and healthy. I'm done mowing it literally in less than 5 minutes and probably in less than 3. So if I can compost the clippings from it (not that much) and my mower doesn't run very long, I don't feel guilty (better solution - a push-reel mower - is probably in the future).

The backyard I've been slowly establishing as a returned mini-forest. Mind you, my yard is very small, but in that 30' x 25' space I have 8 small ornamental trees growing as a screen along the back, a young pin oak, an even younger red maple that's growing like a weed, and now 4 young fruit trees (2 figs, 1 "green gage" plum, and 1 brand-new peach tree planted Saturday). Each of these trees ate a little more of the lawn because I've put mulch down (over old newspaper or specialized lawn fabric) around the whole perimeter of the yard and around the oak and maple in the middle of the yard.

If you were so inclined, you could plant a number of various fruit trees and put mulch/stone in around them to cover a good portion of the yard. My attitude now is, if you're going to plant a tree, plant a fruit or nut tree, and get some food out of the thing. Anyone with a backyard can have a mini-orchard and get delicious (actually-fresh) fruit from it, and mow less at the same time!

[ceffa2000]

If your objective is to just kill off the lawn and replace it, and you have a relatively small area, you could always just cover the area in a plastic sheet (or some other waterproof sheet). It will essentially suffocate the grass and kill it off. After that, I would then till the soil. You shouldn't have too much of a problem having the grass come back though you may be fighting weeds for a while if you don't kill it off well enough.

Or you could just rent a sod cutter and cut the lawn out. Compost it and reuse it for mulch next year. This option would require some additional soil to replace the turf you removed.

[agraham999]

The front yard is mostly ornamental and low water requirements...with the exception of planting artichokes which "look" very natural and are edible. I generally don't believe in planting anything that doesn't provide food or herbs.

My wife does have some flowers - hydrangeas, tulips, lilies, and some hanging baskets, but mostly we plant herbs and veggies. From my own perspective, growing up on/around the family farm...you plant ornamental things that require little water...the rest is for food. When you get your water from a well you can't afford to waste it on a lawn.

[ceffa2000]

totally agree with you philisophy. I am starting my first "large" vegetable garden this summer (from seed no less) and my intention is to eventually gain enough experience to plant over our front yard. Good luck with your plantings!

[mikebeavis]

When you get your water from a well you can't afford to waste it on a lawn.

This year all my gardening & lawn water is coming from the sky with the addition of 2 50-gallon rain barrels

[winclemo]

Good thoughts on the "why mow when you can grow" dilema.
We usually pick from a variety of things to do when "demo" a lawn. The lawn needs to be starved of light and oxygen primarily.
We have an old hand sod cutter (instead of using the loud gas-powered monster) that cuts the lawn in strips, that can be turned over and used as future "soil" after it breaks down. Adding a think layer of mulch over this after the lawn has been removed.
Tilling also works well but you'd have to go over it several times to really rip into the sod, and then add a thick layer of some sort of mulch.
A more passive way is to place several layers of cardboard over the lawn and then a thick layer of mulch. This is usually takes a season but does a decent job. The cardboard decomposes fairly quickly.
Planting fruit/nut trees and shading it out over time is a decent long term option, although turf is a not a friend of trees, as it takes away needed water and nutrients from the feeder root zone (approximately 2-3x the canopy area.) So making that area is free of grass and mulched (thinly to make sure there is gas exchange with the roots) is important.
Just some thoughts...

[jcoffman]

A more passive way is to place several layers of cardboard over the lawn and then a thick layer of mulch. This is usually takes a season but does a decent job. The cardboard decomposes fairly quickly.

Hey, this cardboard idea is pretty good! Never really thought of that. The cardboard starves out the light, yet unlike plastic still allows the water to soak through and into the ground rather than just running off like plastic. The cardboard decomposes and adds to the soil, unlike the plastic. Great idea Winclemo!!!

[mikebeavis]

Now he's got a reason to save all his pizza boxes...

I was using newsprint and shopping circulars to spread under new mulch yesterday as I was landscaping around some trees. I wonder if cardboard would be more effective, or less. I would think the water would soak through the paper easier (a good thing in my application) but the cardboard would block the light better (probably better for Alan's application).

[sirin97]

My first thought was tilling the soil and then going over it with a roller drum, putting down some plastic, before finally covering it in stone. But how can I be sure the lawn won't grow back? Or, is this the wrong approach entirely?

As much work as lawn mowing, watering, etc, is, this is probably the worst treehugging possibility. Plastic supports the oil industry, creates runoff problems (if used on a large scale), and discourages beneficial wildlife like bees and birds. Grass, at least, provides a living environment and decreases CO2. If you are concerned about water use, simply don't water it. If the work of mowing is the issue, you can till it up and plant ornamental low-water use groundcover or convert your lawn to wildflowers (though this looks terrible during the winter). Hope this helps!

[jcoffman]

sirin97 does have a good point. I guess I see both sides of the argument. You dont want to waste water, or use the mower, so just get ride of it.... But on the other hand I bet the amount of CO2 absorbed by the grass likely outweighs the very small amount of time your mower would be running (for me with a decent sized yard its MAYBE a gallon of gas a season). If you properly water the lawn by first using measuring cups to time your sprinklers properly or use rainwater containment systems, then I bet you would use much less water than you think to maintain your lawn.

I think my house is on a 1/3 acre lot. I have about ten 15 to 20 year old oaks, sweetgum, and elms in my yard that provide about 80% shade to my front and back yards. I have 6 zones on my sprinkler that I run for 5 to 10 minutes each once a week in the hottest part of summer..This is Texas, and stuff routinely busts into flames here..... I dont really care so much for the grass, more for the trees... Anyway, my water bill obviously goes up a little in the summer, but I think the offset the water useage provides is acceptable. I will be moving to a containment system soon though.

[SoCalSolar]

I like the cardboard idea - I have a project this summer of removeing a large ficus tree from my back yard as it's massive root system is destroying things at this point... It's like a rainforest banyan tree - the roots are as big as the trunk! Will be replaceing it with two citrus trees - probably orange and grapefruit. ...fairly easy to grow in "Orange County"... Yes, it is called that for a reason. Anyway, was wondering how to keep the grass out - carboard or newsprint sounds like a good plan.

[inkabinkaboo182]

You could keep the grass and raise some poultry birds on it. I mean, you can raise them off the grass (they'll still find bugs in the garden), but a lot of breeds have a reputation for tearing up gardens.

I have A LOT of information about poultry, if you need it.

[greenteadrinker]

Yes Yes and Yes! If you have young children that need
a place to play; fine. But for everyone else, we should all go to plants native to our area that can
get by on less water. Grass-plant it,water it, cut it,water it, cut it, water it, cut it. Massive waste of resources, time and money. It was a "keeping up
with Joneses" that we have to stop. Oh, and don't
forget the tons of chemicals we dump into our environment to keep it looking green. What a shame.