Although you may like the look of your lawn, you have to admit that it can easily be much more work than a typical garden. So, a lot of people are turning their lawns into gardens. Not only can they be easier to upkeep, but they can also provide your family with food that you can dry or can to have fresh vegetables or even fruit throughout the growing season. If you’re wondering how to turn your lawn into a garden, there are a few avenues you can take. We’ll outline them for you.
- Sheet Mulching
One of the easiest ways to make the conversion from lawn to a garden is sheet mulching. Cut the grass as short as you possibly can to start. Get a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard and cover the newly cut grass. Make sure that your newspaper or cardboard overlaps, so you don’t accidentally let any sun through. You’ll cover this with at least four inches of compost or mulch. Cut holes through the newspaper or cardboard for your plants. You can also wait a season for your newspaper to decompose to add plants.
- Raised Garden Boxes
If you want to keep patches or your lawn or paths, you can install raised garden beds. Spread a thick layer of cardboard or landscape cloth on the ground to help suppress the grass and build boxes on top. The boxes can be in any shape. Fill them with organic garden soil, and they’re ready for your plants. It’s a great technique if you have back problems and can’t bend to reach a traditional garden. You will need to amend and refresh the soil in the boxes each growing season.
- Sod Tilling or Cutting
One of the oldest ways to make the switch from a lawn to a garden is sod tilling or cutting. You can cut strips of sod away with a sharp tool or till the ground to turn up the soil. Once the grass is gone, cover the exposed soil with a 6 to 10-inch layer of newspapers. Add another four to six inches of compost and three to four inches of mulch on top of the newspapers. This will enrich the soil to provide nutrients while preventing your grass from growing back. Plant whatever you want in the new space.
- Solarization
This is the process of keeping light from reaching your lawn to kill it by covering it with a sheet of black plastic. It works best in areas that get a lot of sunlight with hot summer weather. Cut the grass as short as possible and cover the area you want to convert into garden beds with polyethylene plastic. Add garden stakes or rocks to hold it in place. The plastic will trap heat in the soil to kill weeds, grass, and some plant diseases. It has to stay on for four to eight weeks to kill the grass. Once it does, you can remove it and add mulch and compost before planting whatever you like in your new garden.
Contact Evergreen Landscaping
Do you have more questions on how to turn your lawn into a garden? Maybe you’d like professional help with this project. Either way, contact us at Evergreen Landscaping. We’re ready to help you grow a thriving garden in your yard this season.
I really liked the segment of your article that talked about raised garden boxes. An idea like this could make it much more convenient for my entire family to contribute to our garden since not a lot of us are capable of reaching downward onto the ground over and over again. I’ll ask for this from a landscape designer in the area for sure when I hire them this season.
Thanks for the reminder that mulching is also an important thing to look into when planning to get some yard landscaping done. I’d like to look for a good contractor soon because I’m thinking about setting up a playground on my backyard. Being able to change up the landscaping back there will be essential for that.