How to decrease the size of lawn

I decided to go lawn free. Well, maybe not entirely free, but I decided I must decrease the size of lawn and add more plant beds and a raised veggie garden.
How to remove about 1000-1200 square feet of lawn and weeds? I don't want to rent a sod cutter, because the lawn is on the slope, it's always very wet in places and has a lot of surface roots from nearby evergreen trees. I also don't want to remove the best layer of soil that's right under the surface of the grass. Of all the methods I've read about spraying with organic grass killer sounds least back breaking and relatively fast. Has anyone tried that? Do I need to dig the roots out after spraying or can I just bring a good topsoil and compost and start planting? I'd appreciate any advice as Spring is approaching fast and I already purchased 200 or more plants and need to put them in the ground promptly (thanks, NWFGS!)

This message was edited Mar 11, 2013 8:59 AM

Wow I think I would start with the flowerbeds first. Lay out the plants where you want them planted, figure out the shape of the bed and just do them one at a time. The way I do it is with a pitchfork. Loosen the soil and pull out the grass and weeds, plants the new plants. Then you could cover with newspaper and compost to keep the weeds from growing back. I would worry about the rest of the lawn after that. Hiring it done is the easiest way. Covering with paper or cardboard and waiting for it to die-out is I think the second easist way but it takes awhile. Would like to see pictures as you go along. I'm doing the same but on a small scale. Good Luck.

I did this last year when adding a new bed to my yard, and it worked great: layer newspaper on top of the grass (4 pages thickness minimum). Then 5 inches of compost. Then 8 inches of new bedding soil. You can plant immediately, and don't need to wait for the grass to die. None of my grass came back. It worked great. The layers will compact quickly so it won't be terribly mounded. after planting, you cdn mulch again with some more compost to prevent weeds.

My method required no chemicals or digging. And the bed started immediately with fantastic soil.

Willowwind2, as much as it is tempting to go your way, I'm afraid most of the plants I bought (Spring ephemerals like trillium, erythronium, sanguinaria, dodecatheon etc.) would not like to be planted in the grass. They would get smothered by it. I have read that the best way is to prepare the entire bed first, because even though initially it's huge amount of work, it'll pay back later.
kosk0025, your method seems reasonable. I've read about this "lasagna" or "layering" method, but always thought I must wait for the grass to die first, before I could proceed with planting. If you are sure that it'll work, I might start putting newspapers and cardboard in my garden.
Thank you both for you advice!

If you layer enough bedding soil on top, it becomes a similar concept to a raised bed, so you can def plant immediately. This year, when I had to dig down deep to add some shrubs and trees, I was thrilled to find no sign of the grass or the newspaper. I favor newspaper over cardboard, as it decomposes faster. Good luck!

kosk, sounds great! I will go with newspapers and compost/soil. Just need to wait for a little dryer weather :-)
Thanks!

I didn't mean for you to plant in the grass but to remove it. kosh's method sounds really good if you want to add all the extra soil. I have good soil and don't need to do that so I take the time to dig it all out. Once I plant a bed then I compost it every or every other fall.

>> has a lot of surface roots from nearby evergreen trees.

Does anyone know which tree roots will infiltrate a bed and take it over? I want to put shallow raised beds around some pine trees, and I wonder if I need a root barrier between tree roots and raised bed soil.

RickCorey, pines have deep roots and as long as you don't pile dirt against the tree trunk (which is very unhealthy for a tree), you should be fine. My trees are western red cedars that have massive root systems right below the soil surface. It's a very hard place to plant and grow anything and I've read that even if I pile fresh soil over these roots, they will eventually resurface. I have no clue what to do with this spot in my yard, maybe except putting an informal gravel or wood chips path. What do you want to grow in your shallow beds?

>> What do you want to grow in your shallow beds?

Flowers, but that spot is also very shady. There is a ditch, then a wood fence 6-8 feet away on one side, and a shed 8-10 feet the other way. Then the house is about 12 feet in another direction. I mean FULL shade. Mainly I wanted flowers there because a window looks out on it.

Maybe ferns? Prettier than the woodpile I have there now (anything too big to shre and compost). I may throw some compost on top and call it "hugelculture" in a few years.

>> pines have deep roots and as long as you don't pile dirt against the tree trunk (which is very unhealthy for a tree), you should be fine.

I was planning one circular or 8-sided wall around the tree to hold soil away from the trunk.Then maybe a circular outer wall 2 feet outside that, with the bed between the two walls.

BUT, if I have to lay down heavy plastic to keep roots out the bed, I would not cover the whole circle with plastic Just some arcs, so the soil near the trunk can still breath. And I would still be nervous about "choking" the soil.

The drip line is many feet farther out, so the t ree won't starve or be thirsty.

I think your pine will be just fine with its tap root system. A circular raised bed sounds very nice, but growing in shade that can potentially be also dry (under the canopy of an evergreen tree) can be very challenging. I have a few dry shade spots under wide eves that never receive any rain. What works great there is all kinds of Epimedium (bishop's weed) and hardy Cyclamen (both hederifolium - late summer bloomers and coum - winter bloomers).
Great Plant Picks has an awesome list of dry shade plants for PNW, you might find some great examples there for your new bed.
http://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/advanced/

Enith, your project sounds very ambitious, but definitely worth it in the end! What plants are you planning for you new bed?

Kosk, I'm curious to know what mixture of materials you used for your 8 inches of bedding soil. (topsoil? compost? sand? manure or fertilizer of some kind? something else?)

Hi---I bought pre-prepared "power plant mix" from a wonderful local company, Highway fuel company. I buy usually around a unit of compost, and a unit of power plant mix from them every year, to amend beds and also to add new ones. It is a loamy blend of sand, compost, and other stuff. A unit is 7.5 cubic yards, so it takes me several months of wheelbarrowing. But it's worth it for healthy big plants.

Mauryhillfarm, I am a little overwhelmed by the size of my project. Removing that much of the lawn will be either though or taking long or expensive or all the above. Kosk's idea sounds great, but I have no idea where to get so many newspapers.

My backyard right now is a good size lawn (irregular, roundish shape), then native and non - native shrubs on the perimeter and then a true PNW forest behind it. The long continuous bed on the perimeter has both full sun and full shade, spots always wet and spots always dry, so it is quite challenging to design 150 foot long border with so many different conditions and make it look unified and harmonious. I will deepen this border by another three feet and then put three foot wide red brick path in front of it. That's why I'm removing all this grass and so much of it.

I already have a huge amount of shrubs to plant, because I am a compulsive plant buyer. I have about 30 good size camellias, some rhododendrons, hydrangeas, viburnums, hamamelis, tree peonies. These will become a middle story in my adjacent to the forest yard. Then many perennials, like Spring ephemerals (including our native Erythronium, Trillium, Dodecatheon etc.), hellebores, daylilies, ferns, hostas as a lowest story. I have many plants, but will need probably many more and I'm hoping to get some good ones in April during Bloedel Reserve Plant Sale :-)

Enith---I love your spirit and ambition. You sound really cool. Wish I lived closer!!!! I had 3 friends plus myself save newspapers for me for a few months. You can also use paper grocery bags.

Kosk, thanks so much for you kind and encouraging words!!

I have a decent amount of cardboard boxes (order online A LOT) and instead of stuffing them in a recycling bin I will start collecting them for my project! They will probably take longer to decompose (like you said), but maybe will be more effective in smothering that pesky grass!

enith,

Thanks for the link. I will check it. And good luck with your project. I guess it's too late to suggest just doing a little each year!

>> Great Plant Picks has an awesome list of dry shade plants for PNW, ...
http://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/advanced/

Be sure to keep us informed of your progress.

You can also get nice LARGE pieces of cardboard from the appliance stores--they work great, I've used 'em. I've even put them down with plants already put in place in a bed, but you have to have a good eye for how to cut & slit the piece so it will fit around the plants already there. It's best to lay a large piece down before the plants, and then cut the X's and fold back in the spots for the plants. The cardboard will smother the weeds for quite a while and your plants will get ahead in covering the ground. You do need to put some soil or mulch on top of it though,so the bed will look nice. Cardboard looks terrible.

Love using card board. Started using it three years ago to make or rejuvenate beds and paths. All grass is gone now. I started with a few beds then paths, laying out the cardboard, slowly covering with mulch. It only takes about a season for the cardboard to decompose with our damp climate. As I have moved plants into the beds I sometimes take an old serrated kitchen knife out to slice through semi decomposed cardboard. I overlap the cardboard and layer more than one layer sometimes.

I started converting a 30 x 75 foot area to a woodland garden using this method starting last spring. Finished converting grass to beds and paths this winter and spring. Am still filling in an delineating beds and paths for this woodland area. One bed surprised me with a nice stand of morel mushrooms this month. You seldom have many weeds with using cardboard and mulch because you don't stir up dormant seeds. It is hard to believe I used to double dig. Wish I'd discovered this method sooner.

Hi Jewell, What do you put over the cardboard for your paths? I have a bunch to make and was wondering about what to use.
Fantastic find on the morels. We used to get them on the golf course at Alderbrook when they bought mulch from Bradys. I always found Chantrelles and Matsatakis up there also. Miss that.