So you’ve decided to let your lawn die or remove it. If you haven’t considered how it can impact the rest of your yard, please read this article. If you’re ready, here are 3 ways to go about it:
1. Just don’t water
While this option is probably the simplest it can have impact the rest of your yard. If you aren’t aware how, please read this article. Withholding water will cause the lawn to slowly die. This is the best option if you plan on trying to bring it back when/if you are allowed to. In my opinion, watching a lawn slowly die would be quite annoying, but that’s just me. Once you start withholding water you won’t want to disturb the soil by raking or digging. Doing so will just encourage weeds to grow and we all know that weeds grow even without water!
2. Just Mulch
If you don’t plan on bringing the lawn back at a later date start by mowing the lawn at the lowest height that your lawn mower will go to. If you do want to resurrect the lawn at a later date then don’t mow quite so short. Next apply a mulch (we recommend G&B SBC) thick enough to completely cover the lawn. You shouldn’t see any blades of grass above the lawn. This method makes the area a little more pleasing to the eye and helps prevent weeds. You can also think REUSE here and use heavy cardboard to smother the lawn, provided you don’t plan on replanting. You would mow as mentioned above, lay down the cardboard, trimming to fit your area then apply a decorative natural mulch such as Cedar Mulch or bark.
3. Dig It
This method is by far my least favorite but it is instant. You can use a rototiller to turn the lawn into the soil to begin the decomposing process. Keep in mind that doing this will turn over and create a fresh bed for a lovely crop of weeds! I also do not recommend this is method if you have bermudagrass. Why? Every time you break up bermudagrass you merely multiply it! You can spray a weed killer for weeds or bermuda but who wants to do that? I only recommend this method if you are preparing the area for garden beds (kitchen garden anyone?) but you could use the mulch method for this as well. If you have bermudagrass then we need to talk because that is a whole different story!
If you are merely reducing the size of your lawn or changing the shape of the edges then hand digging the lawn is a respectable option. Just as with any of these methods, have a plan so you don’t lose soil moisture, erode soil and encourage weeds.
I hope this has given you a direction to go if you decide to remove your lawn. Any questions? Please comment below!
-Adria
