replace a lawn

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Collect Cardboard. Acquire enough cardboard to cover the whole area. Most bicycle shops and appliance stores have plenty they’d like to give away.

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Page 1: Replace a lawn

Collect Cardboard. Acquire enough cardboard to cover the whole area. Most bicycle shops and appliance stores have plenty they’d like to give away.

Page 2: Replace a lawn

Trench the Edges. Lawn grasses will exploit any edge where they can get a toehold, so you’ll need to give them nowhere to grow. Dig a shallow trench around the entire perimeter of the new lawn-free area and insert some permanent edging. For lowest maintenance, use brick, stone or recycled plastic.

Page 3: Replace a lawn

Lay the cardboard. After you trench the edges, tuck the cardboard into the shallow trench, and throw enough mulch on top to hold it in place. No need to use herbicides, just mow the grass short before you begin.

Page 4: Replace a lawn

Find some mulch. In many areas, you can get a truckload of mulch delivered to the site for free. Call a local tree trimmer and tell him you’ll take the next load off his hands. You may get more than you need, but it will compress over time.

Spread and wait. Depending on the season and your climate, you’ll want to wait six to eight weeks before beginning to replant the yard with drought-tolerant plants.

Page 5: Replace a lawn
Page 6: Replace a lawn

Long-Term Payback. The homeowner replanted the newly liberated yard with an olive tree, trailing rosemary, and garden safe, along with other plants.

Page 7: Replace a lawn

Converting to Clover. A Phoenix couple replanted a barren lot with strawberry clover, converting it into a low-maintenance, drought-tolerant greenspace.

Break Ground. The hard pea gravel soil had to be broken up to a depth of about 18 inches. The toughest part of the job, the owner did the labor by hand.

Page 8: Replace a lawn

Add Earth. Several inches of organic compost were added to the site, along with a ficus tree for future shade. The area was rototilled to mix the new soil with existing gravel, then compacted with a roller barrel.

Page 9: Replace a lawn

Field of Green. The tiny clover seed were combined with an “inoculant” for better germination, then mixed in a wheelbarrow with compost and sand before planting. The resulting yard requires occasional mowing and minimal watering.

Source: Phoenix Permaculture