Convert Your Lawn by Sheet Mulching

hi my name is Kat I'm a landscape architect and today I'm going to show you how to rethink your lawn the bay friendly way now here's what a conventional lawn looks like ornamental and underused but now lots of folks are transforming those lawns in tube a friendly gardens these diverse and beautiful gardens will help you use less water are easier to maintain require less chemical fertilizers and pesticides save energy and produce fewer greenhouse gases in addition they also build healthy soil and plants replacing your lawn is a great opportunity to create a bay friendly garden you can create a habitat for bees and butterflies start your own vegetable garden or orchard create an urban retreat or a perfect space for you your children and your pets the possibilities are endless and once you develop a plan the rest is pretty easy now I'm going to show you how to sheet mulch sheet mulching is a cheap and easy way to replace your lawn if you don't want to do your entire lawn you can start with just mulching a part of your yard a little bit at a time it doesn't require the use of heavy equipment or pesticides and once you have the materials sheet mulching can be completed in a day depending on the size of the area you are covering so let me explain how sheet mulching works sheet mulching is a technique of laying cardboard or newspaper over an existing lawn and then topping it off with wood mulch the layers break down naturally to feed the soil with microbes creating a vibrant ecosystem which is going to give you healthier soil and plants but sheet mulching is also in an ideal way to suppress weeds build your soil health and replace lawns the best time to sheet mulch is in the fall to take advantage of the rains but it can be done any time of the year there are many different ways at is sheet mulch but I'm going to show you a simple way recommended by the bay friendly program first you're going to prepare the site if you have tall weeds you're going to want to knock them down or mow existing vegetation so the lies flat then remove only woody or bulky plant materials if you plan to retrofit your sprinkler heads for drip irrigation be sure to flag the sprinkler heads now so that you can find them again when you're done I'll show you all about sprinkler head retrofitting in part 2 now some plants are going to need to be removed before sheet mulching such as invasive plants that spread by rhizomes bulbs or that reefs Prout from extensive root systems some examples include blackberries oxalis horse tails Kikuyu and Bermuda grass when removing these invasive plants from around plants that you will be keeping be careful that you don't damage the roots of the plants that you are keeping next we're going to soak the area with water to start the natural process of decomposition to avoid run off and keep mulch from spilling over onto sidewalks or driveways you can use a flat edged shovel to cut the lawn away 8 to 12 inches from the edge of the concrete the soil should be at least 3 inches below the grade in other words three inches below the top of the concrete your excess soil and sod can be mounted away from the edges and sheet mulched in place if your sheet mulching a lawn just flip the edges over so the roots in the soil are face-up if you encounter the plastic netting that came with your sod don't worry about it throw away the pieces that you see your leftover soil and any extra plant material or prunings can be used to create mounds for plants that like well-drained soils many native plants thrive on these mounds mounds also create more visual interest in the garden by adding height and depth alright once the area is prepped then you're ready to install five gallon or larger plants next you'll add a weed barrier it is essential that this barrier be permeable to water and air recycled cardboard boxes work great you can get big sheets of cardboard from appliance stores or bike shops you can also buy recycled cardboard rolls or use multiple layers of newspaper or burlap be sure you don't use plastic or weed cloth which won't biodegrade remember this is all about building your soil naturally when you're placing your cardboard pieces down be sure to overlap the pieces by six to eight inches so the Sun won't get through them you want to starve your weeds of light as you're working you can rip and fold the cardboard to accommodate the space around your plants now completely cover the ground except where there are established plants that you don't want to cover cover all green lawn to keep the sunlight from hitting it remember any lawn showing at the end of the project will come right back next we're going to wet down the cardboard to keep it in place to make it easier to shape around obstacles when you're done covering the existing lawn with cardboard it's time to add a layer of compost and mulch on top spread your compost directly over the cardboard and then cover it with bulky materials like wood chips to optimize weed control adding compost will help build soil however if your main goal is weed suppression you can just add the mulch and skip the compost in total the compost mulch layer should be about 2 to 5 inches deep the top layer of mulch mimics the newly fallen organic matter of a forest good materials for this layer include chip plant debris tree prunings leaves or even straw you are going to need a lot of mulch typically a smallish front yard can take 18 cubic yards of mulch to find local sources for mulch please see the resources accompanying this presentation now that you've laid down the cardboard and covered it with mulch you're going to punch holes in the cardboard and place your plants in the soil under the sheet mulch in cooler climates smaller plants like four inch pots can be planted right into the mulch compost layer on top of the cardboard without digging a hole don't worry the roots will break through the cardboard you will want to add compost just around the root ball if you didn't already add compost on top of the cardboard if you did you're good to go remember your new plants will require water and attention when they're young even if they're drought tolerant just a couple other things to keep in mind don't pile materials up against tree trunks or stems of plants this will help them stay healthy and disease free especially during the dry season small seedlings may need protection from snails and slugs the like to hide under the mulch you can protect young trees from rodents with physical guards like metal bands that wrap around the base so congratulations your lawn has now been sheet mulch and you laid the foundation for a beautiful Bay friendly garden that you will enjoy for years to come thanks for watching this bait friendly presentation for a detailed description and case study of lawn removal with sheet mulch be sure to check out the bay friendly gardening guide a free download on our website or you can order a hard copy of the book online at be friendly org for more information on sheet mulching rebates and where to find local materials please see the resources that accompany this presentation

Channel: StopWaste

Views: 883,048

Rating: 4.736342 out of 5

Keywords: Garden, sheet, lawn, green, mulching, water, friendly, organic, grass, conversion, Bay-Friendly, conservation, mulch, turf, Gardening (Interest), sustainable, environmentally

Id: 4PB0Ym_iXmc

Length: 7min 29sec (449 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 17 2010