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Smother grass

DedekindDedekind Posts: 171
edited April 2021 in Garden design
Hi,

as part of a garden re-design I need to remove a large-ish section of grass. It's not massive, but it's not small. I started by "hand" with a rake and a hoe, but it is really taking ages.

I was thinking of the following idea: smother the whole area with cardboard/newspaper and cover with a fine layer of topsoil (to avoid the ugliness). Can also just cover with bark which is the long term goal anyway?. Will this take care of it? And will I be able to plant right away some plants if I punch holes in the newspaper layer?

The idea was to replace that grass section with a shrub border.

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,049
    " if you fail to prepare: you should prepare to fail" 
    I'd imagine the ground is pretty compacted under the lawn , so not ideal to plant shrubs into. 
    I'd remove the grass and dig the ground over, incorporating something like well rotted manure/ garden compost. 
    Devon.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 13,696
    edited April 2021
    PPPPPP.

    Proper Preparation Prevents P##s Poor Performance.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 8,809
    When I've removed turf grass,  I found the easiest way (without hiring a turf cutting machine) was to use a spade,  cutting first vertically into strips about the width of the spade,  then horizontally working under the turf from the edge to lift slabs of turf. Then the slabs can be stacked upside-down for a year (or maybe more) and they will rot down into nice loam that you can use to top up beds or borders. I would imagine it's heavy going getting the roots out with a hoe and a rake.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,228
    Spray the area with glyphosate, you can then dig the old grass in when it has died off. In some cases you can just plant direct into it (would probably work for prairie style planting over a large area).
  • BrockmanBrockman Posts: 28
    Smother grass?  
    Smother spring

    Sorry, can’t announce a brilliant solution but this might cheer you up while you are thinking.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9fioxkzaN5k

  • DedekindDedekind Posts: 171

    Loxley said:
    Spray the area with glyphosate, you can then dig the old grass in when it has died off. In some cases you can just plant direct into it (would probably work for prairie style planting over a large area).

    How long does the glyphosate take to work?
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,228
    It depends on the how fast the sprayed plant is growing, perhaps two or three weeks? Roger Brook - the no dig gardener: Glyphosate
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