How to Kill Your Front Lawn
I must extend my public apologies to Gaia Creations Ecological Landscaping, who I originally neglected to recognize as an integral resource for this project. One of the things that I try to do in posting sustainability tips and eco-home projects is demonstrate and promote the "do it yourself" aspect to sustainability. All too often sustainability is seen as something that requires a budget beyond the scope of many individuals. For my wife and me, sustainability is a priority in our lives, and thus we have allotted funds toward such efforts. However, I recognize that not everyone has this ability, and it is for this reason that I did not originally disclose that I contracted with Gaia Creations to complete this project; I wanted to communicate that people could turn their lawn into a more sustainable landscape using a minimal amount of funds. Not sharing the whole truth was an error in judgment on my part.
While I could have killed my front lawn on my own, I would not have been able to do so with the same care, dedication, and competency had I not contracted with Brian and Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper of Gaia Creations. Brian's services included labor, expertise, and materials, and most of the information that follows in this post comes from his experience.
I meant no ill-will towards the efforts of Gaia Creations, and I should have recognized them when I originally wrote this post. I deeply regret this error, and again extend my apologies.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Miller
How to Kill Your Front Lawn
1. Get a hold of a lot of large, empty, used boxes, preferably brown (minimal ink/dyes). Plastic tape is okay, though not ideal. I found the best locations for finding boxes en masse were in the "Cardboard Only" dumpsters behind the RiteAid's.
2. If your lawn borders a driveway or sidewalk, uproot the edges of your lawn, about 6-12" in from the concrete. Either flip the sod over and leave it in place or toss it into the center of the lawn.
3. Mark the location of your sprinklers with flags or stakes. Someday you might want to know where they are.
4. Rip each box to get a single sheet of cardboard. Lay the boxes down on the lawn, overlapping about 6 inches. Be thorough and complete--do not leave any gaps. This is best done on a calm day, as wind makes this difficult.
5. Soak down the cardboard with a hose.
6. Determine the square footage of your lawn.
7. Add a layer of weed-free compost. Weeds, living parts of weeds, or weed seeds are not good, so our compost was purchased from Sutherland Landscaping. You will need about 6 yards of material for every 1000 square feet of lawn, which will give you a layer about 2" thick.
8. If you are doing this between November and February, you can choose, at this point, to sprinkle in native grass and wildflower seeds.
9. Cover the compost with a layer of wood chips. This will protect the compost from the wind and keep everything looking neat. You will need about 4.5 yards for every 1000 square feet, which will give you a layer about 1.5 inches deep. Wood chips can be purchased, or you can flag down a tree-trimmer truck trailing a wood chipper and ask them to dump the load on your driveway. Often they will do it for free. (I've done this before, though you may want to ask what they chipped. Avoid oleander and eucalyptus).
10. Water down the entire area thoroughly.
Give it a year, and your water-sucking lawn will die and decompose beneath the cardboard, becoming usable nutrients for new plants in a few years. The cardboard will likewise decompose in 2-5 years.
We were able to toss in a few wildflower seeds when we did the project, but otherwise we will not be adding much more until the winter when we can take advantage of the winter rains. When we put in larger plants and shrubs, we will clear away some of the chips and cut a small hole through cardboard for the plant. We will replace the wood chips when we are done.
Any new plants will require a bit of watering in the first 1-2 years to get established (we will be using a drip system), but then you are home free if you have planted local native varieties (ceanothus, bunch grasses etc).
Full Disclosure: Figures reflect a 1700 square foot lawn--
-Labor and Technical Advice: As we are novices to landscaping, we contracted with Gaia Creations Ecological Landscaping to provide labor, materials, technical expertise and wisdom. We used Gaia Creations because of their dedication to organic horticulture and sustainable landscape methods.
-Weed-free compost: 10 yards, $471 (with 10% contractor discount)
-Shredded cedar bark: 7.5 yards, $218 (with 10% contractor discount; could have been free if I had tracked down a truck full of wood chips)
-Boxes: Free
-Time: About two days for two people
-Savings and piece of mind from not needing to ever again mow, fertilize, water or edge a lawn: Priceless