Killing Large Areas of Grass

[Jonny Klobber]

I'm planning to remove several large patches of grass in our front yard and do a lot of tree/shrub planting in those areas this September. Trying to decide the best way to do this. I've done a bit of reading and have found that the following options should work:

1. Spraying the areas with Roundup or Bonide Kleenup.

2. Smothering the grass with plastic or some other sort of material.

I would prefer to avoid spraying anything like Roundup or Kleenup if I can avoid it, so was leaning towards option 2. And I realize that using this method could take a few months to finish the job, so now would be the perfect time to get going with that if I plan to do my plantings in mid September... I was thinking that I could just put large tarps out over the areas I want to remove, and hold them in place with rocks... Or... Maybe I could cover the grass with something else (not sure what) and then mulch over it and leave it like that for a few months. Would something like cardboard work well for this? I guess it would need to be biodegradable so that I could just plant through it without having to pull plastic out from under the mulch... I should add that the grass is mostly rye grass (and lots of clover, creeping charlie and various weeds too!)...

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jonny Klobber]

Would something like this be a good option?

WeedGuard Plus

It's biodegradable, so I could lay it down, cover with mulch and forget about it...

 

[cpp gardener]

Another option is to water the area very thoroughly and then cover with CLEAR plastic. This allows in light and HEAT which cooks the grass, weeds, seeds and some disease organisms. Leave it on until you’re ready to plant and disturb the soil as little as possible to prevent encouraging any surviving weed seeds. No herbicides and very thorough soil pasteurization, a win-win.

 

[oneeye]

I'm planning to remove several large patches of grass in our front yard and do a lot of tree/shrub planting in those areas this September. Trying to decide the best way to do this. I've done a bit of reading and have found that the following options should work:

1. Spraying the areas with Roundup or Bonide Kleenup.

2. Smothering the grass with plastic or some other sort of material.

I would prefer to avoid spraying anything like Roundup or Kleenup if I can avoid it, so was leaning towards option 2. And I realize that using this method could take a few months to finish the job, so now would be the perfect time to get going with that if I plan to do my plantings in mid September... I was thinking that I could just put large tarps out over the areas I want to remove, and hold them in place with rocks... Or... Maybe I could cover the grass with something else (not sure what) and then mulch over it and leave it like that for a few months. Would something like cardboard work well for this? I guess it would need to be biodegradable so that I could just plant through it without having to pull plastic out from under the mulch... I should add that the grass is mostly rye grass (and lots of clover, creeping charlie and various weeds too!)...

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Please post a photo of the area you are working with.

 

[Jonny Klobber]

Please post a photo of the area you are working with.

There are several patches, but here’s one. I’m going to add more trees and shrubs around these two Norway spruce. Will want to clear a 40-50 ft x 10-12’ space around them.

 

[Jonny Klobber]

Another option is to water the area very thoroughly and then cover with CLEAR plastic. This allows in light and HEAT which cooks the grass, weeds, seeds and some disease organisms. Leave it on until you’re ready to plant and disturb the soil as little as possible to prevent encouraging any surviving weed seeds. No herbicides and very thorough soil pasteurization, a win-win.

That’s an interesting idea. The clear sheeting I’ve seen might be a little thin for the wildlife around here. I can see deer trampling and ripping it, for instance. But I’ll look into it.

I’d prefer to use something biodegradable so I can go ahead and mulch over it and not have to look at a tarp for the rest of the summer.

 

[cpp gardener]

Use the thickest you can find/afford. Try some mylar tape on stakes for deer. Raccoons and skunks are a WHOLE nuther ballgame .
It looks weird for one summer and then you don't have nearly as many weeds as you did before.

 

[Jonny Klobber]

Use the thickest you can find/afford. Try some mylar tape on stakes for deer. Raccoons and skunks are a WHOLE nuther ballgame .
It looks weird for one summer and then you don't have nearly as many weeds as you did before.

We’ve got tons of raccoons and skunks too.

Could be worth a shot though - thanks!

 

[roadrunner]

Around here where I live it's very easy to call a tree removal company and have them drop off some wood chips for free. They will gladly do it because the normal method of disposing of the chips costs them money. You should be able to kill the grass with about six in depth of chips, but if you want to make sure, then just put down the cardboard, but I've had luck with just plain chips at about six inches of depth.

 

[oneeye]

You don't have to remove the grass to plant shrubs and trees. Are you going to make a bed with edging to divide the grass and shrubs?

 

[Jonny Klobber]

You don't have to remove the grass to plant shrubs and trees. Are you going to make a bed with edging to divide the grass and shrubs?

I know. I don’t want any grass though. Methodically getting rid of all of it.

 

[Jonny Klobber]

Are you going to make a bed with edging to divide the grass and shrubs?

Forgot to answer this question... Yes, I will probably put some sort of edging around the beds to keep grass out. I've got to find some that's affordable though, as I'm going to need a lot of it.

Could anyone recommend a specific edging (probably flexible metal)? I don't want to create a completely manicured look - I just want as much help as I can get keeping the surrounding grass, creeping charlie, etc., from getting into the beds. So I'm thinking perhaps a 5" high barrier to hold the mulch inside the beds, and help prevent the grass and weeds from crossing over into the partridgeberry, vinca and other low growing ground covers I plant around the bases of the trees and shrubs.

 

[Jonny Klobber]

Another option is to water the area very thoroughly and then cover with CLEAR plastic. This allows in light and HEAT which cooks the grass, weeds, seeds and some disease organisms. Leave it on until you’re ready to plant and disturb the soil as little as possible to prevent encouraging any surviving weed seeds. No herbicides and very thorough soil pasteurization, a win-win.

You think 6 mil plastic sheeting will hold up to skunks, raccoons and deer? That's the thickest I'm seeing locally.

 

[oneeye]

Forgot to answer this question... Yes, I will probably put some sort of edging around the beds to keep grass out. I've got to find some that's affordable though, as I'm going to need a lot of it.

Could anyone recommend a specific edging (probably flexible metal)? I don't want to create a completely manicured look - I just want as much help as I can get keeping the surrounding grass, creeping charlie, etc., from getting into the beds. So I'm thinking perhaps a 5" high barrier to hold the mulch inside the beds, and help prevent the grass and weeds from crossing over into the partridgeberry, vinca and other low growing ground covers I plant around the bases of the trees and shrubs.

You can get a 5"X 10' metal flashing for beds at the local hardware store. Just for the record, if you do all that in the photo, you will have a ton of extra work to do every year.

 

[oneeye]

Forgot to answer this question... Yes, I will probably put some sort of edging around the beds to keep grass out. I've got to find some that's affordable though, as I'm going to need a lot of it.

Could anyone recommend a specific edging (probably flexible metal)? I don't want to create a completely manicured look - I just want as much help as I can get keeping the surrounding grass, creeping charlie, etc., from getting into the beds. So I'm thinking perhaps a 5" high barrier to hold the mulch inside the beds, and help prevent the grass and weeds from crossing over into the partridgeberry, vinca and other low growing ground covers I plant around the bases of the trees and shrubs.

You will have to work your a_s off to maintain the bed-line to the grass area. Its a lot of extra work that only a landscaping co should take on. The photo above is a low-maintenance easy to care for now. You and make it into a hard-to-manage area very easily by adding a lot of flashing and bed areas. If it were me, I would add native shrubs and trees to the area as is to keep maintenance down.