So you want to get rid of your lawn to save water and resources? Here is the conundrum, however…It will take effort, finances, and help to remove a lawn and replace it with new plants. If a landscaping firm is too much on a limited budget, consider the following methods and resources.  

Figure out what type of grass you have: cool-season or warm-season. Cool-season grasses, such as tall fescue, are green all year long and tend to require more water. Warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda grass hybrids, do best with less water in the hot months and go dormant/ brownish in the winter months. Some removal methods work better for each type of grass, so knowing before you start will help you save time and pick the best methods.

Remember to call 811 “Call before you dig” to have your in-ground utility boxes located to avoid damaging them.

While not glamorous, you can dig out your lawn using a shovel, a pickaxe, or a Maddox.  You can work as you have time (and energy), scraping out small sections at a time and placing them in your green waste trash bin.

If your soil is rock hard, watering small sections where you work will help to release the grass if you have warm-season grass, water well again several times for resprouting grass after you are done.

Pros: inexpensive, fitness, great for small areas, more accessible for cool season grasses.

Cons: very physical, lengthy process, neighbors think you are mining for gold.

Sheet mulching is a way to apply a thick barrier over the lawn that will kill the grass, roots, and all, over 6-10 months. A ‘blank slate of mulched area’ remains that you can plant with whatever type of plants you like.

Pros: less physical method, area ready for planting, looks better earlier.

Cons: advanced planning is needed. Warm-season grasses take longer and tend to return more vigorously.

The sod cutter will remove the lawn in strips that you can easily remove by hand. Sod cutters are available for rent at most home improvement stores and local equipment rental businesses. They are easy to operate, although they also tend to be ungainly and jumpy, especially in hard soils.

Mark and/or remove obstacles, like sprinkler heads, utility boxes, and steppingstones. Grass under tree canopies must be removed by hand to avoid damaging surface roots.

Pros: removes a lot of lawns quickly. The machine does the work.

For many, this might be the first thought that comes to mind.  But spraying an entire lawn is discouraged as there are some potential downsides:

Herbicides are better used in conjunction with the previous methods to kill off any grass that lingers or if other noxious weeds are present. For example, if you covered your grass 6-10 months earlier with sheet mulch, you would spray or pull anything that reappears before replanting.

Please read all herbicide labels. If you remove all lawn and vegetation, then a non-selective ‘kills all that it touches’ type of herbicide will work. A selective grass herbicide such as ‘Grass Getter’ or ‘Grass B’ Gone’ is very helpful in killing unwanted grass in or near wanted vegetation. For example, if Bermuda grass is coming up inside your new or existing plantings, you can use a selective grass herbicide to kill the grass and not your plant.

While not available in every water district, public incentive programs will help cover the cost of having your lawn removed and replaced by a low-water-use landscape. Go to “Save Our Water” https://saveourwater.com/ to look up your local water agency. Rebate programs are usually either listed or only a phone call away.

The application process is detailed, so be prepared to submit planting plans, measurements, before-and-after pictures, and have someone visit your site in person. You may elect to have a professional landscape firm draw up plans for you to submit and help organize the approval process.

Do not start your project or purchase anything until you are 100% sure, authorized, and ‘green light go’ by your rebate program. You will pay for the landscape project up front out of pocket and get reimbursed afterward with a final inspection. Rebates typically pay for a portion of a set amount by the square foot, but not the entire project cost.

Pros: the rebate can repay your costs for labor (if needed) and help pay for plants to replace the lawn.

Cons: Still need to front the costs and wait for reimbursement, be organized with paperwork, and follow all the rules.

The Master Gardeners will be available to answer your questions at a few select locations in the next few months.

Call us: Master Gardeners in Tulare County: (559) 684-3325, Tues & Thurs, 9:30-11:30;

Kings County: (559) 852-2736, Thursday only, 9:30-11:30 a.m

Visit our website to search past articles, find links to UC gardening information, or to email us with your questions: http://ucanr.edu/sites/UC_Master_Gardeners/

Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mgtularekings14/