Have you been eyeing the scorched grass in your planting strip or side yard, envisioning something lush, but fretting about the labor involved? In fact, it is easy to convert grass to vegetables, herbs or other plants. And so worth it! Here are some steps to take:
(1) Evaluate your site. Before getting rid of your grass, consider what you want to plant and whether you have the appropriate growing conditions. Most vegetables, fruits and herbs will grow only in full sunlight but lettuce, cucumbers, peas and some other vegetables will accept partial sun. Roots of nearby trees may compete with your edibles for moisture; tree roots generally extend beyond the tree’s leaf canopy.
Also think about the water needs for your planned garden. Vegetables need consistent watering. If you plan on running an automatic drip watering system to your planting strip, it’s less disruptive to get it under your sidewalk before you have a lot of plants in the way. You may also want to have underground utility lines marked before you convert the plot so you don’t accidentally dig into them. The city’s Call-Before-You-Dig number is (800) 424-5555.
(2) Test your soil. Soil tests will tell you if your soil has nutrient deficiencies and also whether dangerous levels of heavy metals are present. On Queen Anne, there is a risk of lead in the soil from paint on older houses, so it’s a good practice to do a soil test before growing edibles. Knowing the pH and nutrients in your soil will also help you decide what kinds of fertilizer to use and which crops will grow best (for example, blueberries need a low pH). The University of Massachusetts tests soil for nutrients, lead and cadmium at very reasonable rates. There are also local labs that will test for other heavy metals, such as arsenic. King County has a link to a list of approved labs.
(3) Remove the grass: You can remove sod by digging it out, smothering it, killing it with an herbicide or tilling it under. We only recommend the first two methods. Herbicides can affect water quality and other plants, and tilling may leave pieces of weeds and grass in the soil that can resprout, as well as unearth weed seeds.
Dig it. Sod can be physically removed by using a garden spade or fork or by renting a sod cutter, which slices the sod into strips that can then be rolled up. For removing more than a small amount, the sod cutter saves work. I found it pretty easy to use once I got the hang of it. This method is physically harder than smothering, but the advantage is that you’re ready to plant immediately. Note that if you have a lot of weeds in your grass with deep taproots (e.g. dandelions), it’s possible some roots will remain behind and start growing. Also keep in mind that when you remove the sod, you’re removing organic matter with it. This can be replaced by adding compost or a topsoil mix.
(What do you with all that removed sod? You can make great compost from it, or post it on freecycle.org or craigslist.org — someone just might haul it away for you. It makes great fill for landscaping projects. Just don’t plan on throwing it in your clean green. According to the City of Seattle’s website, you can’t put more than 60 lbs into yard waste containers. You can, however, bring it to the dump for a fee.)
Or smother it. Alternatively, you can smother the grass by putting down layers of newspaper or cardboard and then covering it with a mulch such as compost. Over time, the newspaper and grass will decompose and earthworms will work the compost down into the soil. First, mow your lawn as low as you can. Make sure the newspaper uses soy-based ink and don’t use anything with shiny paper, e.g. magazines or advertising inserts, as they may contain heavy metals. If your grass has weeds in it, including weed grasses, use more newspaper (many sources recommend six sheets, but you may want to double or triple that). Grass and weeds will grow anywhere there is light, so make sure the newspaper sections overlap each other well and that the edges of the bed are covered. You may want to wet the newspaper and anchor it with rocks to prevent it from blowing away until the mulch is delivered.
You can have compost dumped directly on the parking strip, and then it’s easy to spread the pile out. (If you have multiple sections, ask the driver to dump a portion on each so you don’t need to cart it around in a wheelbarrow.) The minimum recommended depth for mulch is six inches, but putting down more than that will enable you to plant right away if your grass didn’t have a lot of weeds. You also may want to use more compost if your soil is compacted or rocky. If you had a lot of weeds, it’s better to wait several months for the grass and weeds to die down before planting, as creating any holes above the weeds will give them the light they need to grow.
Although this method is easier, it will take several months before you can fully plant. In addition, the depth of the planting strip will be much higher than it was. If you’re doing this in the fall for planting in the spring and not planting anything on top, there is a risk the rain will cause some erosion, especially on hills. This can be reduced by having a thinner layer of compost near the edges or if suitable for planting, by sowing a cover crop such as crimson clover.
Now you’re ready to plant! Stay tuned for Queen Anne “ripped strip” plant recommendations. If you would like to chat with a neighbor who has already ripped their strip, email us and we’ll put you in touch.
