You’re sick of wasting time, energy, money, & resources on your lawn. You’ve decided to rethink your lawn. Congratulations! You are ready to Kill Your Lawn! We’ll describe how you can kill your lawn, the pros & cons of each method, & the method that builds soil for your new future garden.

We have tried all the different ways to kill a lawn. It’s not as easy as it sounds! When you really want to get rid of the grasses, especially the weedy types, it becomes a quest.

Method 1: Chemical
The application of a broad herbicide, applied per the label instructions, will kill grass, & some of the weeds.
-PRO It seems like the quickest, easiest method to kill the grass. However:
-CON The herbicide will only kill the living plants.
-CON It will not kill the seed bank in the soil (grass, weeds).
-CON Those chemicals will be in your new garden, potentially harming you, your family, pets, & other plants.
-CON It will kill all the beneficial flora & fauna in the soil, making it lifeless dirt, that will need time to recover.

Method 2: Grass Removal
Digging sod, & use of sod removal rakes to remove the grass.
-PRO None really.
-CON It is very labor intensive.
-CON If you don’t get all the roots, grass will come back.
-CON Sod can’t be municipally composted or taken to yard waste sites, due to invasives & diseases.
-CON Sod has to be taken to a landfill, & pay heavy dumping fees.
-CON Removes beneficial soil flora & fauna, that takes time to recover.

Method 3: Solarizing
Covering the area with plastic for a period of time to superheat, & smother lawn.
-PRO Once plastic is laid, you just have to wait for grass to die.
-CON Time depends on your area, temperatures & precipitation. It could take more than a year!
-CON Concerns about microplastics from the plastic degrading in the sun.
-CON Not very attractive for neighbors.
-CON May not kill all the grass roots, or the seed bank.
-CON May kill beneficial soil flora & fauna, that takes time to recover.

Method 4: Sheet Mulch
Covering the area with layers of cardboard, paper, leaves, mulch, & other organic material.
-PRO Thick layers will keep grass from coming through, keep weeds from germinating.
-PRO Builds soil while layers are breaking down.
-PRO Encourages soil flora & fauna to develop, creating healthy soil.
-PRO Works in all conditions.
-CON The cost of materials.

Conclusion:
The Best Way to Kill Your Lawn is Sheet Mulching! You can easily source free materials. Cardboard from online shopping, (your &/ or your neighbors), a business with overflowing cardboard recycling dumpster (ask first!). Leaves from a neighbor that doesn’t practice “leave the leaves” autumn. Wood chips from municipal tree service dump locations, or a chip drop service. If you are concerned about how the area will look, the top layer can be a more finished mulch. If you want to plant sooner than the time it takes for the sheet mulch to completely become soil, you can dig a hole for your plant, plant, & back fill with finished soil. Happy Sheet Mulching!
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