Posted by Dionne VictorOn Tuesday's "Homegrown," a caller queried the guys on how to convert a grassy area in her yard into a flower bed. The catch is that she wanted to make sure the method she used was environmentally sound. There are a couple of methods out there, but Andrew and Tony told her about their tried and true method for making new garden beds out of lawn.
Here's what you need to get started: cardboard and enough mulch to cover the area.
And here's what you do:
First mow the grass down low. Place one layer of wet cardboard atop the grass and layer this with mulch. Doing this smothers the grass, though at times, some grass may grow up through the cardboard. In drier climates, like Wyoming, where the listener was from, it may be necessary to
put down an extra thick layer of mulch.
This method is good for a few reasons:
It's easy to do! Wetting the cardboard speeds up decomposition of the turf. Eventually, the cardboard and grass become part of the mulched bed and you can cut right through the cardboard to plant.
It's pretty hands-off! It's a continual process, that can take several months, but once the initial elements are down it doesn't require any digging.
It's organic! You don't have to worry about the newspaper ink being an environmental hazard, as these days most inks used by newspapers are soy-based and earth friendly, rather than petroleum-based.
If you don’t have a supply of cardboard, you can use newspaper. In this case, you want the layer to be thick, so try laying down 10 newspaper sheets in the same manner as the cardboard, followed by mulch. The mulch helps ensure that the newspaper doesn't blow away, so be sure to lay down a good, thick layer.
