What’s missing from this picture? The front lawn.
When we bought this house, it was just a little beige island in a sea of lawn. An acre and a half of lawn to be more accurate. I was really not interested in mowing or watering all that lawn. I knew that beneath it lay some great farming soil, and I was out to grow a lot of food, so I decided the lawn had to die. I have been a long-time fan of sheet mulching, and this was the perfect place to do it. If you are new to the world of mulching, basically it is a way to mimic natural conditions for healthy soils. Soils in nature rely on a layer of decaying plant matter to add nutrients back in after plants use them up, and this also helps to retain soil moisture and structure and keeps weeds from filling in and competing for water and nutrients. Have you ever noticed how trees in the forest don’t usually have a lot of grass or weeds growing around the base?
For more details, you can read this great article by Craig Elevitch and Kim Wilkinson of Permanent Agriculture Resources on Agroforestry.net called: “Sheet Mulching: Greater Plant and Soil Health for Less Work” at this link here: http://www.agroforestry.net/pubs/Sheet_Mulching.html.
Everything you see here was all lawn a year ago. We had a neighbor plow it with his tractor, planted a cover crop on the garden to the right, and covered everything else with cardboard, straw and bark chip pathways.
Over the past year, our two energetic dogs had a grand old time tearing through the sheet mulch and digging up blueberry bushes, so we finished off this year’s mulching project with a dog and chicken proof fence around our entire front yard area and garden. For a little homestead style, we put up this front gate that my dad built us out of branches with an antler handle. Now we can rest easy knowing the garden, herb beds, and blueberry bushes are safe, and focus our efforts on shooing critters out of the field.
Our garden was covered in a leaf mulch this Fall, which blew away in some wild winds this past month. We’re close enough to tilling and planting, I figured it would be okay until then. The entire thing is now surrounded by a cardboard/bark chip path that acts as a good pathway for wheelbarrow access and a grass, weed and insect barrier all around. In the foreground are our garlic beds, which we also covered with a straw mulch as protection from winter freezes. In the middle of that is a cherry tree we surrounded with hog fuel bark mulch when we planted it as a moisture retainer and weed barrier. It’s one healthy cherry tree.
So, you see, it’s very easy to get carried away with mulching. While it can’t solve all your problems, I think it’s a good start. Sometimes while I’m out there with my cardboard and straw, I make up mulching songs in my head. This one is to the tune of Devo’s “Whip It”:
When a problem comes along, you must mulch it!
Before the cream sets out too long, you must mulch it!
When somethin’s going wrong, you must mulch it!
Now mulch it! Into shape!
Shape it up!…It’s not too late!
To Mulch it! Mulch it good!
When a good time turns around, you must mulch it!
You will never live it down, unless you mulch it!
No one gets away, until they mulch it!
I say mulch it! Mulch it good!
How to bring about the demise of your lawn:
Step 1: Get Cardboard from your local grocery store, liquor store or restaurant. Brown cardboard boxes that held food or bottles are very safe for your soils, and they are unlimited and free! Just ask to have them set aside for you to pick up, or swing by the recycling bin behind the store. Lay this cardboard down one section at a time on top of your lawn. Make sure it overlaps so there are no holes or gaps.
Step 2: Get some bales of straw at your local feed store. Ask for the most weed-free they’ve got. We usually get wheat straw, and for around 3$ a bale, it’s the cheapest landscaping you’ll ever find. Sprinkle it down over the cardboard until you can’t see it. Try for a day when it will rain soon to really settle it all down.
Step 3: Call your local utility company or tree service company and ask to have a free pile of wood chips delivered. They usually put you on a waiting list and call as soon as they’re working your area. They’re free, and we got two eight yard piles last time! Lay these down a few inches thick to build pathways around your yard where you figure you’ll walk the most. I tried to give ours some nice curves for landscape appeal.
Step 4: Re-apply in a year or as needed. Good, thick mulching should last awhile. I heard five years on wood chips and 2-3 years on straw. That cardboard should kill off the grass roots underneath, and pretty soon all you’ll deal with is seeds dropped by birds. Enjoy not mowing your lawn!
Just Mulch it! Mulch it good!
Ha! I love it! I'll be singing your song all day now…..
this is awesome and your song is hilarious. i have been reading about sheet mulching this winter, it sounds like you've got it down! thanks for the great info!
LOL! I've got it down! 🙂
I really love this post and I will happily sing your hilarious song every time I mulch!! 🙂
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