How Do We Convert Lawn to Vegetable Garden?
We have a section of lawn that we will convert to a herb and vegetable garden. It has grass and weeds. Can we simply rototill the ground, enrich the earth with organic fertilizer and compost? Is it better to remove the sod first?
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Tagged with: Compost • Earth • grass • Herb Garden • Lawn Garden • Organic Fertilizer • sod • Vegetable Garden • weeds
Filed under: Your Garden Q and A
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Remove the sod first of you are going to rototill. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time the first few years removing grass and weeds from your veg patch.
A trick I have used a couple of times is to water the grass then leave a piece of clear plastic sheet on the grass, weighed down with bricks for several days. The temperature and humidity under the sheet get very high (greenhouse effect) and kill the grass and much of the roots and seeds in the top layer of soil. Then you can rototill with fewer problems.
An alternative is to manually dig the plot, turning the sod upside down so that it is buried about 6 – 9 inches deep. This makes for a fertile vegetable garden, as you are not removing top soil and the grass plants give off nutrients as they die and decay.
If you rototill you will just promote more weeds, especially wire grass/centipede grass/crabgrass. Use a sod kick to remove the sod (You can usually rent one for the day or weekend). Spray if you want to use chemicals but make sure you follow the label for when you can plant there. Improve the soil with organic matter, and rototill. Use Newspapers or Landscape fabric to block new weeds. Plant, water, fertilize and enjoy! Find your frost date from your local garden center. Wait until it has passed, or be ready to cover the plants at night.
Either will work but removing the sod and relocating it or composting it will make the garden easier to work.
I converted my lawn to vegetable gardens myself. Best and easiest way is remove your sod for the area you want to make veg garden, and place raised beds. Add good soil and compost. You can build your own or purchase them online if you are not handy. There are so many options. I recommend you to do some reseach online or read some garden book with photos for inspiration. Good luck! p.s. Make sure you pick sunny spot.